So I’m the type of person who naturally doesn’t like to hassle people or get help because I don’t want to come off as annoying. I think it’s sort of a good thing. Cause of course, you don’t want to be the type of person who needs constant hand-holding and is viewed as a pain. So I think that’s why I’ve always been one to try and do everything myself.
But overtime I kept hearing things about how important is to network and reach out to people. And that’s when I started forcing myself to do that more. As an entrepreneur/digital nomad it is quite important to make friends with other entrepreneurs and digital nomads – not just for the business aspect but also to help with your personal/social life in a way. It’s important to create relationships with people who you connect with.
This blog has actually helped me because I’ve been able to interview people and feature them on my blog, not just for the readers but for myself to learn. I benefit a lot from it. It actually sort of grants me a way to reach out to people I find interesting so I can absorb more knowledge, and in return I can promote them on my blog, give them a cool backlink, and hopefully drive more traffic to their businesses.
Anyway, here are my thoughts on how to get help and network and why it’s good to do so.
The Importance of Getting Help and Networking
Since my new business venture (Merch by Amazon) and my relaunch of Amazon FBA, I have been reflecting more on how important it is to reach out to people.
I sort of touched upon this in my progress report, where I mentioned my homie RJ got me into Merch by Amazon after I was going to interview him on the blog. He’s been super helpful and providing useful tactics, and we constantly give each other updates on how we’re doing and exchanging advice whenever we can.
Examples of Why Getting Help is Awesome
I’m going to list a bunch of examples of how getting help and networking has helped me:
If I didn’t reach out to RJ, I wouldn’t have realized I already had a Merch by Amazon account and wouldn’t have realized how lucrative this income stream could be.
If I didn’t talk to my boyfriend more about Amazon FBA, I wouldn’t have tried getting back into the income stream.
If my friend Eric didn’t reach out to me who’s starting out in digital nomading, Amazon FBA, dropshipping, and cryptocurrency investing we wouldn’t have gotten more perspective on how we’re each doing our own businesses. And I wouldn’t have had as much reason to connect with Anthony Bui Tran – a 24 year old with a million dollar Amazon FBA business – who is now friends with Eric because Eric went to his mastermind session in Seattle. Anthony had previously come across my blog a while back and commented on it. Because he knew of my blog and was a mutual friend, we talked and I got great advice about how I’m doing my FBA business.
If I didn’t reach out to Adrian Ingram who I saw killing it with Kindle books, I wouldn’t have reopened the idea of this income stream.
If Julie from Millennial Boss didn’t contact me, I wouldn’t have had more perspective on how much you can actually profit from affiliate marketing.
If I didn’t join a real estate community called biggerpockets.com I wouldn’t have met Jay from FiFighter.com, and I wouldn’t have gotten into mining stocks which have proven lucrative for me.
If I didn’t reach out to Sharon Gourlay from digitalnomadwannabe.com I wouldn’t have even known about the term digital nomading!
These are just a few prominent examples but I’m sure there are tons more. It’s not like I’m successful or anything, but meeting all these actually successful people gives me more understanding and perspective on the things I want to pursue. I’m grateful for the relationships I’ve built over these years.
Deeper Dive into The Benefits of Developing Relationships and Getting Help
I think there are multiple benefits to networking and reaching out to people. Here are a few reasons:
A Community of Like-Minded People
I’ve mentioned so much on this blog that being an aspiring entrepreneur/digital nomad is not a path for the weak-minded and that it really can be a lonely road. You’re taking the road less traveled, so obviously you’ll have less and less people getting what you’re going through.
But all you really have to do is create a new group of people who get what you’re doing. And suddenly the road less traveled, the one that looks scary to most, will start to look more “normal”. You’re not alone.
I talk about this more in “Productivity Hack: The Average of 5 People Rule” and “3 Months Being a Digital Nomad: The Only Constant is NOT Change”.
As you network you’ll start making more friends who understand you in this domain of your life, and it is so much better to work on things together rather than alone.
Get More Ideas
Even if you meet peers who aren’t so-called “experts”, you can learn so much from people doing similar things as you. I’ve gotten a lot more perspective just understanding what other people’s journeys look like. I keep mentioning it, but I wouldn’t have known to do Merch by Amazon if it weren’t for my friend! You’ll obtain more ideas on opportunities you can seek out if you talk to different entrepreneurs.
Get Assurance
I’ve met so many people from all backgrounds who have seized opportunities, worked hard, and killed it. Chances are, most of these people are no different from you and me and it creates more positive, encouraging thoughts like “if they can do it, so can I”. The fact that these peers are making their businesses work is super encouraging and inspiring.
When it comes to the entrepreneurial journey, I tend to like to see the amount of risk each person takes, how old they are, and how long they took to achieve success. I also like to get a picture of how much capital and time each income stream requires, and different ways people are doing their businesses. I’m no way in competition with anyone else as everyone has their own life timelines, but I do like learning this information cause it gives me an understanding about if I’m on track or if I need to do things differently.
Pivot Your Strategy
This brings me to my last point and perhaps the most important point, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship. When you’re too concerned with working hard yourself and not needing handouts, you might fail to come across the advice you need that will change the game for you. It’s not just about working hard, it’s about working smart as well. When you network and talk to people you share what’s working and what isn’t, and both parties benefit.
You don’t want to be put in the situation where you put in years of work before you realize you’ve been fucking up the entire time and taking the wrong strategy. Just ask someone and get your questions answered. Yes – you learn the most by actually getting your feet wet and attempting projects. This is the main way to network too as when you’re actually doing it, people will want to share with you. But while you’re learning from your own mistakes, you can learn from other people’s mistakes simultaneously by talking to people. You can pivot your strategy faster and work smarter so that you save yourself tons of wasted effort and time.
How to Develop Relationships
In terms of what you should actually do, I would recommend the following:
Look for mutual beneficial relationships
Just as you shouldn’t be a leech, you shouldn’t develop relationships with leeches as well. I always look for relationships that are mutually beneficial. I’m the type where if they give more to me, I give more to them, and I look for the people who would do the same.
Always provide value
I can’t stress this enough! It ties in with the previous point. Don’t be that annoying asshole who always needs help.
Get out there
Go to meetups, coworking spaces, online communities, and personally message people or talk to people you’re interested in learning more about.
End Conclusion?
Talk to people
Provide value
Don’t be a leech
Find mutual relationships
