Power Your Research w/ Dr. Sheena Howard

Non-Traditional Networking to Advance Your Career

• Dr. Sheena Howard

Share episode

Send us a text

Ever wondered how you can land lucrative opportunities outside of academia without attending tedious networking events? You're about to uncover the secrets to building valuable networks that align with your professional ambitions and break free from traditional constraints. Through actionable strategies and personal stories, we'll redefine networking to mean positioning yourself for the next big opportunity so that you can get paid. 

Follow Dr. Sheena Howards' socials:
@drsheenahoward | Power Your Research

Speaker 1:

Join communities in which the actual community's goal is something that will help you get to the next level. I feel like we use the word community like we're saying like something that's trending, like avocado. But community, if you do it right, is actually a thing that can get you your next big opportunity, so that you can get paid. I don't want my work to be stuck behind an academic paywall. I want to leave a legacy, I want to reach my potential and I want to change lives. This podcast, power your Research, is my attempt to help the smartest people in the world do that very thing. My hope is that you use the lessons I share to make more money than what your higher ed job can ever pay you. I've done it, my clients have done it, and so can you. My hope is that you'll apply what you learn here and one day join the Power your Research program where you can work with me one-on-one. Today we're talking about networking. That doesn't involve going to networking events, and I actually just did a short training on this earlier, so I have notes over here on the board and I'm going to summarize everything for you. This is a super important topic because, in order to get your next big opportunity, you have to engage in some networking activities. Now. To start, I want to give you my definition of networking, so that we're all on the same page, and then I'm going to give you five strategies that you can start doing today so that you can start building your network, so you can get your next big opportunity, and the one after that and the one after that. So let's jump in. So my definition of networking is putting yourself in a position to land your next big opportunity so that you can get paid. So, again, putting yourself in a position to land your next big opportunity so that you can get paid. So that is my definition of networking. So it's basically the actions that you're going to take so you can get the next big opportunity so that you can get paid. Getting paid is super important.

Speaker 1:

If you're building a brand, if you're building your platform, if you're an academic trying to get free, both mentally and financially, from just the paycheck from your academic institution, networking is key. As academics, we tend to think that going to an academic conference is networking, and there's a really big world outside of our academic conferences that are going to get you further and closer to having continued big opportunities and those don't involve academic conferences. So let's go through these five. The first thing that you can do is stand next to other brands and by brands you can just replace that word with businesses. Stand next to other businesses that align with your values and that are adjacent but have similar target audiences that they focus on.

Speaker 1:

So, for example, I run this power year research company. It focuses on people with PhDs who want to build big platforms, make it sustainable by making at least six figures, and I've aligned with people like the academic designer. The academic designer is a business. Her name is Jennifer and she helps academics build their websites and get social media calendars and that kind of thing. So we don't do the same thing, but we focus on the same audience and what she has can help my audience and what I have can help her audience. So when I stand next to her, like literally we've done live sessions together where people will pay us to teach them stuff that makes a my networking opportunities exponentially higher than me just talking to you on this live, because now I get to do an event with somebody that has a target audience that I'm going after. We get to make money doing the live event and that audience her audience, gets to seize me so that I can get my next big opportunity, so that I can get paid.

Speaker 1:

Anybody can do this. What are the services and things that you offer or are interested in? What other brands or businesses that are similar to you can you connect with, start working with them, collaborating with them? This can be as simple as jumping on a live chat and just going live with that person to get in front of their audience. The name of the game is the more visibility, the more people that see you, the more opportunities will come your way. That's strategy number one. Strategy number two is to join aligned communities. Join communities in which the actual community's goal is something that will help you get to the next level. I feel like we use the word community like we're saying like something that's trending, like avocado, but community, if you do it right, is actually a thing that can get you your next big opportunity so that you can get paid. I'll give you two examples.

Speaker 1:

Right now, I am sitting in a co-working space called Rec Philly. This co-working space is not just any co-working space. I picked it on purpose for the community, because this co-working space has the goal of helping people turn their passions into profit, and so it's not just a place where I come to do work, but they also have a community of thousands of people here that all have the same goal. So now I have a community of at least a thousand people that I can connect with, that I can grow with, and joining a community is just like going to college so if you're watching this, you're an academic or educator most likely, and what happens in college? The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. So sit down and think about two communities that you might have to pay for, but it will pay off, that you can join, that you can pour into so that you can build your community of people that are going to mention your name behind closed doors. In here I get to meet a lot of different people. I get to connect with the owners. I get to get coaching from the owners so that I can build those relationships that will lead me to my next big opportunity, so that I can get paid.

Speaker 1:

The other community I belong to is my speakers bureau. It's like 12 plus of us that are all speakers. We meet every year. We have a conference. People come in and speak to us on all different types of topics. All of the speakers help each other throughout the year, stay in contact. We like each other's content and posts and we all have the same goal to get booked for more speaking engagements and get paid. And so that community is helping me in so many ways, because the very foundation of that community is to help me grow.

Speaker 1:

Can you think of two communities, or research two communities? And these can be communities online. They don't have to be places that are in your geographical location that you can pour into? That will help you get that next big opportunity so that you can get paid. Hey, everyone, real quick. I don't run any ads on this podcast, so I have to rely on word of mouth. If this podcast has helped you in any way, please share it with a friend and follow me, dr Sheena Howard, on LinkedIn, where I give more free content on building your brand as an academic. If you tell me you came to my LinkedIn from the podcast, I'll make sure I accept your request.

Speaker 1:

Number three the third way you can network without going to networking events. Because I don't know about you. I can't think of one big opportunity that I ever got from actually going to a networking event where I just stood there looking awkwardly and tried to figure out who the next person was for me to talk to. So number three is to send emails. Sending emails is underrated. Okay, a lot of my biggest opportunities I'm talking about the ability to write for DMC, from Run DMC. I'm talking about writing for Marvel Comics and DC Comics those three specific big opportunities that I got came because I sent the email to people that could book me for those opportunities, people that could hire me for those opportunities. Now, I'm not going to use this to talk in detail about what you need to be saying in that email, because I've done that a ton, particularly on LinkedIn and on my Instagram account. So I'm not going to use this to talk in detail about what you need to be saying in that email, because I've done that a ton, particularly on LinkedIn and on my Instagram account. So I'm not going to use this to go in depth on that. Certainly, if you have questions about it, drop your question in the comments and I'll send you links to some of this content. But there's a lot to that. But don't be afraid to send emails to people that you want to work with, but there's a strategy behind it.

Speaker 1:

Number four your best clients are not the client that you're going after. It's the clients that you already have. Look back at the people that you've worked with over the last year. Did you do a speaking engagement? Did you do consulting for someone? Did somebody spend $5 on your $5 template? The best customer is the person that has already paid you, because if you did a good job, they already trust you and they're more likely to spend more money on you. If you do a really good job of following up with current and past clients and asking them how you can help and reminding them that you can help them with a specific aspect of what they're doing, they're more likely to spend more money on you. That's how you turn a $100 customer into a $500 customer. I have it in my calendar. Every three months I reach out to past clients. Simple email takes me 10 minutes hey, how's it going? How are you doing with that last project that I worked on? Just want to let you know I'm here to help if you need me. Better, if you can find something specific that you can help them with. A lot of times when you're working with clients, you see areas that you can help them with, just say it. Hey, I see that you need help with this. I actually can do that. You need to get in the habit of doing that. That's how you get your next big opportunity so that you can get paid.

Speaker 1:

Number five. The last thing do check-ins with your plugs. So if you've been following me, your plugs, so if you've been following me, if you're in my Patreon community, I talk about a digital brand strategy guide and in that digital brand strategy guide is a strategy to activate your current existing audience, and one part of your current existing audience is what we call plugs. A plug are just like six to 10 people that you already know, that like you and that are willing to mention your name behind closed doors. Right, and if you sit and think long enough, you have a list of these people that have referred you before that maybe you do lunch with once a year. They really want to help you build. You want to do quarterly check-ins with those plugs to stay top of mind.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes people don't refer you to other opportunities because you're just not top of mind at that time, and the best way to stay top of mind is to send text messages. Give you an example I write for from Run DMC. He's really big into doing stuff with foster care, youth and adoption and all that good stuff, because he found out he was adopted at the age of 35. And so every once in a while I'll see an article about foster care or some new thing that comes out around that topic and I'll text them like hey, daryl, I saw this article, thought about you and that's it. Realistically, it takes you two minutes, and so do those types of check-ins.

Speaker 1:

Schedule that in, because sometimes people are not just referring you or mentioning you behind closed doors because you're just not top of mind. That's the point of posting content consistently, to be quite honest. So people don't forget that I run an academic branding company and I'm a writer that writes for celebrities, ceos and social impact companies. Right, you see me constantly, you're reminded, you remember. So those are five things you can do to network without actually having to go to networking events. Because, again, if you're like me, networking events don't do much for you and it's just people talking to people that they already know and not talking to you, because they don't recognize who you are, and that doesn't feel like the best use of our time, so I hope this helps somebody out there.

Speaker 1:

Drop your questions and comments below if you have them. If you like this, follow, subscribe, jump into my Patreon community. There's a lot more in-depth content, one-on-one conversations with me and all of that good stuff in my community. If you're an academic or educator, let's jump on a free call to talk about building your platform, leaving your legacy and blowing out of the confines of academe so you can protect your future Again. My name is Dr Sheena Howard. I'm the founder of Power, your Research. I'm here to help academics and educators build big brands and make a lot of money. You.