The Heretic Logo

By PASCAL FINETTE

The Heretic is a free dispatch delivering insights into what it takes to lead into & in the unknown. For entrepreneurs, corporate irritants and change makers. Raw, unfiltered and opinionated.

be radical.

Mar 24th, 2013 Share: Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Sundays are for Starters — Networking

Whoever said that the seventh day is for rest is out of his fucking mind:

After “Pitch Deck Sunday” ran its course The Heretic brings you “Sundays are for Starters” — a series of tips and tricks for those of us at the beginning of their careers.

Fret not — we still will be talking about pitch decks and the art of the pitch. It just feels like we covered the essentials (which you can read about in the archive) and we ought to move on to something new.

With that being said let’s dig into one of the questions I hear most often from young entrepreneurs and folks starting out in their careers: How do you build your network?

Guess what? The answer is simple: You have to put yourself out there. There is no magic to it, no shortcuts — it all comes down to good old blood & sweat and being a genuinely nice person (I can not stress the last point enough — trust me, you can put as much work into networking, if you’re an arrogant prick it won’t help).

Let me illustrate this with a story out of my own life: When Jane and I moved to London I literally didn’t know anybody there. I had a great network in Berlin and other parts of Germany. But London? Zero. What did I do? I went to tons of meetups, arranged coffee, lunch and coffee meetings with people I thought were interesting and always asked people I met whom else I should meet. And then I met them. Every time I met someone I followed up via email, expressed gratitude and offered to help in any form and capacity — never expecting anything in return. It took me probably half a year to build my network. I made a bunch of good friends; met great people (and some lunatics). And it was fun.

In a nutshell: Get out there. Don’t be afraid that you don’t have anything to offer. Be nice. Be curious. Offer to help and expect nothing in return. And always ask whom else you should meet. You will have build your network in no time.

Today is a good day to start. :)


1,289 Posts and Counting.
Don't miss the next post. Sign up now!