1
00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720
Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

2
00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:13,840
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

3
00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,200
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about smart questions to ask before you

4
00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:23,360
Speaker 1: commit time or other resources to a networking group. This tip,

5
00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,200
Speaker 1: like several others this week, comes from writer and investor J.

6
00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:31,440
Speaker 1: Kelly Hoey's new book, Build Your Dream Network. Most of

7
00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:33,880
Speaker 1: us know we should put time and effort into building

8
00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:37,280
Speaker 1: our networks, but when life gets busy, this is easy

9
00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,400
Speaker 1: to shove to the important but not urgent pile that

10
00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:44,680
Speaker 1: doesn't get done. Consequently, people are always looking for quick

11
00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,640
Speaker 1: ways to build a network. Professional groups seem to offer

12
00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,720
Speaker 1: a convenient option. Rather than building connections one on one,

13
00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,000
Speaker 1: you can plug into a whole group of people. You

14
00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:01,000
Speaker 1: can access a group's expertise and connections whenever you need them.

15
00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:02,920
Speaker 1: All you have to do is introduce yourself on a

16
00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,960
Speaker 1: chatboard and voila job offers and new clients come streaming in.

17
00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,680
Speaker 1: Or at least that's the idea, because anyone who lives

18
00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,800
Speaker 1: in the real world will quickly realize that some groups

19
00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:18,760
Speaker 1: are far more functional and helpful than others. Sometimes this

20
00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,039
Speaker 1: is objectively true, and other times you just realize that

21
00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,160
Speaker 1: your life and career have moved to different places. As

22
00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,360
Speaker 1: I spend more time speaking, podcasting, and writing books, I'm

23
00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,720
Speaker 1: naturally spending less time pitching magazine articles. So groups devoted

24
00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,640
Speaker 1: to that will be less useful to me, even if

25
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,600
Speaker 1: they're massively useful to someone whose career is more focused

26
00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,200
Speaker 1: on that activity. And with anything, you have to put

27
00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:47,880
Speaker 1: effort in in order to get results out or as

28
00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,080
Speaker 1: how he writes, as you've likely realized at this point,

29
00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:56,120
Speaker 1: there is no magic time saving bullet for building strong

30
00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:00,280
Speaker 1: connections other than being smarter by taking control of the

31
00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:04,960
Speaker 1: networking process and your intended outcomes. So if you find

32
00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:09,200
Speaker 1: yourself naturally joining stuff for always saying yes when people ask,

33
00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:14,600
Speaker 1: you might try asking a few questions before you commit time, money,

34
00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:20,280
Speaker 1: or energy to a particular networking group. Here's what always suggests. First,

35
00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,720
Speaker 1: ask yourself why what is it you are trying to

36
00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,680
Speaker 1: achieve that is your goal and why is this the

37
00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:33,000
Speaker 1: group or community to help you achieve it. Second, what's

38
00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,880
Speaker 1: the focus for the group social or business? Long term

39
00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,000
Speaker 1: business growth or short term projects and how does that

40
00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:44,600
Speaker 1: align with your goal? Third, check the rules of engagement.

41
00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:49,280
Speaker 1: Can you reach your goal within their system or structure. Fourth,

42
00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:52,960
Speaker 1: what's the group's track record? Does it align with the

43
00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,320
Speaker 1: current promise of membership and lay a strong foundation for

44
00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:01,280
Speaker 1: ongoing delivery of its commitments to members? Five? Do the

45
00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,840
Speaker 1: individual members of the group share the networking culture of

46
00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:09,360
Speaker 1: the group? Six? Do you have the slightest interest in

47
00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:12,959
Speaker 1: or passion for the group beyond seeing it as a

48
00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,200
Speaker 1: vehicle to achieve your goal? And finally, is there a

49
00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,560
Speaker 1: platform online or off where the group can convene and

50
00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,960
Speaker 1: share ideas. These are all smart questions to ask. If

51
00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,480
Speaker 1: multiple people independently sing the praises of the networking group

52
00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,680
Speaker 1: and what it's helped them achieve, that's a good sign.

53
00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:35,680
Speaker 1: If your initial research has you finding that, yes, the

54
00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,240
Speaker 1: professional stuff is great, and you also love that there

55
00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,680
Speaker 1: are meaningful volunteer opportunities organized every month, ones you'd be

56
00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,880
Speaker 1: excited to participate in, well that's a good sign too.

57
00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,520
Speaker 1: A robust email discussion group or Facebook group indicates that

58
00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,560
Speaker 1: people put energy into this enterprise. But if there is

59
00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,720
Speaker 1: one loan post every week or so and it's always

60
00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,760
Speaker 1: a request, maybe best to move on and put your

61
00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:07,880
Speaker 1: energy elsewhere because time is limited, and that's true for

62
00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:12,280
Speaker 1: networking groups like anything else. So ask the right questions

63
00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:17,440
Speaker 1: before you just wind up disappointed. In the meantime, this

64
00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,840
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

65
00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:30,120
Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

66
00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,919
Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

67
00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,760
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

68
00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:42,400
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,

69
00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:46,400
Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

70
00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,400
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot

71
00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,320
Speaker 1: com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

72
00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:56,039
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

73
00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:04,920
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

74
00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,080
Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart

75
00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,520
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

76
00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:12,240
Speaker 1: favorite shows.