Whether you are a new small business, start-up, or consultant, it is important to gain clients and customers as quickly as possible. Initial venture capital funding or personal savings accounts will likely decrease over time, so it is vital to generate at least some revenue from the beginning.
But we know that it's hard. Advertising and marketing, of course, are expensive. However there has always been a tried-and-true method that, in most cases, costs only time and effort: Personal networking.
At American Executive Centers, we strive to help those who use our office space, virtual office, and business-support services in any way that we can. And an important part involves networking. In just one example, we have ice-cream socials that bring together our clients and allow them the opportunity to meet each other and establish new business relationships. But there is more to networking than simply enjoying vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry on these end of summer days. Networking itself can be hard and stressful - especially if one is not very extroverted - so we wanted to offer some general tips and local resources for our clients here in Philadelphia.
General Networking Tips
Philadelphia Networking-Resources
For better or worse, the old adage is true: It is often who you know. Most people realize this fact; the hard part is knowing more people. We hope that these tips and resources will help. Of course, we invite people to offer further advice in the comments. What networking methods have worked for you?