In business, it is often said that success is determined not by what you know but by who you know. Additionally, the level of your success is determined greatly by the quality of your relationships with others.

While for some, networking is something that comes naturally and effortlessly, for others it is an area where significant improvements are needed. Small, consistent improvements over time will open up far more opportunities and resources to you.

Whether you are a seasoned connector or someone who needs to jumpstart their relationship building, here are 25 essential tips to ensure your networking success.

Start before your need it
The best time to start building your network is yesterday. The second best time is today. Relationships are cultivated over time. Begin by making networking a priority now. It is a simple habit that you can start now that will pay great dividends in the future.

Learn about people’s goals
The best way to have an impact is to add value directly where it is most important to the other person. Find out what the people in your network are looking for and look for ways that you can help achieve them. Everyone wants to be friends with someone they know is on their side.

Connect people you do know
Use your networking not only to benefit yourself but also to benefit others. Connect people in your network that could provide value to one another. For example, if one of your associates is in need of a web designer and you happen to know one, connect the two people together. Your two associates benefit from the business arrangement and you benefit from the good will developed.

Give more than you expect to receive
If you want to build trust in your relationships, always seek to add more value to the people in your networks. When people are consistently benefiting from a relationship, it moves their desire to connect with you more. Focus on the giving and you will surely get what you want.

Be genuinely interested
Be sincere in your dealings with others and focus more on being interested than interesting. People love to talk about themselves and the more you understand about someone, the more you will be able to speak to them in a way that is appealing.

Always follow up
When making new contacts, make sure to always follow up. A quick email or phone call within 24 hours of meeting someone can lay the foundation for a fruitful relationship. It doesn’t take much effort but it can make a world of difference.

Know people in different worlds
Don’t focus solely on your own niche or industry. Instead, diversify and reach out to as many people as possible. Having people from a wide variety of fields in your network helps you become the master connector (#3) and provide more value.

Learn to listen
The skill of listening seems simple enough but in experience, it is a rare skill to find. The secret is getting out of your head. Put your complete focus on the speaker instead of thinking about what you are going to say when they are done talking. Try to really understand where they are coming from.

Be authentic
People crave authenticity in business. Many people are starved of it because the amount of manipulation and politics that can go in an interaction. Hold yourself to a higher standard and you will stand out from the crowd.

Take the initiative
Play a very active role in networking. Be the person who starts the conversation. Be quick to introduce yourself. Also, be the first person to offer help when it is required. Developing the habit of initiative will make your networking efforts easier and more fruitful.

Always stay in touch
The major determinant in whether or not a business relationship develops of fizzles is staying in contact. Remember to regularly check in with your associates with a quick email or phone call. Regular contact will allow the relationship to develop slowly over time.

Be personal
Take the extra time to add a personal touch. A handwritten card says a lot more than an email. Although this may require extra time and effort on your part, it will stand out in the eyes of others.

Be humble
Nothing turns people off quicker than an arrogant attitude. Humility, on the other hand, is very commendable. Being humble will keep you grounded even when your network starts to grow. When you reach the top, it will ensure that keep doing the things that got you there.

Always say thanks
Thank you notes are a quick and easy way to connect with someone. Plus, the actual card serves as a reminder of you every time the other person sees it.

Do your homework
When contacting people, make sure you are well informed about their situation. You should know, for example, if they recently released a new product or moved to a new office.

Express your enthusiasm
Remember that passion is magnetic. When you are excited about what you are talking about, other people will become excited as well. Your enthusiasm will give you a charismatic presence that will make your memorable.

Promote your purpose more than your self
When promoting to others, put the majority of your focus on the mission and purpose of your business. Although it can be fun to toot your own horn, set your ego aside and focus on the real purpose: your company’s ability to deliver value to people.

Join associations
Professional associations are a great way to network with people. Use the internet to research associations in your area and make sure to attend the next meeting. The people you will meet there will also be eager network.

Attend conferences
Conferences are a great way to meet like-minded people. The speakers can be good, but the real value is in the people. Do some internet research and find a conference you can attend in the near future.

Leverage the networks of others
Use the networks of others to expand your own network. Go out of your way to introduce yourself to people you have only heard of through an associate. Make this a regular habit and your network will start growing faster than you can keep up with.

Act with integrity
Stay true to your principles and hold them above all else. While this may lead to some short term setbacks, over the long term, it will build a lot of trust in your character.

Build close relationships
The closer your relationship is with someone, the more they will be willing to help you out when you need it. Unfortunately, there are no quick fix techniques for this. Close relationships take time and effort.

Ask for what you want
Don’t be timid or shy. Be direct and ask for what you want. There is no other way to get it. Remember: the answer to every request that you don’t make is no.

Create a personal board of advisors
Focus on building a team of experts that you contact quickly for advice in each of the major areas of your business. They will prove to be priceless when you have difficult business decisions to make.

Write things down
As your network grows, it can be difficult to keep track of all the information about your associates. Make sure your write things down and can readily access information about any one of your business contacts.

Ok so as you may or may not know – I have been labeled as a Young Business Entrepreneur. I have started a few companies, run a few business’s and have put my fingers into a fair few pies. The new clothing label which I am working in conjunction with will kick off by the end of the year. But one new start up that I am partnering in is Red Shark which will be a brand new Web Development and Media Management business. Specialising in site design for the Audio/music market – and our first client is Lowie from the hot 30. I will populate our details further but expect to see Red Shark out there within the next few weeks!!

Prior to Yr 7 I used to be extremely spotaneous but then goin to Oakhill kinda changed that – I needed to plan well in advance, some times 2 weeks notice wasnt sufficent enough for ppl to say hey chris you want to do something – this was because as some ppl say I used to be a “social slut” but that hasnt changed much ;p

Now days Ive managed to find some sort of a balance where I can be spontaneous and also jugle a planned diary all in one go – impressive you say and yes I am a man – I can multi-task OMG ;p.
Recently Ive found myself creating more and more contigency plans – maybe its a sign of old age (adults reading this will scoff – whats this little shit saying about old age?????)

I now make plans and then plans for if those plans fail – kind of like a disaster recovery plan! If something goes up shit creek you always need an escape route so you can live to fight another day, but what happens if you corner yourself and get surrounded where you cant fight your way out?

Ok ppl so from time to time we work in unfamiliar conditions, where language, culture, morals, and/or business practices are different from what we are used to, so the potential for things to go up shit creek exist.

There are heaps of things that can go wrong and its stupid to freak and obsess too much about any one of them. Instead, a good contingency plan allows you to respond to whatever happens. Good contingency planning is important to withstanding hell breaking loose – its real value is that it can often prevent something from growing into a disaster.

The time to figure out what to do is not when all hell is breaking loose around you. To be effective you should:

Be prepared before the event
Have it all in writing
Have things distributed to the right people
Follow it!!

These basic elements won’t prevent trouble, but they will give you a handle on how to cope with trouble if it arises. No one has ever died from getting honest information or too much information. Remember, if you can anticipate a problem, you can prepare for it.

What the you say – well how about I say that this is the new virus out there on the market – my sources have told me to be very aware – and in today’s soceity its scary to see we still have people unsecured out there.

Mind you while I was last in Melbourne I used an unsecured network to browse the web – but thats another story! So the GPcode ransomware is the new virus out there on the market – or should I say Trojan? This latest virus uses 1024 bit encryption to lock your computer and hold it up for Ransom – think of a Die Hard movie but worse!

It would take 15 million computers a full year to run through the encryption thats being used and yet people arent running around and screaming yet – well we should be aware that its out there and for those interested in joining me and everyone else who knows something about hacking / networking / encryption go to the following site Kasperky SOS GPCode 

If you are interested in joining my Alias is Proxy Cell so let me know by comment and get everyone to help as much as you can!

A few months back some of you may know that I did make an attempt at starting up a blog. This blog caused some controversy and was soon abandoned. In that blog I created a completely separate alias – new email address to offset emails and then a new bounce back email address in case the first account was hacked.

Yes I ventured into deep waters – and when I say Mafia I dont mean the Sicilian which I can easily be mistaken for ;p

I received an email from a lovely person and thought ok *SPAM* lets launch our own attack – so I started the replying and also launched the blog at the same time so we bounced back emails for a little while – and every email I would put up on the blog.

The first 3 days I had 95 hits and 5 comments. After that *He who shall not be named* influenced me to change my decision to not pursue the SPAMER because it generally releates to the Russian Mafia.. Ok so I promoptly stopped – thennnnnnnnnnnn I researched it – and a number of people have been skammed out of money, investments, and really there life.

I launched this as a little experiment to see what would happen – some will say they lured me in to replying in the first place and wasting my time – others (as the comments say) congratulate me on sticking it to them and getting them to do stupid acts and prove it.

Sooooooooo I abandoned my goal to see how far I could get it – but what many of you dont know is that we have a whole league of people who dedicate time to thwarting Nigerian, Viagra, and all those other money scammers – they are known as the 419 Eaters 

To be a 419 Eaters is easy – you simply do what I do and launch your own scam against scammers – BUT – to be renowned as a true 419 Eaters you need to recieve a threat from a scammer who has finally realised they are the ones the scam is turning on.

The average owner of any home based electrical appliance is generally in the “older age bracket” generally speaking when I say older I mean anyone over the age of 25 ;p

We purchased a new DVD – VHS recorder, 40inch LCD TV and a set of LG High Deff Wireless speakers. Ok maybe being Tech savvy I should be more aware but when you love your gizmo’s and gadgets your awareness to the real world is somewhat compromised.

Should I start by mentioning the TV fits perfectly into the space allocated – so perfectly you cant even press the buttons on top of it???? This causes a Problem because my parents what to be able to switch it on from the “button” and not have it left on all night “standby mode”. They don’t understand Standby Actually can save power…………ANYWAY………should we mention also that the Wireless speakers what my brother and I know of as wireless work 100% but to my parents Wireless means self sufficient, the speakers are supposed to run off air, and dreams, and happy feelings!!!

Ok maybe I am taking it out of context they have a valid point we purchased LG Wireless High Deff Speakers but they all require wires, so what makes a wireless appliance actually wireless?

Wires vd. Wireless

Still don’t get it? Never mind – in time you will see the world without wires, companies are making it easier for people to automate life without using wires. I purchased a Wireless Dual Shock Controller and a Wireless Headset for my PS3 – the battery life is amazing and has no wires protruding out left right and centre. Until home owners pursue the wireless revolution prices wont come down for a while!

My goal one day is to have a fully automated Wireless home – imagine having a phone call and being able to simply divert the call to the room you are in and talk through speakers or the home switches on the lights as you walk through – the technology is there, we just need to embrace it!

About 3 years ago after completing two TAFE degrees and coming first in both of them I decided to head off to another country to relax before looking for employment. After getting back from a wonderful Trip to Italy I had the laborious task of looking for a job.

(note that this post is for friends of mine who are about to commence job hunting)

Should I state that I am fussy now or do you all already know that? Well I could claim it as being eccentric but I wouldnt want to be fooling anyone or maybe I could say that I am a person who knows what I like and can bide my time until I get it – yes I like that better.

Ok so 6 months of being fussy caused lets say some heat with the Matriach of the family - MUM - lets just say I couldnt see myself working at KFC or Mc’Donalds. It took me 6 months and yes in the mean time I did apply for a few jobs in all avenues of IT and Youth work but nothing grabbed my fancy – or should I say that noone could have been bothered to call me back to say *No Thanks*. Ok I guess I could have been “actively” looking but all in good time! 

Well as all happy endings go I landed a job at Elcom and this is how my 2.5 yrs at Elcom have worked.

Helpdesk – taking calls from customers wanting to know why the world famous browser didnt work – well for starters Google isnt a browser (not yet anyway)
Implementation – if I ever see CSS again I think I will be sick. I mean I dont even open my bedroom curtains and I had to start opening DIV’s???
Project Management - I dont like the prospect of being a Fireman – it seems like good PM’s need to be able to use a fire extinguisher, I almost burnt my house down – I dont think its a match made in heaven.
Training - works remarklaby well when I have a Cert IV in Training – I am a ppl person, and I like teaching – match made in heaven – the customer is finally glad to have the product in there hot little hands so it works well for everyone!
Account Management – you come in at the end of a project (the miracle working has been done) and basically see how you can give the client some TLC and in turn look after them further.

You see in 2.5 yrs I have trialled a variety of different roles. Some friends with same or even higher qualifications as me are still working in the same job, for the same amount of time and havent moved once.

This blog isnt about bragging who is wearing alligator shoes (cause trust me I shall still keep some of my Westie heritage) this blog is to tell you that if you wait and persevere and be patient, the right things will eventually land right in your lap – some friends of mine believe this philosphy and some dont know what philosphy means – but in life when one door slams shut, generally another one opens up for you!

If you need income in a hurry and a full time job isnt working – try part time jobs, some links below will help you out!

http://www.parttimeonline.com.au/
http://www.jobsjobsjobs.com.au/Home.html
http://www.careerone.com.au/?referrer=careers&247SEO=N
http://mycareer.com.au/
http://www.careerjet.com.au/

March 13 2007 marked the final tail of my previous weblog.

Looking back it included trivial discussions, heated debates, quiz’s, quarrels, and conundrums.

But in life as we all know, all good things must come to an end – the final saga of that weblog was a heated debate against Religion and War – this sparked a debate that spanned both England and Australia between opponents never known. Those who were arguing that War is brought on by Religion and those who feel the two are separate entities entirely.

Anyway this new frontier will open up the discussion of Religion, Business Ethics, Social Morals and what ever topic grabs the fancy of readers – and if I only ever have one reader then so be it – I shall keep myself entertained for a little while at least!

My first topic is going to cover work as a lot of my friends now start to look for jobs as they come closer to the end of school and study. Time is everything and perseverance helps!