How to strengthen your networking muscle
Charlotte networking experts offer tips; 'You've got to do it'
The following article appeared in the Feb. 23, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
LEDGER LIFE ESSENTIALS
Networking pays off in a multitude of ways, from growing business connections to keeping socially engaged. Here’s how to get started — or to do it better.
Meeting strangers and making small talk becomes easier with time, networking experts say. Here, members of the Charlotte Area Chamber of Commerce gathered for a Coffee with the Chamber recently at TowneBank Myers Park. (Photo credit: Delk Develops)
by Kerry Singe
When Michael Orzech started a business selling promotional products, he knew he needed to expand his social circle to cultivate business leads. He turned to networking, attending events for the purpose of meeting new people. At one point, he belonged to and regularly attended meetings for 10 groups.
Decades later, Orzech now serves as COO of the Charlotte Area Chamber of Commerce, and his job is to help people make connections. When he attends an industry event, he looks for people who may be standing alone or new to the group. He’ll approach them and ask who they would like to meet, and if he can make it happen, he does.
“People are looking to do business with people they know and trust,” Orzech says.
The old-school art of networking, of meeting and talking to strangers face to face, remains as relevant as ever in a business world that’s become increasingly virtual and high-tech. Executives who lead local networking groups say people have returned to meeting in-person after taking a pause during the pandemic. If anything, they say, people appreciate in-person networking more, especially if they work from home.
“Networking gets people back out in society,” Orzech says. “When I don’t see people that I know out networking, I will invite them out and they are so thankful.”
Network-savvy professionals say getting out and in front of others brings a multitude of benefits, from growing one’s social network, to learning about new job opportunities, to the satisfaction that comes with being engaged in and giving back to one’s community.
The term networking began being used in the late 1970s and early 1980s as the baby boom generation was entering the job scene, according to an article in Inc. Magazine. Orzech says that not much has changed during the years he has been networking (pandemic excluded). The key, he says, is to simply get out there.
So how do you get started? Here are some tips: