“There are two elements to building a career. Do the work and NETwork.” – Bill Taub.

One of the problems work-at-home entrepreneurs face is loneliness. People working in offices mingle with other like minded co-workers. They have an edge over work-at-home entrepreneurs because they can share their ideas with one another, learn better techniques, have their fingers on the market pulse – just by interacting with the crowd.

So how can you adapt their positive networking attributes while still enjoying the flexibility and freedom that working from home brings with it?

5 Networking Ideas for Work-At-Home Entrepreneurs

1. Write Thank You Letters

One of the easiest things you can do to build your circle-of-influence is simply send out thank you letters. Read a good article? Send out a thank you letter. Found a good plugin or software? Write a thank you letter. People love receiving thank you letters. And they always remember the person who praises them and thanks them.

Make it a goal to write one thank you letter every day. And your fortunes will change dramatically. Because a sincere thank you note is more valuable than a 100 dollar bill. I’ve received free books and gift certificates and upgrades and even tickets to $1000+ seminars just because I took time out to thank people. Try it out for just one week – send out 7 thank you letters this week – and let me know how it goes for you.

2. Find a Buddy

How do you make a person go to the gym regularly? Simple. Assign him a gym buddy. A gym buddy builds external expectations. And makes sure that one doesn’t skip going to the gym.

Similarly, to boost your productivity, you should find a couple of work buddies too. Some one with whom you can swap work and ideas. Someone who gives you feedback and keeps you on track.

How to find a work buddy?

Simply post on a forum or run an ad in your local newspaper. One simple ad that works well is:

_________ MasterMind Group
If you would like to join a group of like
minded people, please call xxx-xxx-xxxx.

3. Buy People Lunch

The cheapest and most effective way of picking someones brains is by buying them lunch. Buy lunch for one person a week. It won’t cost you much. But it will help you expand your circle of influence.

I usually end my thank you notes by saying “Hope that we have an opportunity to connect again in the future” or “Hope to buy you lunch some day soon.” It isn’t hard to book one day a week for lunch with someone successful if you just “Ask.”

4. Attend Meetups / Seminars / Workshops

Go to attend industry meetups, seminars and workshops. They may cost you money. But its almost always worth spending money on such events. Because the opportunity to connect with people is tremendous. It just takes one client or one good joint venture opportunity to make the workshop pay for itself.

5. Organize a Meetup

You don’t have to organize a huge workshop for 500 people. But you can always organize impromptu meetups where people can come and ask you questions. You can position yourself as the local authority just by being available to people.

And organizing small meetups doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Most libraries allow people to reserve private rooms at no charge. And most local newspapers have a free “event announcement” section where you can promote your meetup.

And if those two resources are not available to you, you could simply approach the manager at a local cafe shop and ask him if he’ll allow you to have your Q&A sessions over there. Many will agree because it means attracting new clients.

Action Summary:

• Remember that success becomes easier if you remember to: Network. Network. Network.
• Networking doesn’t have to be hard. Just follow the 5 ideas above and you’ll soon have your own wide circle of influence and a powerful fan base.

This post is guest written by Ankesh Kothari of How To Grow Your Blog Traffic.