People who care - A different persective on Networking

Adam T. Hurd
Oct 4
2 min read

THE SIMPLE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE # 040

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about networking—the good, the bad, and the downright disappointing. Tom and I realized that even when business is strong, there comes a time when you have to stop and ask for help. We’ve been leaning on referrals for years, but when we stepped back into the networking scene, what we found didn’t sit right. Too many people showed up only to take, not to connect, contribute, or care. That experience sparked the reflections and lessons I want to share with you this week.

ADAM'S THOUGHTS:

Sometimes, no matter how successful you are, you realize you need some help.

That’s exactly what happened for Tom and me over the last few weeks. Most of our clients come through referrals, and the other 25% through networking. We’ve always been strong networkers, but recently we haven’t put in the effort to run our own events like we used to. Honestly, that’s partly a good thing—business is going so well that we just haven’t had the time.

We delegated some of that responsibility to a wonderful person who has done great work, but she’s getting tapped out too. So we tried leaning into other networking events.

What we found was disappointing. Most of them felt like glorified social clubs, or rooms full of people with their hands out—ready to take, but not to listen, care, or contribute. It felt gross.

Here’s the thing: when we network, we’re not just looking for clients. We’re looking for great people—people we can help, whether that’s making an introduction, offering advice, or even building a friendship. Of course, clients sometimes come out of it, but that’s not the intention going in.

And when everyone else shows up with selfish intentions, the whole experience breaks down.

ADAM'S LESSON:

When you need help, you’ve got to ask for it.

Tom and I looked back at the years of networking we’ve done and pulled out about 15 incredible people—the ones who consistently gave, introduced us to great people, and showed up with the right spirit.

We invited them to a private event, thanked them for the role they’ve played in our journey, and put our hats in our hands. We asked for their help.

The ask was simple: keep driving people to this event. We’ll facilitate it. We’ll organize it. We’ll promote it. All we asked was that they keep showing up and bring others like them.

To our surprise, they were more than happy to do so. They felt the same way we did about the “normal” networking scene. They wanted something better, too.

Now, it looks like we’ll have a monthly networking group—filled with the right people, the ones we already know and the ones we’re meant to be introduced to.