Find Like – Minded Individuals
For just about anything that you may be interested in doing, there is likely someone who has done it before. They may have done it before successfully or unsuccessfully but either way, there is something to be learned from their experiences. I can’t overstate the value of communicating with people who are doing or are interested in doing the same thing that you are. I recently began a business as a Notary Loan Signing Agent in California. This is a job that requires you as a notary to witness people, usually borrowers purchasing or refinancing a house, sign all required documents. For transactions such as this it is critical that they are accurate. Inevitably however, there comes a document that is new or just hard to understand. In my business, I have been able to create a group for notaries who are all doing the same type of work. As such, if I get stuck I have not just one person but a group of people I can call and rely on for advice. This arrangement helps me be successful and helps them as well. These types of arrangements are found all of the time in professional membership associations and organizations. But it doesn’t have to be that formal. Find people around you with similar interests and create a way through group chat or social media to keep in contact. This mutually beneficial arrangement will ensure that you have the best chance at success.
 
Don’t Be Afraid to Share Your Thinking
One of the things that stops people from networking effectively is a fear of sounding stupid. Or to put it more eloquently, a fear of not sounding smart. The truth is, everyone has some level of fear when doing something they haven’t done before. And the people who are most vocal about what they are about to do, aren’t trying to sound smart, they’re looking for feedback. You can have the best idea in the world, or the worst idea in the world but if you never share it with anyone, you won’t know which it is. If you talk through your ideas with the like-minded people you identified above, they can help you by pointing out flaws in your logic or suggesting other angles that you never thought of. It really isn’t possible for one person to know everything about any one thing. There will always be someone else who through their own different experiences has a different perspective that can help you see your way through a potential pitfall. The key is to let go of the fear of sharing ideas and be willing to learn from the feedback you get.
Keep an Open Mind
Speaking of feedback, this last point is really, really critical. There is no point in getting the opinion of others if you are so stuck in your ways that you don’t really listen. In the process of networking and sharing ideas with others, there are going to be times that you hear things you don’t want to hear. Maybe someone tried the same idea you had an had a negative outcome. Maybe someone tried the idea you have and had an extremely positive outcome. In either case, this information could be enough to make you ditch your idea all together. Don’t. Keep an open mind. If someone tries your idea and has a negative outcome, learn all you can about what they did and what went wrong. You may be able to tweak the process and make it a success. If someone tried your idea and was hugely successful, don’t shelve it. There is always room for another player in the game of life. Find out how their idea is similar and how it is different from yours. Then tweak the idea if necessary, to appeal to a different demographic, regional area or even just another variation of the product. The point is that if you look for it, you will always be able to find a reason NOT to do something. The path to success is looking past those reasons and focusing on the reasons why you should.
