Being Regular is a Good Habit to Keep (As Featured in LBV, November 2023)

(Link to the original Lancashire Business Article is here)

The power of good habits cannot be underestimated, and the same applies when it comes to building your network to empower your business growth.

As any dietician will tell you, you are what you eat. Your daily diet can make all the difference between a long and happy life, or a short and miserable one. But, as I’m sure you’re also aware, it’s the word daily, in the above, that counts.

A single chocolate bar will not ruin your health in the same way that a single salad will not save it. It’s what you eat regularly that matters.

Recent business thinking shows that the same rules apply across the board. In his best-selling book, Atomic Habits, James Clear uses the example of Team GB Cycling to illustrate the power of habits.

Having hardly won a medal in the history of cycling, the team adopted a habit-based approach as advised by a new coach; making minor changes to its routines and sticking to them – and has dominated the Olympics medals boards ever since.

An effective approach to business networking is much the same. It’s committing to the habit and sticking to it that leads to success.

If you attend one event, it’s possible – just possible – you may come away with a vital piece of information or an introduction that leads to the biggest contract of your life.

But, most often, networking success comes from regular attendance to an ongoing series of events, which allows you to incrementally build relationships with other group members, who can then feel confident introducing you to their valued contacts.

So, just like following a good diet, it’s what you do regularly that leads to success overtime, not overnight.