Tips for Effectively Building Your Business Network in Colorado

By Alex Becker, Vice President of Real Estate Consultants of Colorado, LLC and
CWCC Member

Love it or hate it, networking is an important part of just about everyone’s career at one point or another. Thankfully, the Front Range is one of the friendliest business communities on the planet and business people in Colorado want to meet you and learn how they can support your venture. Here are a few points I have practiced that have produced great results for our company:

1. Create an account at www.meetup.com. Meetup is an online platform that suggests professional (and leisure) events for you to attend based on your interests. You will be blown away by how much is going on in your ‘neighborhood.’
2. Try something new. There are so many fantastic business events happening every day in Colorado! Chances are good that your existing business contacts are attending an event or are a member of an organization that could help your business, so ask for recommendations. Want to learn about the newest businesses in Colorado? Check out One Million Cups every Wednesday morning at Galvanize. Want to engage with entrepreneurs in Denver? Sign up for a few Denver Startup Week events. You may encounter a few bad apples, but how will you know unless you try it out?
3. Get involved. Membership to a professional development organization is only as good as how often you use it. Make a conscious effort to attend as many events as your schedule allows.
4. Be bold. Some people find it intimidating to walk into a room of strangers and make friends. Just remember that everyone is there for the same reason you are: to make business contacts. CWCC’s membership has one of the friendliest and brightest collections of business people out there, so walk up to someone new and introduce yourself. Ask for her card, and contact her the next day to set up a coffee meeting to discuss how you can support each other’s ventures.
5. Believe in karma. Do what you can to help your contacts before they help you. It won’t take long for others to see the one-way street if you are only receiving help and not giving it too.

The fruits of your labor may not surface immediately (although it’s always a pleasant surprise when they do), but stick with it. After all, the point of networking is to build long-term relationships. In turn, it is the relationships that lead to business. Since the purpose for my article is to help the community strengthen their networking skills, please share your thoughts below on how you effectively foster business relationships.

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About REC: Need business space? Real Estate Consultants of Colorado, LLC is a commercial real estate brokerage that represents businesses seeking to buy or lease commercial real estate throughout Colorado at no cost to you.

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Contact:
Alex Becker, Vice President
Real Estate Consultants of Colorado, LLC
303-532-8668
abecker@recofco.com