Building Your Professional Network

Creating your own group of peers and professionals is a great way to ensure your success as a virtual assistant. One of the most popular pieces of advice for new virtual assistants is to network every day. Unfortunately, it often appears to be one of the least practiced- and to the detriment of many a new VA! Perhaps it is too vague for many to put into action effectively. Let's explore this networking notion a little further.

Networking is beneficial for several reasons. First, it can provide valuable leads for your service. You may be wondering why else would someone network? If you are only looking for business leads, then you are sadly cutting yourself short of the many benefits that networking has to offer. When you form relationships with your peers and professionals in related industries, you are bound to have an incredible collaborative knowledge base at your disposal. You can bounce ideas off each other, ask for and give advice, team up on large projects, not to mention form some of the best friendships of your life.

Sounds great, I know. Perhaps this is where I should mention there is a small catch- it doesn't work overnight. Networking is about building relationships. We all know that takes some time and attention. Frankly, this is where many would-be networkers drop the ball. They talk to a few people and ask for referrals (good start) but then never talk to those people again. I would much rather refer someone I actually know, as opposed to some stranger that came up to me one day and then disappeared forever. To be effective, you are going to have to stay in touch with the people you have chosen to network with (and perhaps even refer them to someone you know).

And who shall these people be? For your inner circle, you should choose a few people from your industry to network with. They will help you to run your business more effectively, and they can sometimes even contract some of their overflow work to you. Most importantly, they have succeeded in establishing their businesses and will have a certain earned wisdom that they may be willing to share with you. While you are looking for peers to connect with, it may not be a bad idea to find a mentor, also.

You will also want to include others from a related field. These people will not be your competitors but will understand your industry enough to be of value as well. You may enjoy reciprocal referrals (you refer me and I'll refer you). For instance, if you know someone who owns a print shop, you can refer people who need business cards. They, in return, may be able to refer you to professionals they know who could use a virtual assistant. It can really become a symbiotic relationship.

Since networking is an ongoing process of building relationships as assisting one another, it should become part of every day. Mention what you do to everyone you meet and strike up a conversation with- that person in line ahead of you at the grocery store, next to you in the waiting room, the new neighbors that just moved in down the street... everyone! You never know when you will run into someone to network with!

Hopefully that takes some of the mystery out of beginning to network. Volumous books could be (and have been) written on the subject, but I hope this is enough to get you started thinking about building your professional support network. As I always say, there is no time like the present!