Purposely Building a Support Network

Building a Support Network

From mentors, peers, and individuals you’re guiding, Julie discusses the importance of having an intentional mix of people in your network to offer various levels of support.

In this episode, Julie shares the importance of building a network of support. She describes the three kinds of people she needs in her network in order to feel supported as a business owner. While her formula may not work for every business owner, the importance of intentionally building a professional network that supports you is cannot be overstated.

Hey there, this is Julie Bee, and you’re listening to They Don’t Teach THIS in Business School. Thanks for being here with me today. If you would, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcasting app. Thanks in advance!

Alright, let’s get after it.

I was recently interviewed for a Fast Company.com article about asking for support as we return to the office. I’ll drop that interview link in the show notes. But I wanted to talk about this idea from a broader, business owner perspective. Specifically, what network of people do business owners need to intentionally build in order to feel supported?  

We should always be intentional about our network – who’s in it, who we add, who we’ve outgrown, and who has outgrown us. But there’s also an element of support that we get from our network, and I think it’s important to know the kinds of people we need in our network to feel supported. 

For me, I need a mix of peers, mentors, and people I am teaching or guiding in my professional network to feel supported. I also need to talk with these people on a fairly regular basis, at least once a quarter. Right now, I have two peers, one mentor, and two people I’m guiding with whom I talk with regularly. That’s 5 people. It’s about the quality of conversations and connections, not the quantity of them, that really matters when we’re talking about support.

So let me break this down just a bit. I’ll talk about peers first. For me, the peers I look for are in the same or similar line of business as I am. To someone from the outside looking in, these peers might look like competitors – but they aren’t. We all do our own thing within our industry – we each have our own differentiators. A good client for me likely wouldn’t be a fit for either of them, and vice versa. We all understand that yes, we could compete directly for business, but there’s more than enough to go around. So we don’t compete. 

The peers I have in my support network are a wealth of knowledge. They help me be more efficient in finding answers, I can reach out and talk to them about things like market conditions and what they’re seeing in specific areas of their business, like sales or hiring talent. They help me grow, but also help me check myself before I wreck myself. Who doesn’t need that?

Then there’s the mentor. Some people call them guides or coaches. These are the people who have been there, done that, and have wisdom that only comes with experience. My mentor challenges me to think differently and asks questions that no one else asks. She also has a BS radar that is so accurate it’s scary. Which is good, because sometimes I can talk myself into or out of something that really needs to be further explored. 

The mentor helps me stay on my path, because she has, in part, already walked it. She’s made it easier for me. AND she also recognizes I have my own path to walk. She may not be on that same path or plan, but she’s cheering me on as I go. 

And finally, the third key role in my support network are people I guide and mentor. These individuals look to me as a mentor for many of the same reasons I just listed about my own. 

The reason I need these individuals to feel supported is that they help me grow as a leader. They help me appreciate how far I’ve come. They often teach me new things and after talking with them, I often have new insights into my own life that I wouldn’t have had before. 

I also believe in paying it forward. I had a lot of people guide me when I was starting out in business – most I’ll never directly repay. Being a mentor is how I honor those who have helped me. 

This formula may not work for every business owner – but that’s not the point. 

The takeaway today is this –  know the type of people you need in your network to feel supported in your business, and then intentionally build your network to include them.

Thanks for listening to They Don’t Teach This in Business School – I’ll be back next week with more business owner insights.