A couple of weeks ago, I was gardening. (I use the word “gardening” rather generously here, because my preferred form of gardening generally involves sitting outside with a cup of tea and admiring things other people have successfully grown).
But on this particular day, I was weeding and came across a patch of wild strawberries. And, I noticed something I’d never really paid attention to before.
One little strawberry plant didn’t just sit there doing its own thing. It had sent out these long little tendrils (or runners, as I have now discovered) which travelled across the ground and created another little plant… and then another… in all sorts of different directions. Before long, what looked like several separate plants was actually one interconnected network.
And, obviously, my brain immediately went “Huh, that’s a bit like business”.
Your business (and you) isn't supposed to grow in isolation
When you run a small business, particularly when you’re a solo founder, it can be very easy to feel as though you should be able to do everything yourself.
You build the business. Find the customers. Marketing, marketing, marketing. Sort the finances. Solve the problems. Learn the new skills. Make the decisions.
But businesses don’t exist in a vacuum. Just like wild strawberries, we need to put out little connectors. We need connections to other people, businesses and communities.
Sometimes that connection introduces you to a skill you don’t have. Sometimes somebody recommends you to the right customer. Sometimes it leads to a collaboration or an idea you would never have thought of on your own. And sometimes it’s simply another business owner saying, “Oh yes, I’ve had that problem too.”
All of those connections help us grow.
Business networking is about more than finding customers
I think we sometimes make the mistake of thinking about business networking purely as a sales activity.
You go into a room. You explain what you do. You hand over your details. Hopefully someone buys something. But the most valuable networks are much bigger than that. A strong business community can create recommendations, introductions, shared knowledge, collaborations, friendships and opportunities.
You might meet somebody today who never becomes your customer, but six months from now they introduce you to somebody who does. Or you might discover another founder who has a skill that complements yours and suddenly you’re able to offer something neither of you could have created alone.
That’s where the really interesting stuff happens.
Why connection matters even more for rural entrepreneurs
I think this is particularly important for rural businesses and rural entrepreneurs.
When you’re building a business outside a major city, you don’t necessarily have hundreds of other founders, advisers, events and potential collaborators sitting on your doorstep. Our business communities can be smaller and more geographically spread out. Which means those connections matter.
A personal recommendation can travel a surprisingly long way through a rural business community. One introduction can lead to another. One conversation at a local event can turn into a collaboration, a new client or an entirely new idea.
And for female founders in rural areas, having that network around you can be incredibly valuable, not just for growing a business, but for learning from one another, sharing opportunities and having people around you who understand what running a small business actually feels like.
Put out your tendrils
You don’t need hundreds of connections. And you certainly don’t need to spend every evening at networking events clutching a glass of warm white wine and repeating your elevator pitch.
You just need to be a bit bold and keep putting out little tendrils.
Have the coffee.
Go to the event.
Send the message.
Introduce two people who should know one another.
Recommend somebody else’s business.
Ask for help when you need it.
Share what you’ve learned.
Collaborate when there’s an opportunity.
Because every one of those small connections becomes part of the wider network around your business. And, over time, that network can become incredibly powerful.
Creating more of those connections here in North Yorkshire
This idea of building connected business communities is also a big part of why I organise events.
Through the Ripon Women Business Network, I want to create a space where local women in business can meet, get to know one another properly, share ideas, make introductions and support each other.
I’m also organising a Business Social in Ripon this September – a relaxed networking evening designed to bring local business owners together without making it feel overly formal or salesy.
Because sometimes all it takes is one conversation. One introduction. One person saying, “Actually, you should speak to…”
And suddenly another little tendril and plant has appeared.
Moving forward, I also want to create more opportunities for female founders and rural female entrepreneurs to connect through events, conversations and communities – particularly here in North Yorkshire.
So, if you’re local, come and be part of it. You never quite know where one new connection might lead.
None of us grows entirely on our own
The thing I loved about those wild strawberries was that, at first glance, they looked like lots of individual little plants. But they were actually all connected.
And I think that’s a lovely way to think about small business too.
We can all have our own businesses, ideas and ambitions while still being connected to something bigger.
We can share knowledge. Recommend each other. Collaborate. Open doors. Introduce people. Learn from one another.
Your business might start with one little plant. But put out enough tendrils and you begin to create an ecosystem around it. And hopefully that’s how our rural business communities grow too – one conversation, one introduction and one connection at a time.
Which is quite a lot to have gleaned from an afternoon of “gardening”. Now, for my well-earned glass of Chardonnay whilst enjoying the fruits of my labours…
