Hand on heart I can honestly say, like most people, networking is not my favourite thing to do. If I had a choice of attending a networking event with a room full of strangers, or sitting at home in front of the TV with a glass of wine, the latter would always win. But networking is important, and it’s something that you should try to prioritise.

As a small business owner, you are used to working on your own, but wouldn’t it be nice to sometimes have a network you could lean on for support. Networking events for small businesses are full of people just like you, people who are facing the same business challenges and remember many may also be uncomfortable in a networking environment.

At these events you have the opportunity to make acquaintances that could be useful for your business development. Imagine you make and sell letterbox biscuits. Your business has been ticking along nicely, but you are looking for an extra push in the run up to Mother’s Day. At a networking event you could have the opportunity to meet a local florist, a greeting card designer or even a boutique gift shop owner – all people who could have in interest in your business and who could help you increase your business exposure.

You could strike up a limited partnership with the florist or greeting card designer. Either of you could offer a discount on each other’s products with every purchase. You could partner on a Mother’s Day gift competition, promoted on your social channels, offering the competition winner a biscuit and flower gift box, in return for likes or retweets. Or a boutique shop owner could include your products for a limited time as part of their Mother’s Day push. By striking up these friendships you are opening your brand up to their customers and social media followers, and in turn you are doing the same for them- win, win for all, right?

Networking events are also a great opportunity for you to make a business “friend”. Someone like minded who you could meet for a coffee every now and then to exchange war stories. If you are facing a problem, in all likelihood they have faced it to and may have a solution for you and vice versa. Running a small business can be a lonely venture, and a lot of the time it can be a real challenge, having someone to call upon when you need them is never a bad thing.

So get online and find your next networking event, and remember everyone is just waiting for someone to come over and introduce themselves – why not make it you?