A common mistake I see among entrepreneurs is to create a product or service, build a website, tell a few friends and then sit back and wait for the dollars to roll in.
It rarely works. (But when it does, I'm super jealous.) In order to gain customers, you have to be proactive in promoting your work and finding people who need what you have to offer.
I'm not talking about cold-calling (although for some industries, that's what it takes). I'm talking about creating your target audience, and working hard to ensure that they know what you do and how you do it. In part, by networking your ass off.
For any new business owner, networking with the right folks is a critical piece of the sales and marketing puzzle. You have to talk to as many people as you can to get the word out about what you are doing, refine your message, and hear what folks in your target market actually need.
I recommend blocking at least four to six hours a week for networking when your business is new, and never letting a week go by without some form of networking, no matter how busy/booked up you become. Feeding the funnel through networking is critical to ongoing business success.
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