By Mitchelle Uzorka
If you spend time around successful people, you’ll learn some valuable things from them. “The people you associate with definitely determine your level of expectations of yourself,” says Jimmy Hendricks, co-founder and CEO of DealCurrent, a San Diego-based company that makes software for daily deal sites.
One thing is for Sure, You’ve got to make the most of the time you put into networking.
• Visit your campus;
Even if you bypassed college or it’s been years since you sat in a lecture hall, don’t ignore the resources available at colleges and universities in your community. Many larger schools will have an entrepreneurship center that is either run by the business school or as a cross-campus effort. Often, they host talks by leading entrepreneurs and investors and offer free workshops to local business owners on topics like sharpening a business plan.
• Get on top of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook Game;
Even if your Client, Business Partner, Mentors has no time to meet in person, you can still get to know him or her by e-mail or phone, notes Feld.
• Meetups for Creatives;
From freelance writers to designers, you can find a meetup for just about anything.
Speaking with an Entrepreneur, she said “This is actually how I met the couple who I affectionately call my freelancing godparents. They started a meetup for creative entrepreneurs on a whim and now the events are packed. I’ve also been able to meet like-minded entrepreneurs in my city as a result”.
We Told you, Meet up for Creatives come in handy.
• Hackathons and competitions;
Most major cities sponsor occasional competitions that get programmers, entrepreneurs, marketers and other businesspeople together. Some of these work to launch new startups from scratch, while others simply work on solving collective problems.
Either way, these events are magnets for talent and new ideas, which also makes them magnets for investors. Get involved as a competitor or simply attend and start meeting some new people.
