Lots of people that I meet have tried business networking but given it up because they didn’t get any business from it in the first few months. I think the problem is that they have the wrong attitude and expectations of networking.
Personally I network for lots of reasons:

• to meet people, working alone can be a lonely job

• to find out what other people do and how we might work together

• to learn new things

• and finally to build up the trust of my colleagues so that they will feel happy to refer clients to me

There is nothing more off putting to meet someone at an even and for them to grill you to see if they can sell you something or, worse than that, let you say your name and what you do and then just walk off because they believe that you will not buy what they are offering!

So what are your expectations and feelings about networking?

Next time, what is the right way to network.

According to a study conducted by Yorkshire Bank thousands of small business owners don’t know who to turn to for advice after going it alone.

They started out looking for personal and financial freedom but this often disappears when reality hits.

57 percent of sole traders and small business owners set up their business initally because they wanted flexible working and improved work/life balance. A further 20% did it for financial control.

More than a third who set up in business to be their own boss admitted to missing having a sounding board when they were making decisions.

So, if you are a small business owner yourself do you agree with these findings? Let us know!

When you start out in business or decide to change your current website it is so easy to think of doing it yourself. There are lots of different websites out there professing that you can build your own website quickly. These are fantastic for putting together a personal site or one for a local club but do they really give the right impression for your business?

As a business you need to put across a professional image, remember people deal with businesses that they feel they know and trust. Your website can be a key element in that relationship building, especially when you are dealing with customers/clients that you may never meet. Also, when people meet you and you give them a business card most will take a look at your website. Their impression of it could be the difference between them considering you as a supplier or not.

It can seem to be more cost effective to do all of the work yourself, saving your valuable start up capital and profits. Now, lets think about how much doing the work will cost you. Your time is your most valuable asset, learning how to develop a website is a time consuming job, even to do a really simple website. Ensuring a site works quickly, is optimised for search engines and has all of the features you really want is quite a complex process. The fact is that the time you spend learning site development will never be repaid. You will only remember those skills if you use them regularly and with your own site will you use those skills enough?

It may seem a huge investment to get a website developer in to create your site but how much time and money will you save by doing so? Another way to look at it is, would someone with a few hours of practice be able to do your job well? I imagine the answer to that is ‘no’, most of us have spent many hours, and often years, learning our profession.

My advice would be to let a professional do your website, it will save you time and, in the long run, money.

It has taken us a while to finish the redesign of our website, please feel free to give it a look and let us know what you think. Even as previous web developers it is a very time consuming job, so, our first subject is going to be – Is it really worth your time developing your own site.

We will be posting a new article every few days, sometimes a comment from someone else, sometimes a subject of our own. We would love to hear from you on topics you’d like to discuss, and to read your comments on our posts so please do say what you feel.