NB: This post is an excerpt from the book; STARTUP COMMANDMENTS: 18 LESSONS ON BUILDING A BUSINESS


You've certainly heard the saying: "Who you know is more important than what you know."

This is most correct when you are building a business in this century.

In today's highly competitive market, you'd need all the help you can get; in fact, strategic collaboration is the way top entrepreneurs differentiate themselves from rookies.

You cannot "entrepreneur" your way through it all, while you're innovating and strategizing, your competition could be signing a huge partnership deal that would take them 3-5 steps ahead with $100,000+ in revenue.

The problem most new founders face is that they don’t have the vast network or reach to pursue large partnerships with multi-million dollars co-operations or influencers.

However, I think the main issue isn't having the network but understanding how to build it and create awesome relationships with them to sustain it.

Between December 2019 and the time of writing my book book, May 2020, I:
- Got a TedX Speaking engagement.

- Wrote a book that has been read over a thousand times with $0 marketing spend.

- Secured a deal with a huge brand for one of my start-ups.

- And many others, I won't bother mentioning.


I did all these (despite the looming global pandemic) via building good relationships with people of influence in strategic positions.

Now, you're probably thinking I am a very influential person with good friends in high places. My response to that is an absolute NO!
By any standards, I wasn't born into wealth or a vast network. I started from the bottom like everyone else but in the last couple of years I've learnt how to push buttons and make friends. I learnt it so I'm convinced you can too.

Let's get into some networking tips:

1. Become a Creator:
If you can write code, build a website or an app. If you can sew, make a dress. If you like to talk start a podcast. If you are knowledgeable about an issue, start a blog or newsletter or YouTube channel to talk about it. Do stuff, share it with the world. People respect creators so become one.


2. Be seen offline:
Attend relevant local communities and club as be as active as possible. Focus on building relationships there rather than sealing a huge billion dollar funding.


3. Become visible online
Post your work online. Leverage social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram and especially LinkedIn to document your story. Start a newsletter, blog or YouTube channel around your work. Let people know you do what you do.

4. Reach out to People with Value:
I have a weird mindset: “It's a cruel world and no one wants to do me any favours.”

This frame of mind reminds me to add value to people even when I need their help. Whenever you need to communicate with an influencer make sure to reach out to them from a point of value.

For instance, when I started working on this book, I drafted out a list of influencers that could help me write a good book (and yeah boost my sales as well), after that, I shot them a DM on WhatsApp (for those I had direct relationship with), an email or through direct messages on LinkedIn. I made sure to tell them why I thought they were going to be interested in my project and why I chose them instead of others. Rub their ego but position yourself as a person of value, a good number of times they'd be willing to come on-board you.


5. Be Loyal:
Sometimes the easiest way to reach the top dogs is to pay homage. This could be through buying their one on one consulting or premium products. This is usually an expensive route but it works as well. Loyalty can also be gotten by helping them out for instance, you could volunteer to work at their events if an opportunity opens up.

Networking isn’t about having a long contact list or LinkedIn connections it is about building good, mutually beneficial relationships with people. Most times deals worth millions of dollars are closed over cheerful dinners with friends not at strict business conferences. One-off transactions hardly yield anything of note. Build relationships.

The End.



[The Startup Commandments book is simple and practical guide for starting and running a business written by Ekene Ohabughiro in Collaboration with 15 entrepreneurs in 6 countries across 4 continents round the world. You can read more: startupcommandments.carrd.co or contact 08180602585 for more info.]

Good stuff!

Thank you @renzhen

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