Why Milliners Should Be Networking

Networking: The action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.

As part of my series on running your own millinery business, I wrote about the importance of community in my last blog. I talked about how to create your safe and supportive space through the people you choose to surround yourself with. Following on from that, I thought I would expand further into the power of networking, how to network and why to network.

It is often easy to underestimate the power of networking in your business and let the fear of networking stop you from making connections. However, in reality, we speak with new people and make connections all the time in our day to day life. We just don’t put the term networking to it. Take away the word ‘networking’ and suddenly it doesn’t seem so scary – it’s just about genuine human connection.

The benefits of networking or, as I prefer to say, genuine human connection can’t always be recognised at the time of the initial connection. Sometimes the benefits of networking are not realised until years (or even decades) later, so never forget that a first impression always counts. It might be the only chance you will get.

Making Millinery Connections

Hats, especially formal hats, are not things that people need every day, so connections can often take a long time to come to fruition. For example, I met someone 11 years ago and they have only recently come back and required a hat. The impression I made 11 years ago was therefore vital to this most recent sale. This is an extreme example, of course, but a 2-3 year lead time between meeting a potential client and your services being required may well be normal in this industry. So the more networking you do, the more people will know about you and talk about you. Over time, connections will turn into clients and your customer base will start to snowball.

Networking is not just about clients. It is also very much about meeting industry peers who can offer support, other businesses that may open up opportunities for collaboration and marketing avenues and, importantly, your suppliers.

The Benefits:

• People are stronger together. Make the most of different people’s skills to build your business and use yours to help theirs.
• Fosters good relationships with suppliers. When you have a last minute crisis, your supplier will have your back and do their best to help you out if you have invested in building a relationship with them.
• The more people who know about you, the more clients you will convert.
• Opportunities to collaborate with other brands and gain the benefits of their following and marketing.
• Creates new friendships and support systems.
• Word of mouth. People love feeling they know you – make them feel more connected and they will shout about you.
• Finding new ideas and sharing knowledge keeps you in the know about your industry, locality or client base.

How to Make the Most of Networking Events

As I mentioned earlier, even just the word networking sends shivers down many people’s spines. The thought of walking into a room of strangers and striking up a conversation can fill many with fear. So here are my top tips for how making networking events less scary:

• Think of it as a chance to speak to people who you may not cross in day to day life rather than ‘networking.’
• Go with a plan of what you want to achieve from the event and force yourself to speak to people and make it worthwhile.
• Remember everyone else is probably feeling as awkward as you – each person is just another human!
• Stay near the bar if you are on your own. Food and drink are always a good ice breaker.
• As a milliner, wear a hat. It will encourage others to come up to you and ask you about it, saving you from having to make the first move.
• Dress in a way that represents your brand and services.
• Take flyers/business cards with you.
• Ask questions. Have a few pre-prepared to keep conversations going.
• If you need something from someone, be genuine and make sure they are receiving something back from you. Nobody wants to feel used.

Most importantly, just remember that any connection is networking. Sometimes it happens organically, sometimes it happens because you have to push yourself to make it happen, but every connection counts. You are already networking in some way every day. Don’t forget that you will always be useful to someone else and other people will always be useful to you.

Think outside the box, networking isn’t necessarily about going straight to the client. Instead, it might be about making connections with other milliners, suppliers, local businesses or brands with a longer-term outlook.

Beverley x

About the Author

Beverley Edmondson is a British milliner and business mentor. She works directly with milliners and creatives mentoring them to help them reach their business dreams.

See Beverley’s full bio HERE.