Not Every Networking Event Has to Lead to a Client

Last month I did something that, as a naturally introverted business owner, doesn’t always come easily to me.

I went networking.

And, if I’m completely honest, it didn’t go quite how I’d imagined.

I left home at 8am, intending to arrive in plenty of time. Unfortunately, emergency works on the railway meant I arrived around an hour later than planned.

Not ideal when you’re already feeling a little introverted and you’re about to walk into a room full of people you don’t know!

To make things even trickier, I arrived just as the presentations were finishing.

Normally, I’d have listened to the speakers, picked up on something interesting and used that as a natural conversation starter. Instead, I walked straight into the networking part of the event with a room full of strangers and very little context.

It took me straight out of my comfort zone.

Familiar, but unfamiliar

There was another interesting element to the day too.

The event was connected to the automotive industry — an industry I know well.

I spent around ten years of my early and mid-career working in operations within automotive, so in some ways being back in that environment should have felt familiar.

But I’ve been away from the Midlands and that industry for another ten years.

A lot changes in ten years.

So while there were familiar faces, conversations and memories, I also felt like I was stepping into a world that had moved on without me.

And perhaps that was part of why the day felt a little uncomfortable.

Did I network as much as I should have?

Probably not.

I could have pushed myself more. I could have started more conversations. I could have made more connections.

And I didn’t walk away with a handful of new leads.

But I’m not going to write the day off as a waste of time.

Because I think there’s something important in trying things — particularly when you’re building a business.

We can spend so much time researching, planning and trying to work out what should work that sometimes the only way to know is to actually go and do it.

And then pay attention to what happens.

This event taught me a few things.

It reminded me that the environment matters.

It reminded me that the format of an event can make a huge difference to how comfortable I feel networking.

It reminded me that arriving late can completely change the experience.

And it reminded me that just because something works brilliantly for someone else doesn’t necessarily mean it will be the right fit for me.

Getting out of my virtual bubble

Perhaps the biggest positive from the day wasn't networking at all.

It was getting out.

As a VA and OBM, so much of my working life happens virtually. My clients, my systems, my projects and my conversations can all happen from behind a screen.

I genuinely love the flexibility that gives me.

But there is something refreshing about physically being somewhere different, being surrounded by people and having conversations face-to-face.

I also got to briefly catch up with some old colleagues, which was lovely.

And that alone made the journey worthwhile.

So, would I go networking again?

Yes.

But perhaps not necessarily in exactly the same way.

I’m not going to decide that networking “doesn’t work” because one event didn't result in a client.

Instead, I’m going to treat today as useful information.

Maybe that particular event wasn't right for me.

Maybe it was the timing.

Maybe it was the environment.

Maybe I simply wasn't in the right headspace today.

Or perhaps I need to find a type of networking that suits my personality and the way I naturally build relationships.

That's something I can test.

And that's really the point.

Not every experiment has to produce the result you were hoping for to be valuable.

Sometimes the outcome is a new client.

Sometimes it’s a new connection.

Sometimes it’s an old colleague you haven't seen in years.

And sometimes it’s simply learning something about yourself, your business and where you want to spend your time.

Today didn't give me the networking success story I might have hoped for when I left home at 8am.

But it did give me something useful:

data.

And in business, knowing what doesn't work can be just as valuable as knowing what does.

So I'll follow up with the people I reconnected with, thank them for their time, and perhaps I'll try another event next year.

Just because something wasn't right for me that day doesn't mean I stopped trying.

It simply means I know a little more about what I'm looking for next time.

And today - I'm off to a networking group again!