Business Network
Q1.Definition Business Networking is the process of establishing a mutually beneficial relationship with other business people and potential clients or customers. The ever-increasing slews of business networking meet-and-greet events have given business networking a bad name. The key to true of business networking is the establishment of a mutually beneficial relationship, and that’s an incredibly rare event at the standard shake-hands-and-exchange-your-business-card events that are touted as business networking “opportunities”.
PurposeThe purpose of business networking is to increase business revenue in one way or another. The thickening of the bottom line can be immediately apparent, as in developing a relationship with a new client or develop over time, as in learning new business skills.
Types of networks:
Education/research organisations
Learning networks
Trade
Employers’ Federations
Regional/local organisations
Community organisations
Virtual networks
Q2. Benefit of networking for individuals (Explain how establishing and maintaining business networks can be of value to individuals.)Networking is the art of forming and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with others who are linked to your career, sector, market, region or specific interest. To maximise your benefits you need to be active in sharing your experience, knowledge and contacts with other network members. In the same way you can gain from your relationship with them. So for the business networks have to pay close attention to the places where social interaction can occur that may enrich us and our business. The potential networking opportunities that could benefit us over time such as:
Blogging – Passing on our own knowledge or contributing useful comments
Forums – Showcasing our skills, helping other, getting support and more
Conferences – Word of mouth, chatting with experts and learning new skills
Social Networks – Gaining support, friends and followers with links and content
Side Projects – Money earners, extra-curricular activities or contributory work
Mentoring – Potentially gaining potential employees or job opportunities
Meet-ups – Getting like-minded people together to interact and gain leads
Skill-swaps – Offering services for others in return
This is the sources has been pros and cons so it’s worth weighing up the cost and benefit ratio before undertaking a specific method of socializing. It’s also worth highlighting that it depends on the amount of time, effort and energy you to put into each that will determine what kind of response you get. Moreover, the benefits for business networking should become quite obvious, and the ideal response would be for more of those individuals who stay in the background, simply reading about what others are contributing to get involved themselves. Perhaps you might be shy or have little in the way of