What Even is Networking?

To me, networking is something I do to advance my career and business. It is 90% professionally-based to me, and 10% based on random things like my hobbies for example (MMA/Boxing, cooking, etc.). Professionally-based or not, when I network, I’m doing it to get better at something., and it’s usually to advance my career and to get ahead in my job or my business. Again this is purely my own perspective of what networking is. Here’s a few points that I believe in:

There is no single, correct perspective of what networking is.

And also - if someone is telling you that you’re not achieving your goals because you’re not ‘networking’ enough - that’s bullshit. Networking helps. It is purely a tool and it CAN be a key to reaching your goals, but it is not a single solution.

Networking to me is fun and I consider it a hobby - there’s nothing more exciting to me than to work a room at a happy hour or event, and I can’t wait for Covid to be done so I can return to going to in-person events where I can talk, eat, and trade business cards (I keep them on me just in case, and no, I’m not that much of a douchebag to carry them in a monogrammed case). I recognize that this might be an unusual hobby or activity, but that’s who I am and that’s why I decided to start this service - to help other people get better at this thing called networking.

Whatever your definition of networking is, it’s probably right. You’ll be alright as long as you stay open to meeting new people, listening, and learning.