Have you ever heard of the expression, “it’s not about what you know, but who you know”? For entrepreneurs, the people you meet can potentially shape the identity of your business.   You may find the perfect business connection through a mutual colleague, or by you yourself getting out into the community; the point is – you can’t run your business alone.  It is important is to find strong supportive networks, so you can cultivate great business with quality relationships.

A Good Network

While spending time building your network can seem taxing, this can be time well spent.  A Harvard study found that 85% of business success comes from people skills that are used to build relationships. Networking can bring in relationships that are mutual.  Meaning, you do not have to skirt around the intention that everyone is there for a business relationship.  It’s important to exercise the 70/30 rule – spend 70% of your time actively learning about others and how you can connect them within the business and 30% answering questions about you and what you do.  Listening to others and their ideas can be a great asset to your business on ways to improve, bring innovation, and possibly build power-partner relationships.

Be Trustworthy

If you want to build solid business relationships, be ‘you’ are and steer away from a false persona (especially online).  Be willing to accept others as they are and seek out natural connections you make with people.  Look for signs of things you have in common or if your communication is effortless.  Connecting your personality with others can act as a catalyst with your business relationships.

Hiring The Right Employees

Another key to growing your business internally is hiring the right employees.  It is essential to hire workers with diversity that possess different views and opinions.  This will guarantee that team meeting are full of different ideas and solutions to many topics your business will face. During your recruitment phase, a key characteristic to look for is a person having profound respect for diversity and fresh ideas.  Once you have a good team in place, fresh ideas and innovation will come naturally.   In addition, the biggest challenges that come up in your business will feel more untroublesome.

Expectations

As you develop professional relationships with others, keep an open mind and try to let go of your expectations.  It’s ok to have a realistic idea of what you seek out of a business relationship, however never assume preconceived expectations of what you want.  There must be mutual respect for what each person does and acceptance of who they are rather than what you want them to be.  In turn, this will create great trust and relationships that are meaningful and profitable.

To building significant business relationships!