The Doral Business Council is an excellent vessel to expand your network. Six years ago I suffered, as Michael Gerber describes in his book The E-Myth, from an Entrepreneurial Seizure. The Entrepreneurial Seizure is the idea of being your own boss, doing your own thing, singing your own song. Once you are stricken with an Entrepreneurial Seizure, there is no relief. You have to start your own business. And so I did. Why not? I knew the technical work, I knew the law. I made the fatal assumption that if you understand the technical work of a business, you understand a business that does that technical work. The truth is that no matter how good of a technician you are on your craft, you cannot operate a business without understanding and mastering the art of networking.
The DBC can help, use it properly. Networking is simple, but it’s not easy. If it were easy, everyone would do it, and do it well. But not everyone does. That’s because it’s a skill, like cooking and golf and carpentry, that takes knowledge, practice, commitment, and effort to learn and apply consistently. Networking is about forming and nurturing mutually beneficial relationships, which brings you new connections with large numbers of people, some of whom will become good customers. Networking also puts you in touch with other resources, such as industry experts, accountants, and lawyers, who can help your business in other ways.
The DBC offers networking opportunities throughout our monthly breakfasts, after-hours, spotlights and committee events. As Dr. Ivan Misner explains in his book Networking Like a Pro, “Some people go to these events, exchange a few business cards, then say, “there. I’ve networked.” Wrong. That’s only the beginning. You have to attend a variety of events to broaden your networking base; follow up with new contacts and learn all you can about their businesses, their goals, and their lives; maintain close ties with established contacts; provide referrals, information, and other benefits to your fellow networkers; and generally cultivate these relationships and deep them strong and healthy. That’s networking. Only after you’ve been at it for quite some time will you begin to see a return on your investment. But when it comes, the return is strong and durable.” See you at our next DBC event, I’ll be there.
