Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about smart questions to ask before you
Speaker 1: commit time or other resources to a networking group. This tip,
Speaker 1: like several others this week, comes from writer and investor J.
Speaker 1: Kelly Hoey's new book, Build Your Dream Network. Most of
Speaker 1: us know we should put time and effort into building
Speaker 1: our networks, but when life gets busy, this is easy
Speaker 1: to shove to the important but not urgent pile that
Speaker 1: doesn't get done. Consequently, people are always looking for quick
Speaker 1: ways to build a network. Professional groups seem to offer
Speaker 1: a convenient option. Rather than building connections one on one,
Speaker 1: you can plug into a whole group of people. You
Speaker 1: can access a group's expertise and connections whenever you need them.
Speaker 1: All you have to do is introduce yourself on a
Speaker 1: chatboard and voila job offers and new clients come streaming in.
Speaker 1: Or at least that's the idea, because anyone who lives
Speaker 1: in the real world will quickly realize that some groups
Speaker 1: are far more functional and helpful than others. Sometimes this
Speaker 1: is objectively true, and other times you just realize that
Speaker 1: your life and career have moved to different places. As
Speaker 1: I spend more time speaking, podcasting, and writing books, I'm
Speaker 1: naturally spending less time pitching magazine articles. So groups devoted
Speaker 1: to that will be less useful to me, even if
Speaker 1: they're massively useful to someone whose career is more focused
Speaker 1: on that activity. And with anything, you have to put
Speaker 1: effort in in order to get results out or as
Speaker 1: how he writes, as you've likely realized at this point,
Speaker 1: there is no magic time saving bullet for building strong
Speaker 1: connections other than being smarter by taking control of the
Speaker 1: networking process and your intended outcomes. So if you find
Speaker 1: yourself naturally joining stuff for always saying yes when people ask,
Speaker 1: you might try asking a few questions before you commit time, money,
Speaker 1: or energy to a particular networking group. Here's what always suggests. First,
Speaker 1: ask yourself why what is it you are trying to
Speaker 1: achieve that is your goal and why is this the
Speaker 1: group or community to help you achieve it. Second, what's
Speaker 1: the focus for the group social or business? Long term
Speaker 1: business growth or short term projects and how does that
Speaker 1: align with your goal? Third, check the rules of engagement.
Speaker 1: Can you reach your goal within their system or structure. Fourth,
Speaker 1: what's the group's track record? Does it align with the
Speaker 1: current promise of membership and lay a strong foundation for
Speaker 1: ongoing delivery of its commitments to members? Five? Do the
Speaker 1: individual members of the group share the networking culture of
Speaker 1: the group? Six? Do you have the slightest interest in
Speaker 1: or passion for the group beyond seeing it as a
Speaker 1: vehicle to achieve your goal? And finally, is there a
Speaker 1: platform online or off where the group can convene and
Speaker 1: share ideas. These are all smart questions to ask. If
Speaker 1: multiple people independently sing the praises of the networking group
Speaker 1: and what it's helped them achieve, that's a good sign.
Speaker 1: If your initial research has you finding that, yes, the
Speaker 1: professional stuff is great, and you also love that there
Speaker 1: are meaningful volunteer opportunities organized every month, ones you'd be
Speaker 1: excited to participate in, well that's a good sign too.
Speaker 1: A robust email discussion group or Facebook group indicates that
Speaker 1: people put energy into this enterprise. But if there is
Speaker 1: one loan post every week or so and it's always
Speaker 1: a request, maybe best to move on and put your
Speaker 1: energy elsewhere because time is limited, and that's true for
Speaker 1: networking groups like anything else. So ask the right questions
Speaker 1: before you just wind up disappointed. In the meantime, this
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four,
Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot
Speaker 1: com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.