Building your network of customers and/or clients will be the

most important job of all, once you have a home business going.

After all, you will not have any reason to have a business, if

you don't have a network of contacts. There is a need for

customers/clients in every business. Whether you focus on

products or services, it doesn't matter what kind of business

you have chosen. Without benefit of networking, there is no

business, online or off, that can survive. You will need to

network in order to assure that you constantly have those who

are interested in buying what you create, even if you are a

service provider of a creative nature.

The idea of networking is not making phone calls to people you

don't know or going door to door. That is not the idea at all.

In fact, providing good service is the best networking tool.

When you provide good service, your customers will refer others

to your business. The best type of networking that you can do

is word of mouth. It is always the best sales tool. However,

that doesn't mean that it is, or should be, your only tool. You

need to do some networking if you expect your business to be

successful, even with referrals. That doesn't mean that you

have to constantly surf the Internet to find others who are

interested in what you have to offer, or that you have to get

on the phone every day and contact people. To continue to

maintain success, you need to take time on a regular basis to

performing networking activities. That may vary from simply

promoting your website to contacting referrals.

Many new businesses are doomed to fail. That's because before

they are even out of the planning stages, they have

underemphasized the value of networking. If you expect your

business to succeed, you have to promote it. How you choose to

network your business is not the issue. You will not be in

business very long if you think that once you have your client

base, you no longer have to promote it. Do not be fooled into

thinking that! Customers may not always buy goods or services

from you because they can be so fickle. For those times when

"regular" customers decide to utilize the services of another

provider, you need to have a backup plan. Unless you are an

inventor, or unless your product or service is quite unique,

people will go elsewhere to find the products or services that

they want at the price they want to pay. By continually

networking for new customers, you will always be prepared for

these slow times.