Network Goals: Connecting with Purpose to Achieve Your Goals
Achieving your personal and business goals can be a daunting experience because it involves diligence, a purpose-driven approach, intensive learning, and much more. Establishing network goals can help you overcome these issues, given their effectiveness.
When done well, networking can change the fate of businesses by giving them a competitive edge over other players in the market. Therefore, this article will discuss how you can effectively use networking to achieve purpose-driven personal and business goals effectively.
Before we discuss how to connect with purpose, it’s essential to differentiate between goals: personal/professional and business, as they have different paths, aspirations, and networking techniques.
Contents
Understanding the Purpose Behind Goals
Creating Networking Goals
It is important to know your purpose before setting out for networking because of several reasons. One reason behind it is that it helps you set clear goals. When you build connections, you do it before determining whether they’d help you achieve your goals or not. It helps you narrow down your path instead of aimlessly attending events and talking to people.
Building Authentic Connections
Having a clear purpose in mind also helps you build authentic connections instead of building them for the sake of it. Once you engage genuinely with people, it builds long-lasting and more trustworthy relationships.
Ways to Identify Your Purpose for Networking
Determine and assess your current needs and goals and understand what you want through networking.
Understand your strength, skills, and experiences and how they can bring value to the table.
Evaluate your current network and see if there are any gaps that you need to fill. It’ll help you find the right people and organizations.
Some Examples
- A fresh graduate who needs a mentor to navigate the job market. By knowing the purpose behind the goal, they can set out to find a quality mentor.
- A mid-level manager who wants to expand his professional network connects with individuals to learn about their interests and skills.
- A small business looking to generate more leads connects with other businesses and entrepreneurs that might be interested in its products.
We have categorized goals into two groups and listed various purposes under these groups. This will help you identify your purpose under your brand domain.
Personal Network Goals
Networking is incredibly useful for achieving personal goals, especially when you have a set purpose behind it driving your efforts.
Broadening Your Knowledge
Career success highly depends upon the knowledge and insight you gain over a period. Interacting with people with different backgrounds, passions, and understanding gives you fresh insights and perspectives. For instance, if you work in the sustainability sector, you might meet someone who is an expert at sustainable living and teaches you how different people view your occupation.
Hence, gaining more knowledge and exposure should be amongst your most valuable network goals because it tells you about the latest trends and predicts what’s coming your way.
Expanding Your Skillset
Knowledge is essential, but it is equally important to learn the right skills to implement it. One of the most critical network goals is to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills by engaging you with highly skilled professionals.
Among several network goals examples, one can be about a photographer who attends local photography conferences and learns valuable skills from different experts. The lighting, the angles, and everything else must be understood perfectly to take stunning photographs, and that’s where networking can help you.
Building a Support System
Networking helps you become part of a larger community of people with similar interests, passions, and network goals. Once you get in touch with them, you try harder to achieve more and gain valuable support when and if you falter. You also find mentors along the way that guide you throughout your journey and help you overcome obstacles.
Establishing a Personal Brand
When you become a brand, you’re automatically distinguished from the rest of the professionals. Take Elon Musk, who has been taking the business world by storm. It is not just because he has built companies but also because he has built a brand around his name, which provides him with opportunities that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Oprah Winfrey are also examples of perfect personal branding. It is possible only through effective and productive networking with the best people in the industry.
When you hang around with those who have spent years doing something, you’re bound to learn things that others are unaware of. It differentiates good professionals from great professionals who achieve their networking objectives.
Business Network Goals
Networking isn’t just valuable for individuals; it is also transformational for businesses in several ways.
Access to Valuable Information
Gaining useful information should be among the most desired network goals for businesses. It includes multiple aspects, such as;
- Business & industry reports
- Projections
- Research papers
- Specialized tools
However, it can happen only when a business connects with the right organizations, such as trade groups and industry associations, who have access to those data.
Leads & Referral Generation
Every business wants to boost its revenues, and generating leads & referrals is a highly effective way of doing it. Network goals like these help companies build lasting connections with business partners and customers, generating more interest in your products and services.
For instance, businesses can show their products and services at trade events to generate leads and referrals from attendees. It also allows businesses to collaborate with other companies to create more opportunities for themselves and others.
Establishing Credibility
No business can thrive in a competitive environment without establishing a stellar reputation, and that should be one of your network goals. When a company collaborates with credible players in the industry, it boosts its visibility and attracts new customers. For instance, if you’re starting up in the packaging business, you can collaborate with established players to let people know about your quality products.
How to Network for Personal & Business Goals
Knowing what networking can do for you and your business is excellent, but it is the implementation that actually matters. Although there are different ways of networking, such as using social media, attending in-person events, and more, they have their drawbacks.
- Social media isn’t a trustworthy source of information.
- Even if you find highly experienced people on social media platforms, there is no guarantee that they’d like to connect with you as much as you want.
- Similarly, in-person events might only be for some for different reasons, such as lack of confidence, shortage of time, and not meeting the right people. That’s why 60% of workers in the US prefer attending online meetings.
Huxon – The Perfect Networking Companion
Huxon, a social networking app created specifically for independent artists, entrepreneurs, and small business owners, can resolve all the above-mentioned issues.
Knowing your purpose is crucial for successful networking, and Huxon lets you capitalize on it. Once you have established it, finding the right people on Huxon is simple. You can create a profile with different titles and look for other profiles that spark your interest and share the same goals.
Browse your News Feed to see who shares the same purpose and goals as you and can become a valuable contact. If you’re a job seeker and have identified a company that can help you fulfil your purpose and realize your goals, use the Resume Builder to craft a CV and contact them instantly.
The app is available on Play Store and App Store so that you can reap its benefits regardless of your platform. With such an incredible app in hand, all professionals and businesses can succeed at networking and building effective partnerships. So, download Huxon today and achieve your network goals like never before!
