How I "Do Fun Wrong" and Why You Should Too
- Grace Swersey
- Nov 1, 2016
- 2 min read
Halloween weekend, I donned my super creative cat costume and headed out for a night of shenanigans with my roommate and a couple of other sassy women. Our night was pretty successful and each of us definitely had a blast. The following morning, my roommate and I were recalling the highlights of Saturday night when I pulled out the business cards I had collected from the people I had met that night.
Roommate: "You got business cards?!"
Me: "Well, yeah."
Roommate (teasingly): "I think you are doing fun wrong"
Doing fun wrong....
Here's the thing about this idea: What is the point of going out and socializing with a bunch of people you don't know if you aren't going to remember them the next day? Why waste the effort?
In my humble opinion, every interaction you have is a possibility to expand your networking tree. It's a chance to make a new friend, a new business partner, a new workout buddy. It's the possibility to expand your world just a little bit further.
Why would you not capitalize on that?
For those who either are in sales/business development or own their own businesses, this is particularly important. You never know who you are meeting and/or who that person knows. Letting people know who you are and what you do in a place like DC is one of the most important things that you can do. There are a number of people who hate this about DC. This concept that you learn what a person does before you know who they are, but the DC area is a networking hub with more business diversity than pretty much anywhere else in this beautiful country of ours. It is competitive and it draws people from all around the world. It is filled with money and the people who make lots of it.
In this place, it is all about who knows you.
Why would you not capitalize on that?
In networking and building business, the more people who know you, the better. It leads to the building of a solid reputation, possibly referrals, and further connections. So, exchange business cards at bars. Network with your Uber drivers. Become Facebook friends with people that you meet at happy hours. Because in business, and in life, you never know what that simple connection can yield or what doors it may open.
Comments