For Successful Networking, find Unity in Diversity

With the wide variety of personalities, values, and ideas in the world, it is good for women developing and strengthening a green business to be aware of the various levels of networks they can be a part of, including close personal, professional, community, and loose acquaintances.

Personal networks are close friends and family, those with whom you share your most dearest and most treasured moments and who you dedicate your life to supporting. I think of these as "Facebook connections."

Professional networks are those related to your work, career, or business - these are clients, customers, colleagues, suppliers, and vendors with whom you work together to provide valuable service. I think of these as "LinkedIn connections."

Community networks are those in your neighborhood or local area like church or temple groups, parents groups, school associations, book clubs, alumni associations, or volunteer teams. You may be a part of a Meetup or a political, athletic, or other network with these individuals. I think of these as "e-mail and phone connections" because they can call or message you related to the task at hand.

Your loose acquaintances are what I consider to be valuable connections to the "wider world" such as high school and college classmates, people you've met at events or seminars, people you connected with through past jobs, or your past neighbors. I think of these as "Twitter connections" because, while they may be very loose, they still may have something in common with you which can be found through a search.

Consider "classifying" each of your connections and maintaining an appropriate level of followup and checking in so that, for example, if you need a tailor in Los Angeles, or a good restaurant in Paris, or a shoe store in Tokyo, or a blogger in London, you can find that information quickly, through a quick query of your relevant networks!

Use a tool like MyLife.com to organize and sort all these different types of connections. It's important to realize that networking is not simply hogging attention or asking for comments on your own posts, but it is a constant "stream" of activity, liking, commenting, messaging, or sharing links. That mutual sharing of information and reciprocation helps the flow of communication and will be helpful to you when you are seeking specific information, resources, job listings, recommendations or other types of opportunities.

Photo by nicolas_gent