One of the greatest challenges in business today, especially for entrepreneurs and business owners, is the “multiple hat dilemma”. More often than not we find ourselves tasked with a lot of different responsibilities in our business or organization, and this can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. We are generally great at a few things, pretty good at others, and then completely out of our element and inexperienced with the rest. Now unless you are a superstar who knows everything already ( and congratulations to you if you think you do)  here are a couple of reasons why you need networking.

When you go to a networking event you have the opportunity to not only tap into the experience and knowledge of those in attendance, but also the infinite number of people that those individuals have in their personal networks as well. The fact is that we simply don’t know what we don’t know so if we approach networking with intent to learn, we open ourselves up to really grow both individually and professionally.

You have heard the phrase “ knowledge is power” but this isn’t entirely true. What we need is “correct knowledge” because we can do things that we think we know, but unless we apply correct principles to whatever we’re doing we simply won’t get the results we are looking for. So how do we gain “correct” knowledge? You can either learn from your own experience by making a lot of mistakes, and potentially wasting a lot of time and resources in the process, or you can learn from other people who have more experience or knowledge than you. When it comes down to it there really is no comparison as to which option is best and why building a network of people who can help you will get you to your goals much faster than trying to do it on your own.

When you incorporate networking into your life you not only have an opportunity to give back by sharing your own experiences and expertise with others, you open yourself up to unlimited opportunities to learn and grow yourself. Correct knowledge is power so take time, get out there, and connect. It could be the best investment of time you ever make.