Why is Having an Up-to-Date Smartphone A Requirement for Every Entrepreneur?

Why is Having an Up-to-Date Smartphone A Requirement for Every Entrepreneur?

A great percentage of the population today uses smartphones to communicate with their loved ones and search for their favorite products and brands. As an entrepreneur in this technological era, you need not be left behind. An updated smartphone will help skyrocket the success of your business. Keep reading this article to discover the advantages of an up-to-date smartphone for every entrepreneur.

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Reasons why iPhone Apps Are Crashing And How To Fix Them

Reasons why iPhone Apps Are Crashing And How To Fix Them

Although iPhone is a top-notch mobile device, it is not immune to faults. Recently, many users have been ringing bells regarding iPhone apps crashing. Well, an app crash may happen immediately after you launch the app or at any time you are using the app. Irrespective of when and how, the inconveniences caused by iPhone app crash is something every iPhone users wants to run away from. But since it is becoming a common occurrence, you need to understand the genesis and respective solutions highlighted in this article.

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How to Sync Contacts to iPhone 13

How to Sync Contacts to iPhone 13

iPhone 13 is no doubt one of the hottest smartphones in the market. Thanks to its amazing collection of features. While you can handle a number of things with iPhone 13, syncing your contacts to iPhone 13 is one you can never avoid. Getting your contacts synced on iPhone 13 is not a rocket science task. However, it can turn inside out if you don’t have the right guide. Fortunately, this article takes you through a detailed guide on how to sync contacts to iPhone 13 with ease.

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Why is Business Networking Important for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses?

Why is Business Networking Important for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses?

Networking is a term that rarely goes unmentioned in any crucial business strategy. While the success of any business involves a matrix of factors, networking is one thing you cannot afford to miss in your recipe. Whether you are an entrepreneur running a big or small business, networking can take your business from zero to hero. But how exactly is business networking a crucial ingredient in the success of entrepreneurs and small businesses? This article takes you through it.

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Why It Is Important To Clean Up Your Contact List, And How To Do It

Why It Is Important To Clean Up Your Contact List, And How To Do It

Proper management of contacts is a recipe for effective client marketing. Myriads of business owners and marketing personnel are investing in contact management because they have a crystal clear picture of its importance. If you need a smooth way to send marketing emails or relevant content to your contacts list, you need to clean up your contacts. Fortunately, this article takes you through a complete guide on the importance of cleaning up your contact list and how to do it.

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Are Business Cards Still Relevant?

Are Business Cards Still Relevant

Business cards have been changing the way people network and exchange contacts. However, the rapid evolution of technological space is changing the business card landscape. People are leveraging faster and paperless digital business cards to exchange contacts and networks. This brings in the obvious question as to whether business cards are still relevant in the modern world. In this article, we take you through a clear guide on whether business cards are still relevant or not. Let’s get started.

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All the Right First-time Questions

How many times did you find yourself in a pointless conversation at a networking event? This is a usual phenomenon in events, like corporate mixers, that you did not necessarily sign up for. How can you really make the most out of such events though? Be able to avoid the pointless waste of time that is called small talk, and build some meaningful relationships with people that you just met.
The solution is not in the answers. It’s in the questions.
  1. Pick the right people. Read the guest list, listen to conversations around the room, find out who is who. Engage with people that you find interesting.
  2. Once you’ve briefly introduced yourself, don’t try to dominate the spotlight and invite your interlocutor to talk about themselves. For example: “Tom, tell me about your work”
  3. Learn about their interests and hobbies, find out how can you actually match with them: “What movies do you like? What food do you like?”. These are ice breaker questions.
  4. Understand their aspirations, and ask follow-up questions: “What are you working on right now? It sounds exciting, what are your next steps? How are you planning to overcome this challenge?”
  5. Reciprocate if you have the opportunity: “I know someone who can help you with that, shall I connect you to them?”. Offering to support helps you to establish trust in a relationship.
  6. Set a goal at the end of the meeting. Lay down potential synergies, schedule a follow-up meeting, plan your next steps with this new contact.

If you proceed with these questions, three things will happen:

  1. You will learn more about the person you converse with
  2. You will be able to identify common ground or a mismatch
  3. You will make a connection, with whom you might just be able to help each other in the future.
Covve suggests: At the end of a meeting, use your Covve to take some notes about your conversation, like your interlocutor’s interests, hobbies, line of work, or anything that may be of interest to them. Also, set a reminder to keep in touch with them. Tap on the + icon on your homepage and “Add note” or “Add reminder”, to get started.

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Boost your career through relationships

Can networking help you advance your career? If yes, how far can it take you? The results may actually surprise you.

According to research, networking can actually make a sizable difference in your career. Quoting Harvard Business Review columnist, Rebecca Knight: “Networking is linked to many measures of professional success — including getting promoted, having influence, earning more money, and feeling more satisfied in your career”.

study by Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business gave strong evidence on this. 40% of the survey’s participants credited their connections as the key reason they found their first job. Two-thirds of the participants also mentioned that networking helped them achieve dramatic increases in their paycheque – sometimes even by 100%.

It doesn’t end here though. As expected, the power of being connected also matters greatly to entrepreneurs and investors. A 2020 study by Booth Business School at the University of Chicago, indicated that networking was a major factor in helping both US-based and international entrepreneurs and investors in finding funding, sourcing talent, and receiving insights to enter new markets.

It all makes perfect sense… You are far more likely to get hired, get paid more, or get investment if someone trusted recommends you. You just beat the queue and the odds.

Let’s look at a hypothetical scenario. Imagine that you are applying for a job at Google, which receives millions of job applications per year and has an acceptance rate of 0.2%.

According to the former Senior VP of People Operations at Google, Laszlo Bock, “The odds of hiring a great person based on inbound applications are low”. “Google doesn’t really want you to approach them.” According to this, applying directly is unlikely to get you far. Google, like many other companies of its caliber and size, seem to rely on discovering you through their recruiters and network.

Being recommended to them by someone who works with the company, increases your chances of getting hired very fast.

So, stop and think. How can you better utilize your professional network to advance your goals?

Did you know: You can use Covve to quickly find people in your contacts list who work at companies that interest you. Tap on the search icon on your homepage and start searching for keywords (including company name, specialization, and so forth).

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Embrace your introversion

 

One would expect that introverted people are bad at communicating and don’t do as well in networking. That’s actually a fallacy.

Yes, by default introverts don’t find socializing as enjoyable as others may do. They may feel uncomfortable when they are around people, especially ones they don’t know. As a result, they may not talk much and keep to themselves. This is not necessarily a bad thing though

In her book ‘Taking the work out of networking‘, Karen Wickre identifies three qualities that make introverted people stand out in networking:

  • They have a strong sense of curiosity
  • They have good observational skills
  • They have the ability to listen

These qualities are actually shared by great networkers. They are the ones who learn all about the person they are talking to; The ones who capitalize on this knowledge; The ones who connect with others over in-depth discussions and topics of mutual interest – rather than just passing on a business card.

In order to be effective, networking must have depth. It’s not about the number of people that you meet or the number of business cards you give out. It’s all about the quality of contacts, the common ground, and the rapport.

So, if you are introverted and have so far been held back from expanding your professional network, give it a try. Your ability to listen and explore more may actually give you a great advantage in cherry-picking the right individuals to connect with, and forming a solid relationship with them. Quoting an article from Ellevate Network in Forbes “Introverts network differently because, for introverts, networking is best when it’s almost entirely one-on-one.”

Did you know: Covve can help in your network ‘cherry picking’. You can easily filter through your list of contacts based on their profession, the company they work at, and so forth. Focus on connecting with the right people. Tap on the search icon on your homepage and start searching for keywords (including company name, specialization, and so forth).

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How to make networking a habit

 

Let’s start by pointing out the obvious. We all, in the grand scheme of things, know that networking is a good thing. It’s a way to broaden your professional horizons and open up to new opportunities.

Expanding your professional circle will not necessarily have an immediate effect on your career. Relationships take time to grow and become ripe. Therefore, spending your time to evolve your professional network is an investment that will yield returns in the long run.

For this very reason, may not necessarily be sitting at the top of your professional priorities. According to research by LinkedIn, 79% of professionals agree that networking is valuable to their career progression. Yet only 48% of them are active networkers, and 38% admit that they don’t have the time to network.

Networking might undoubtedly feel like a chore. Especially, if you have to forcibly do it by attending networking events, corporate mixers, and exchanging business cards that bore the life out of you.

But what if you could network with minimal effort and planning? Have opportunities come your way without trying hard? Well, you can. Just start with small, simple steps:

  • Practice makes perfect. Recognize that every time you talk to someone or meet someone, you are effectively networking. Even when you talk to your local supermarket’s cashier. That helps you practice.
  • Keep it relevant. Stick around like-minded people that offer you insights, inspiration, solid professional advice and won’t bore you.
  • Make networking a habit. Spend 25 minutes per week to comment on LinkedIn posts of interest, email useful contacts you haven’t been in touch with for some time, connect to professionals you find insightful. That’s 5 minutes per day, over 5 working days.

Echoing the renowned career consultant, Brad Waters:

Networking does not have to be more complicated or overwhelming or contrived than the simple small talk you’re already doing. The only difference is, you’ve opened up to seeing the opportunity within.

Networking can help you make a sizable, long-term contribution to your career. To offer you a number of professional possibilities. It can all start, just by committing 5 minutes per day.

Did you know: Covve can automatically remind you to get in touch with selected people in your network. Thereby helping you spend your networking time efficiently. Tap on the + icon on your homepage and “Add relationship” to get started.

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