6 Months of Doing WIT: Reflections on Networking
by New York City WIT Teen Zoe P.
Six months ago, I sent my very first message on LinkedIn. I was in a summer entrepreneurship program at my school, which was run in partnership with WIT, and WIT’s founder Sarah Hernholm. On the schedule was a visit from an entrepreneur, who happened to be a graduate of the WIT program. Ms. Hernholm shared that a great way to make an impression is to reach out to speakers letting them know you’re excited to meet them. I was incredibly excited to meet him and hear about his experiences, so I sent him a message that day.
When I sent the message, I thought what I was doing was typical. To my surprise, I was the only person who had reached out to him. Ms. Hernholm, who was surprised as well, turned to me and said, “You’re going to get one-on-one time with him because you reached out to him.” From just that one LinkedIn message, I learned how important it is to communicate with others and make a positive impression. I realized that people value your efforts to reach out to them, even if it might not seem like an extravagant thing to do. Since that program, I applied to the college-credit program (got accepted!) and have made many more connections with compassionate and driven people—LinkedIn was just the start.
My relationships with these people have made an enormous impact on my mindset and how I make decisions. It’s important to note, however, that there’s so much more to networking than adding to your contacts list or increasing your connections on LinkedIn. Here are the most important things I’ve learned about networking during these last six months of WIT:
Don’t focus on partnerships—focus on guidance.
WIT teens and other entrepreneurs, including myself, often place an emphasis on partnerships when building their businesses. We reach out to people because we have an “ask,” and we want something from them. In my experience, if you connect with someone and jump straight to your ask, you’re probably less likely to get that ask. Instead, think about something you can learn from that person which will help your business grow. Does the person have experience in the industry you’re entering? Does the person know how to make cool Instagram posts? Network to learn. Reach out to people by saying how much you’d love to learn from their experiences. You will be amazed at how much your connections can impact you if you simply say you want to learn from them. You might not secure a partnership or even get to your ask, but you’ll gain a priceless amount of feedback and opinions on your ideas.
Avoid making networking seem like a transaction.
People will feel flattered by the fact that you want to learn from them. In the past month, nearly all of the people with whom I’ve talked to on the phone have started the call by saying something along the lines of, “I’m so happy you thought of me.” If you share with people why they are special and why you’d like their guidance, the connections feel more valuable and authentic.
Always think 10-10-10
Connect with everyone, regardless of what they do. Think about what you can learn from them ten minutes from now, ten days from now, or ten weeks from now. The ways in which they can help you will change over time. Even if you may not want to ask them for help today, you could be wanting help from them in ten weeks. For example, two months ago, I was on the phone with a WIT guest speaker drafting a “cold email” template. Today, about ten weeks later, I’m reaching out to him again to ask him a question about marketing. These are two completely different aspects of building a business, but I’m following up with the connection I built with him two months ago. An important aspect of networking is maintaining your connections, and this can be described perfectly with 10-10-10. This 10-10-10 concept was introduced to me through WIT, but it comes from Suzy Welch’s book 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea. Applying it to networking, remember that when you connect with people, they don’t want you to disappear into a void after one conversation. Reach out to your connections every now and then, and give them updates on your business. If they are helping you, they care about your business, and they want to know how you have developed in ten days, ten weeks, and ten months. They also don’t want you hitting them up only when you need something.
Have purpose when you make connections. Remember that everything you do has an impact on your connections, whether it’s a message saying you’re excited to meet someone or an email asking for guidance. Keep doing WIT!