• Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

Don’t Neglect Your Networks

By Glenn Muske

Columbia IL sidewalkDo you get caught up in daily life? Are there things that you want to do but just don’t get done.

Such is the life of a small business owner. It never seems like there is enough time to get to all of the tasks you desire.

How often do you tell yourself that it will be slower next month or next quarter? And when that time goes by, you tell yourself I will get it done next month. But again, you miss the deadline.

It happens to us all. Yet there are some things that are just too important to let go by.

One crucial task you can’t overlook is the development and nurturing of your personal network.

Networks have always been an important success factor. Today, they are being recognized as that as well as the source of collaborative learning, new ideas, and problem solving.

I suspect I am like you in that I attend networking events, hand out my business cards (the #1 tool you have), and give my short elevator speech.

Where I struggle is with the follow-up, probably like many of you. The event is not where the rich rewards of networking are found. It is in the relationships built afterwards.

Plus over time, I often fail to keep that relationship intact.

It doesn’t take much to keep things going.  You probably see your network contact on a regular basis. Take a moment to say hi and have a short exchange. It’s important to see other people but it’s just as important to maintain existing relationships.

And if you don’t see your contact on a regular basis, drop them an email. Or check out their LinkedIn page to see what new things they are involved with and then comment. Or maybe you see or remember some important events they are involved in. Send them a short hand-written note. That technology will never grow old.

And if you want to share some tips and resources they might enjoy, print off a copy of the NDSU Small Business newsletter and give it to your contact or send it their way. Or encourage them to check out the Small Biz Survival website. (Shameless plugs)

So in the next month or two, RECONNECT!  The benefits are many.

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Glenn Muske

Glenn Muske is an independent expert on rural small business, working as GM Consulting – Your partner in achieving small business success. He provides consulting, and writes articles for county extension agents and newspapers across North Dakota. Previously, he was the Rural and Agribusiness Enterprise Development Specialist at the North Dakota State University Extension Service – Center for Community Vitality.
  • Change - December 26, 2018
  • Regular Customers Form Your Base - December 12, 2018
  • Disasters: Is Your Small Business Ready? - December 5, 2018
  • Business Startup: Steps to Remember - November 28, 2018
  • HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM SMALL BIZ SURVIVAL - November 21, 2018
  • Finding a Business Idea - November 14, 2018
  • Does Your Networking Have Punch? - November 7, 2018
  • Build Tomorrow’s Community Business Sector - October 24, 2018
  • Are You Changing? - October 17, 2018
  • Is it really a deal? - October 10, 2018

March 9, 2016 Filed Under: rural, Small Biz 100, success Tagged With: connections, networking, success, success factors

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Partners

We partner with campaigns and organizations that we think best benefit rural small businesses. Logo with "Shop Indie Local" Move Your Money, bank local, invest local Multicolor logo with text that says "Global Entrepreneurship Week" Save Your Town logotype

Best of Small Biz Survival

A shopkeeper and a customer share a laugh in a small store packed full of interesting home wares.

How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores

Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors

Wide view of a prairie landscape with a walk-through gate in a fence

Tourism: Make the most of scant remains and “not much to see” sites with a look-through sign

Holyoke Hummus Company cart

How one food business keeps adapting, from table to cart to truck, to restaurant and back again

Make extra money from extra workspace: co-working and 3rd workplaces in small towns

Newspaper story headline says, "Made in Dorrigo Markets a bustling success"

Boost your maker economy with a “Made in” day

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2023 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in