Goodbye to "empty networking" in 2017?

Happy New Year!

What’s your wish for your business in 2017? Perhaps it’s no more “empty networking”. I know the phrase sounds a little strange, but I found it in this excellent article on business connections. According to the writer, “empty networking” is what happens when people who barely know each other get together to “network” without a clear plan in mind. You could sum this up as making business introductions without a goal. I’m proud that, at Catena, our whole purpose is based around providing the opposite of empty networking! One of our straplines is “We’ve already met your match”. That’s because the whole point of Catena is to bring people together and build business connections based on positive, ongoing relationships - the very opposite of empty! Everything we do is about deepening the kinds of connections that business-owners make. This makes it much easier for people to collaborate, as proven by the results of our events and other activities!

Relationships come first

I completely agree with what the article says here:

“Building a meaningful network is not about attending unstructured industry mixers or racking up the most LinkedIn connections. It requires relationships — and those take hard work, dedication, and time.

These types of relationships are typically developed with people that have proven to be dependable, and it often takes years to forge those lasting bonds and fortify mutual trust.”

Very true! The crucial word here is “relationships”. Great business relationships usually take time. What we’re always trying to do at Catena is to nurture good potential business introductions on the behalf of our members. We put on events to help people benefit from those kinds of business connections. We also work hard to make introductions based on our own knowledge of businesses in the network - which is why we refer to ourselves as “business matchmakers”!

Better connections in 2017

I think people are starting to expect more from business networking and that’s a very good thing. Making business introductions more meaningful is what we’re here for. So, if you want exciting rather than empty networking in 2017, get in touch or take a look at our events page!

Claire Bicknell, Catena