Have you been ignoring Linked In? Did you put up a basic profile some years ago and are now embarrassed when people want to connect with you? Does your profile represent who you are today, your areas of expertise and how you can add value?
LinkedIn is a global community of professionals and a platform for showcasing your personal brand, generating business opportunities, and keeping in touch with business connections and referral partners. Continue reading LinkedIn – do you have a compelling profile?→
Building relationships is critical for doing business. Not just locally, but especially when taking your product or service overseas. There’s a lot of information around about HOW to do business, particularly with a country like China, but WHO can you reach out to for internationalising your business?
For many, finding the right connections is not easy. Especially for smaller businesses, who may not have the strength of big brand to open doors. Many SMEs don’t have high level business connections, and are unsure how to access government support.
If you are looking to take your business international, it’s just like setting up locally, but there are so many more factors to consider. Many of these, particularly for Asia, you may not even be aware of. This is why it is important to work with those who have relevant expertise, or have trodden the path before.
Do you go to lots of events? Hear great ideas but then can’t remember or don’t put into action?
These days it is not uncommon to see audience members on their devices during a speech. We used to think that was rude, but I love the anecdote of the speaker that called out an audience member who was actually tweeting how amazing the speaker was!
Do you have connections you have successfully worked with, have contributed to your business or been a great mentor or supporter? Would you like to recommend them but don’t know where to start?
” Networking is being part of a business community where the objective is to build relationships with a view to helping others. Rather than looking at what you can GET from a connection, look at what you can GIVE, how you may be able to help and add value” .