5 Ways Networking can help your Startup stand out in 2008

For 2008 Startup Houston has invited some of Houston’s best and brightest to provide guest posts on topics that they feel can help the Houston startup community to experience more success in 2008. 

 We are proud to have Misty Khan as our first guest blogger for January.  Misty is the President and CEO of Advena Artemis, which provides sales consulting and the HuntressPro sales productivity software package for Microsoft Outlook, and has a wealth of experience in the areas of entrepreneurship, business development, CRM implementation and optimization, business process mapping, project management, and engineering.

We look forward to many more great posts in the months to come from Misty and others.

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Feeling a Little Lost & Overwhelmed as a Start-Up Company?

If you are, then as one of my old bosses used to say “don’t feel like the lone ranger.” I see a lot of questions on LinkedIn.com from start-up principals who feel the same way (especially in the technology sector) where founders may have more technical than business skills. But never fear, because there is a great solution to help ease these feelings called ‘networking’ and you may be surprised how much it can really help you out.Here are a few things networking can do for you as a start-up:1. Introduce you to other start-up principals who are or were in the same boat as you. These folks can be a great source of not only a sympathetic ear (don’t underestimate the value of the ear), but also of solutions they used to get past common hurdles. Why reinvent the wheel when someone else has probably already come up with a great solution that they are more than willing to share with you.

2. Introduce you to potential investors, advisors and board members. I see a lot of VCs and angel investors hanging out at OpenCoffee Club meetings as well as the Houston Technology Center (HTC) and other great networking events here in Houston. These guys are interested in hearing about new opportunities to invest in, and you have one, so why not seek them out where they congregate. Even if you don’t find a willing investor, you are going to get some great feedback from these folks on what you need to do to get an investor’s attention or where to find the kind of investors that will be interested in your opportunity.

3. Give you a chance to perfect your elevator pitch in a friendly environment. If you haven’t come up with a good 30 second elevator pitch yet, then do it – do it now! With a lot of potential investors and clients, you have a very short time frame to capture their attention so you need to be able to deliver your message readily and concisely. Networking events (especially entrepreneur friendly ones like OpenCoffee Club) are great places to practice and perfect your elevator pitch – see what works and get feedback from fellow attendees. You will find that regular members of networking groups you join are more than happy to act as a mirror for you and give you honest feedback about what works and doesn’t work.

4. Provide potential business and referral sources. Many networking groups like Business Networking International (BNI) have turned referral giving into an art form, complete with custom referral slips and training on how to give and act on referrals. This process may sound a little daunting itself, but if you don’t already know how to give and act on referrals, then you really need to learn anyway and these groups will help you. Members of referral groups will act like extensions of your sales team, listening for opportunities among their clients and prospects for your business as well as their own. They will also help you hone your marketing by coaching them on how to refer you – you never learn quite as well as when you are teaching someone else how to do something.

5. Introduce you to potential resources you may need such as employees, contractors, or vendors that understand your unique needs. We all need these kinds of resources and what better place to find them than somewhere where you can meet several in person and then ask other members of the networking group about their experiences with these folks. Some of my best suppliers, clients and business partners have come from networking events.

So the next question is how to find the right networking group for you. You can start with a few of the ones named in the list above – OpenCoffee Club meets the third Thursday of every month at the The Coffee Groundz from 8:00 AM until 10am. I really like OpenCoffee Club because there is steady group of new faces each week while there are also always regulars to maintain continuity and it is open to everyone. There are over 30 BNI chapters in the Houston West region alone to check out – go to http://www.bnihouston.com/ to learn more. You might want to also check out Meetup.com for other interesting groups in your area. And don’t forget all the great events sponsored by HTC listed right here on StartUpHouston.com.

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Misty Khan and Advena Artemis will also be releasing a new course titled “How to Profit by Networking & Prospecting” this Tuesday.  You can find the article on the Misty’s Arrow Tips blog here.

Are you interested in providing guest posts for StartupHouston?  If so, send an email to guestposts “at” startuphouston.com