Singapore Entrepreneurs

Networking is an important skill that any students and entrepreneurs must have. It requires more than just a glib tongue or strong charisma to pull it off. Here are some simple suggestions to help you to get around the problem of speaking to people.

“No Man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of their main.”
- John Norton, “Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions”

In life, we need different types of resources to begin or expand our enterprises. These resources can range from cash to clients. To link up with these different resources, it is important to establish human capital. If you need money to start or expand a business, you look and pitch to an investor about fundraising. If your customers make a huge order of your products, you have to increase your manpower to meet their demand. If you plan to diversify into another industry, you want to speak to someone who has experience in that area.

Notice in all the above examples, the important ingredient that ties up all of the above is people, or as some of us term it - human capital. Unlike the other resources you require, human capital is free and it demands a lot of your time and energy to acquire and maintain. Referring back to ancient Greek wisdom, the philosopher Aristotle preached that Man is a political animal. In a complex world that moves based on the interaction between individuals, networking is not a simple endeavour. Contrary to conventional wisdom, you need credibility in business. That credibility is established through the influence of your network.

It is an essential attribute that any entrepreneur must have. It does not matter whether you are an introvert or extrovert.

To put it to practice, let’s start with a poll. Take a look at the following questions and answer truthfully to yourself how you fare with each one of them:

• How many name cards do you receive per networking event?: In all networking events in the US and UK, typically for entrepreneurs, we usually have a private competition to see how many namecards you get. Typically in Singapore, most of the students I mentored cannot get more than 5. My typical hit rate even in Singapore is about 50 per event.
• Do you write back to a VIP after the event? What is the timing, within 24 hours or 1 week?: It should be done within 24 hours. You should write about the conversation and typically tell the person that you would hope to stay in touch. The important thing is that you never ask the person for an internship, job or favour on the first run. Otherwise, you will be chucked off in the acquaintances list.
• How many times do you write to this VIP after that initial introduction?: Well, if you have nothing to say or ask, then it’s alright not to write to the VIP. However, you can make use of Christmas, Thanksgiving (for Americans) and Chinese New Years (for Chinese) to check out how he or she is doing. It also demonstrates your sincerity. You can ask for advice to seek opportunities or at least write about what you are doing.
• How many people did you manage to talk to in the event?: I try to spare 5 to 10 minutes per person and move around the area. Some students like to squeeze themselves in the wrong corner and end up getting to know no one. Actually, it also applies to professionals at times.
• How many VIPs end up in your address book?: Well, my address book is confidential, but I am pretty sure that I have a good list of established and famous entrepreneurs. It’s important to keep an address book. A system which I recommend is LinkedIn. You can put your CV there, and most of the Ivy League and Oxbridge students keep track of recommendations by people over this system. I invited my students, but not many took it up.

Well, I will continue with other quick tips sometime.

Author’s Note: The article is republished in the NUS BBA blog and you can refer to the URL here.

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