The 5 People You Meet on Biznik

There are certain people who can help you build the business of your dreams. You will find those people on Biznik.

How Successful Business Owners Get That Way
I am very fortunate to work with some highly successful business owners. Recently I came across a pattern that keeps reoccurring in conversation with them. It is something I believe will be helpful to you. Imagine having everything you need to build the business of your dreams available to you right now. How quickly would you want to implement the ideas and put in the place the resources to grow your business faster? The common thread I noticed in these successful clients is that they ask questions and actively seek out and find the right kind of people, as an informal network, to move their business forward faster.

Questions and Connections
I worked a person who had managed a business for 11 years and was given the opportunity to buy the business. She didn’t have a penny to her name and didn’t have an idea how to run a business as an owner. I was one of the advisors she went to for help. She asked a lot of questions and wasn’t shy about asking people for their ideas and input before she made a decision. She successfully raised the money she needed and bought the business. The sales of the company had been flat for the last 11 years while she managed it under the former owner. Within 7 months of owning the company sales grew by $1,000,000. The sales leveled off for 22 months while she reduced her payroll by $240,000 per year. In the last 5 months her revenues have grown by another $1 million dollars and she only had to add 2 employees. When asked how she could grow so fast, she replied, “I ask a lot of questions.”

Three Types of Connections
There are three types of connections that my clients talk about when referencing the help they get from others:
1. Community – Friends and peers who support you in the ups and downs of business.
2. Customers - People who purchase and view your products and services as a solution.
3. Consultants – Experts, coaches, & mentors that give you needed information to move ahead.

Almost every week I hear experiences of clients who are able to get access to needed equipment, information, employees, customers, money, and help because of their connections. There really is power in who you know.

The Problem of Isolation
Growing your business doesn’t have to be difficult. With enough of the right kind of community, customers, and consultants you can get the ideas, resources, and people you need to reach the vision you hold for your company. There are two big things slowing down the growth of almost any business that have to do with isolation:
1. Ignorance – What you don’t know slows you down.
2. Access – There is someone who knows how to get what you need to move ahead.

Isolation leads to less informed decisions and a struggle for resources that causes a business to stay in a rut for much longer than necessary.

How Questions and Connections Move You Forward
By asking questions and having a good network of peers you will be clued into trends, insights, resources, and opportunities that can be beneficial for your business. An informal network of referral sources will create a constant stream of customers. An informal network of consultants will bring you the insights you need to develop and build your business without having to attend the events, go to the seminars, read the books, and or participate in all of the local meetings that you may not have time for. Your network will give you ideas that you could get in any other way. My clients often test their ideas on the people in their informal network before they spend a lot of time and money implementing them.

The 5 People You Meet on Biznik
For most independent businesses, finding five people in each category seems to be about the right number to manage and keep a close relationship with. Depending on your situation the real number might be a lower or a higher than five. If you are ambitious enough to get more than five, that is good. Social scientists find that the human mind is capable of managing and keeping track of one hundred fifty relationships without much strain. By setting goals that lead for your business, you can identify the type of people you need to connect with to reach your goals.

Find 5 Peers
Peers are people who make up your personal community. Peers typically share your values, life direction, and/or your goals. Your community of peers nurtures and supports you while you nurture and support them. These are mutually beneficial relationships with a natural give and take. You don’t have to refer clients to them and they don’t have to refer clients to you. No pressure, just fun and sharing.

You will easily find peers by attending and hosting Biznik events. I am amazed at the talented people I have come to know as peers through Biznik events. What is great is how easy Biznik makes it to get to their website, call them, or send a message or referral. Biznik really is business networking that doesn’t suck! It actually makes it easy.

Find 5 Referral Sources
I was recently working with a direct mail service. They were struggling to get clients and they were losing money. I asked them this question, “What other types of businesses see your same customers and would refer them if they knew about you? They listed several types of businesses. When I spoke with them one month later, they told me they were working weekends and evenings just to keep up with all the work that has been pouring in. They had found a couple of printers that really needed a connection with a direct mail service. Who needs to know about you?

By the way, all of us reading this article would like to help you through Biznik. It is important that you help us get to know you better by jazzing up your Biznik profile. Start meeting people. Sign up for the active Biznik membership so you can see who is visiting your website. Sign up for the supporting Biznik membership to increase your visibility. Make it easy for us get to know you and refer to you! Start by telling us who your customers are and see if we have the same type of customer in common.

Find 5 Mentors
When you ask someone to help you with advice, ideas, or their expertise you are doing them as big of a favor as they are doing you. I can’t think of anyone who wasn’t flattered and appreciative of being asked to help. It seems the more you help others the more you are benefited. (The universe seems to be set up that way.) Paid consultants are good and important, but the kind of mentor who takes you under their wing and works with you in a one-on-one fashion to solve problems or get to the next level of business is the best.

Think of your business as a boat that gets you from here to there. Mentors help you improve the boat. Maybe today your business is a free floating raft. With some ideas, work, and development you can add rudders, sails, motors, enlarge the boat, and speed it up so it is more like a luxury yacht for your customers. Build the kind of business customers rave about. Mentors do that for you.

Take the “5 People” Test
Stop for a moment and write down the 5 business peers, 5 referral sources, and 5 mentors you have now. Do you have five? Are they the right five? When I did this, I realized that I am one person short on peers, I am two people short on referral sources, and I am three people short on mentors. It’s time for me to get busy; I want to succeed early too.

How to Use the Biznik Members Tab
When I meet with clients that need to increase their sales, I take them to the Biznik Members Tab. When you click on the tab you see “Browse Members by Category,” and under the listed categories you see a link to “More Categories >.” Depending on your community, there can be quite a few people listed by business type. If your business is not limited geographically then you can use other cities as well. This has been a great starting place for my clients to meet people who can refer business to them. I’ve been hearing back quite a few success stories. Biznik really makes it easy to find, contact, and keep track of your connections.

By asking the right questions of the right people, your business will move forward faster!