Flush the Toilet: Young Entrepreneurs

Never before in my experience with the internet have I been able to network so easily. I can now truly understand that the “NET” in the word internet must really stand for networking. Just think about it: how easy is it to communicate and network with other entrepreneurs on the net? It’s so easy –especially with mediums such as blogs and social networking profiles.

For years I used to think that the only means of networking with people would have to come from meeting them in the physical world, and even that was pretty hard. How many times have you tried to contact someone by telephone to set up a date to talk business and all you got was their voicemail? How many times have to called a company to try and create a partnership with them only to get a “call back another time” or “he’s never here so don’t call back”?

I’m sure that we’ve all encountered the harsh realities of networking in the physical world. Not to say that being social and going out to meet people is a bad thing, because it’s not – it’s great! I love going out and meeting new faces and making new contacts, all entrepreneurs should.

But the entrepreneur must also take into account all of the pitfalls and inefficiencies of social networking. Some people devote their whole lives to going out and trying to find that one right person that can help their business. Well, looking for that one special person is cool, but if that’s all you’re doing and if you’re not leveraging your search by also using the internet, then you are wasting valuable time, my friend.

You can’t neglect the immense power of reaching out to someone over the internet. Go ahead and shoot another entrepreneur an email if you like their blog, site, service, whatever. From my experiences, nine out of ten entrepreneurs will reply to you within a few days, no matter how big or “famous” they are.

Here are a few tips:
• Search through various blogs that relate to your business and try and figure out ways to create strategic partnerships with the authors of the blog and send them an email introducing yourself and your plans.
• Post insightful comments on forums, blogs, and various sites that deal with your business, you never know who will reply with an idea for you.
• If you’re looking for advice, then don’t be afraid to write an email to the founder or blog owner of the site. Trust me, most will reply and be happy to help.

That’s what I love about entrepreneurs, especially the young ones like myself: so many of us are really out to help one another; there’s these sense of altruism that can’t be ignored throughout the community and I simply love it. It makes me want to help more and more people and reach out to as many people as I can.

The internet is simply the best networking medium known to man, hands down. Everyday, entrepreneurs are meeting other entrepreneurs over the net, resulting in partnerships, link exchanges, advice sharing, troubleshooting, brainstorming, you name it, it’s happening.

Please don’t be one of those people who “wait” to meet the right person. Forget waiting. Start doing. The internet is there for the taking, so grab that baby and embrace all of the resources and opportunities as you can.

Share your thoughts: How do you network?