Networking is all about getting your name out there. It's not about selling or pitching. It's about gaining recognition, building a reputation, if you will. Networking is the building block to every successful design business. Networking can take place anywhere and everywhere. You don't need to be at a conference, trade show or special networking event. Nor does it have to be with a particular sort of person or even a potential client. Every person you talk to, including family, friends and strangers alike, is a form of networking. And the more you do it, the better at it you'll become and the more successful you'll be. It's no secret that the number one way a graphic design business grows is through word-of-mouth referrals. And for word-of-mouth referrals to happen, people have to know four things about you. 1. Who you are. 2. What you do. 3. Your reliability. 4. Your likeability. When someone knows these four things about you, there's an excellent chance they will share your name with others. Now you'll notice how I didn't mention how good a designer you are. Believe it or not, your skills as a designer have little impact on the referrals you get. Some fantastic designers rarely get referred. Like some questionable designers are referred all the time. Why? It all boils down to those four elements. So let's break them down. 1. Do they know who you are? This one is self-explanatory. If someone doesn't know you, There's zero chance they'll share your name with others. Now luckily, you have two avenues to remedy this: yourself and your business. As long as one of these two is known, there's a possibility someone shares it. A person may not know who you are, but they may know your business. Or vice versa, they don't know your business, but they know you. In either of these situations, they have the opportunity to spread the word based on what they know. If they don't know you or your business, the chances of referring you are zero. 2 Do they know what you do? Someone may know who you are, but they won't recommend you to others if they don't know what you do. And don't confuse "what you do" with "the career you have" someone may know you're a graphic designer, but graphic design is an extensive term, so it doesn't tell them what you do. It's like saying someone is a mechanical engineer. That tells you their career, but it doesn't explain what they do. Two mechanical engineers can have two completely different skillsets and work in different industries. They are mechanical engineers with the same degree, but neither does the same work as the other one does. Graphic design is the same thing. For example, some graphic designers work with video. Other graphic designers don't know anything about video. Some are illustrators; others aren't. Some designers design for the web, and some design only for print. Titles such as UX Designer, Multimedia Designer, Production Designer, etc., are great for people in the industry. But for the general client, titles like this don't explain what a designer does. The idea here is to know what you do; people need to know more than what career you have. 3. Are you reliable? To pass your name on to someone else, people need to know if you are reliable. Or maybe more accurately, that they know that you are not unreliable. If someone asks you for a recommendation and you know of someone suitable for the task, you'll probably share their name even if you know very little about them. However, if the person you're thinking of is unreliable, you probably won't share their name because it will reflect poorly on you. A few episodes ago, I shared a story about my roof needing new shingles and my problems with the person I hired. Well, to give you an update. That was November, and he promised he would do my roof before winter. It's now the end of January, there are several feet of snow outside, and my roof still isn't done. Now, if someone asks me if I know anyone who does roof repair, you know I won't be sharing t