JANUARY 2019 GERMINATION.CA 53 I RECENTLY HAD the honour of attending the 25th annual Asia and Pacific Seed Association (APSA) Asian Seed Congress in Manila, Philippines. APSA is the world’s largest regional association, with membership from over 50 countries. Networking is a central function at events like APSA’s World Congress. Like all skills, practice makes perfect. Attending meetings and events is great practice for honing networking skills. If you are like me and trying to practice your networking skills, here are a couple of tips which recently helped me: 1. Quality over quantity. ‘Working a room’ by trying to introduce yourself to as many people as possible may work for those truly memorable and charismatic people. For most people, engaging in a few longer conversations is the best approach. 2. Target smaller groups. Networking is about rela- tionships and making a personal connection. Instead of trying to break into a large group, join a table with only one or two people. 3. Focus on being the best you. An introvert trying to be an extrovert is going to seem forced or awkward. CONTENT MARKETING FIVE NETWORKING TIPS (OR, WHAT I LEARNED IN MANILA) Kelly Saunderson, Client Services Director, CREATE by Issues Ink ksaunderson@issuesink.com • issuesink.com Sometimes just listening intently leaves a lasting impres- sion. 4. Do your research. Study the conference’s attendee list. Identify who you want to connect with — and why. Do your research on those people. LinkedIn is a fantastic tool for putting a face to a name and/or learning about a contact’s background. The more you know, the easier it will be to start up a conversation with them. 5. Prepare a few ‘go-to’ questions. Have a couple of questions in mind that you could ask anyone. For exam- ple, something as simple as ‘where are you from,’ or ‘how was your trip in?’ If you really want to get remembered, try asking something unexpected but easily answered. Something like, ‘What did you have for breakfast today?’ It’s not a standard question so will often grab attention and create a reaction. My golden rule with networking is to find a common- ality. Where may interests overlay? Don’t forgot to follow up after a networking event. A simple email or note can go a long way. You’ve made a contact, now the work begins to develop a relationship. PROCESSING EQUIPMENT LEARN THESE 3 TIPS TO OVERCOME GROWING PAINS Jason MacNevin, Owner, Can-Seed Equipment jmacnevin@canseedequip.com • canseedequip.com ANYTIME A BUSINESS grows, the results can be bittersweet. Along with the joys you experience and new opportu- nities made possible by the expansion, you also get to experience the other side of the coin: management head- aches and other problems you didn’t anticipate. Business expansion isn’t all fun and games. Right now, I’m in the middle of overseeing the con- struction of a new office/warehouse that will triple the size of our operation. I’m elated to see my business expand, but at the same time I’m having to learn — sometimes the hard way — to deal with the day-to-day issues that arise anytime you undertake something of this magnitude. Thankfully, I’ve learned some important les- sons along the way that have helped me to stay sane. Be comfortable with making executive decisions. It was time to expand. We’ve reached the point where we just needed to take the next step and grow. Despite knowing we needed a new building, I admit I was hesi- tant at first. Finally, I had to take a leap and commit to it, knowing it was the only way for us to thrive long-term. The obvious decision isn’t always the easiest one to make — but learning to bite the bullet and commit is the first step to success. Expand your awareness. Anytime your business expands, you have to also expand what you think is pos- sible as a business owner. The building is the face you’re showing to the world. Once the world sees that, it’s going to expect something from you, and you have to be ready to deliver on those expectations. Learn to ask for help. If you’re like me, you might often take pride in doing things all by yourself. In the initial stages of taking over a business, you may need to involve yourself in many aspects of the business to ensure things run smoothly. At the very beginning, micromanag- ing things can sometimes be necessary. But as a business grows, you can’t keep going down that road. This is when micromanagement becomes destructive. You have to rely on others, and once you hit a certain growth level, you have to ask for help. Often, this means you need to hire more staff. Learning to rely on others can be difficult, but once you’re comfortable with it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed your business any other way.