What is in a word?

When you start or grow a business, there is one piece of advice you hear over and over again:

“You need to network.”

Join networking groups.
Go to events.
Meet people.
Hand out business cards.

For some people, that sounds exciting, but for many bookkeepers, who tend to be on the introverted side… maybe a little less so.

I enjoy talking to people. I enjoy meeting new people. But if I’m honest, I’m more on the introverted side than the extroverted side. The idea of networking always felt a bit scary, uncomfortable, and slightly contrived to me. So for years I quietly avoided it.

And yet something interesting happened.

Over time I naturally built connections with farmers, accountants, and other bookkeepers. People got to know what I do, how I work, and who I enjoy working with. Conversations happened. Relationships formed. They became by community.

And something interesting happened, those lovely people started referring clients to me.

Looking back, I realise I have been networking all along. 

In a very low-key way, and I didn’t call it networking.

I called it having conversations.
Helping people.
Building relationships.
Building a community.

Sometimes, when you give something a different name, it doesn’t feel scary anymore.

What’s in a name?

More than you would expect sometimes!

Will using different words make you look at networking differently? 🙂

Can this apply to other things in your life that make you uncomfortable, so you quietly avoid them? 🤔