The Power of Networking for Small Business - 905business.com

By Andrew Sauveur

Advertising. For some it’s a four letter word, and for many, it’s a confusing and frustrating riddle that is very difficult to solve.

Personally, I’ve tried good old fashion walk and knock, knocking on doors around jobs that we were working on, to understandably mixed results (no one likes a person knocking on their door). I’ve tried Newspaper ads, which were expensive and did not work, (I bought 6 months of ads, with very little response). Kijiji was good response, however, many of the quote requests I received had also spoken with 10 other contractors on Kijiji, and that made the process very time consuming.

So then I tried sponsoring events, and Radio ads. Neither garnered the required ROI to make them worthwhile.

It wasn’t until I actually started networking that I saw real results. Meeting people face to face in a comfortable setting made an incredible difference. Sometimes over breakfast, sometimes over coffee, but whatever it was, getting to know someone in person resulted in a much better ROI.

So what does that mean for the small business owner? Get out and meet people! Even though you’re busy, even though you have a million things to do, make networking a priority in your advertising game.

Here are some excellent resources to look into in Durham region. Contact drew@roofguys.ca if you want more information.

www.bnigtaplus.ca – I belong to a chapter in Ajax, it works REALLY well! Come check us out every Tuesday morning at Allandale golf course at 7 am, breakfast is on me!

www.authenticnetworker.com . Mia and Andy Torr put on great events that are highly regarded.

Boss’s networking events, great events put on throughout Durham. Check them out on Facebook

and many more!

Get up, get dressed, show up, and make it happen.