College Alumni meetings. Industry events. Motivational speech conferences. Small Business Association gatherings. Local professionals clubs.
Gentle/Graceful Gangstas
Building your network, especially offline, is essential for business success. Interacting with those in similar or helpful fields gives you the ability to connect in a deeper way, rather than reading posts on a profile or website.
Those willing to take the initiative to actively meet and greet potential partners and vendors in person are also more likely to take their career and business seriously. This form of networking and interaction includes a face card and first impression builder. A firsthand conversation gives your more insight on the vibe you’ll have if you decide to partner with that individual.
“No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose to a team.” - Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn
“No matter what your line of work, staying successful means working well with other people, whether they are clients, customers, employees, investors, partners, or outside vendors.
When you think five moves ahead, you prevent your ego from telling you that you can do it all alone. Don’t assume that if you achieved a lot on your own in the past, you’ll be able to achieve even more by yourself in the future … I needed the right team to be able to make scaling my business become a reality.”
How to choose your business partners and consigliere
How to improve employee retention (create “golden handcuffs”)
How to get your people to perform at peak capacity
How to hire and fire team members without creating enemies
“What Benefits Program do You Offer?”
“To take the next step from solopreneur or side hustler, you’d better have a good answer to this question:
Why should someone work with you?”
What benefits are you currently offering to others?
In what way do people improve by associating with you?
How many lives have you changed positively in the past year?
“Everyone Needs a Consigliere:
Finding Trusted Advisors
Even the greatest entrepreneurs aren’t solo acts. For many reasons, they require help … Their knowledge is limited to certain areas. They need other perspectives to help shape their own.”
“Give Me a Piece of It:
Granting Equity to Build a Team
If you own a business, you may have reservations about granting equity.
The only justification for saying no is that you are thinking short-term. If you’re still protesting, thinking that everyone in the company will want the same thing, your short-term thinking is digging you into a logic nightmare. Think about it: What could be better than everyone in your company wanting to generate more profit to increase both their wealth and yours?”
“The term ‘golden handcuffs,’ originated in 1976, means that as long as people stay with your company, they’ll continue to get their gold.
Above all, remember: Treat your people right, or someone else will.”
“Six Techniques for Becoming an Effective Terminator
Fire gently
Get right to the point
Be firm yet gentle
Acknowledge the other person’s feelings
Have a good exit strategy
Talk about the person’s strengths”
“A company of one has a limited impact. No one builds a billion-dollar company on his or her own.”
Patrick Bet-David does an amazing job of explaining that the benefits of having a team is better than managing business by yourself or solo. The references mentioned are from his book “Your Next Five Moves: Mastering the Art of Business Strategy.”