CONNECTED Columbus Magazine - Winter 2023

TOP 15 BENEFITS OF NETWORKING AND SERVING WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITY

by Kathy Binner

Networking and serving within your community is a win-win situation Not only can you find a need where you can help others, but you also receive many benefits as well - both personal and professional

Nothing gives you satisfaction like networking and serving within your community. Networking and serving bring knowledge, experience, and positivity to your life

Check out these benefits for networking and serving within your community:

1. You’re reminded there’s a whole world outside yourself. Serving can help you defocus on yourself and your own challenges while networking can show you the struggles and needs of others Show up and find a need you can fill to make someone else's personal or business life more manageable

2. Being a part of something bigger than yourself is rewarding. We’re reminded of the impact we can make on others when we become a part of something bigger. Serving within your community allows you those experiences Networking helps you to find your niche in which to use your talents

3. Learn something new. Regardless of how you decide to help within your community, you’ll likely learn something you didn’t already know. Volunteer to help develop something new to help your community, your networking group, or someone's business get to the next level

4. Strengthen your confidence. Because you ’ re serving others, you’ll feel more positive about yourself I don't know about you, but once I dive into the deep end on a particular subject, I come up knowing so much more about the topic and can share with much more confidence

5. Gain work experience. Depending on the type of people you meet, and the community work you do, you could learn something that will help you in your current gig or future work I always go into a new volunteer position with the attitude that I'm going to get better within my skill set

6. Make new business contacts. Networking and serving your community will help you meet more people Because each person has a network of his or her own, you never know how far your positive influence could travel - bringing you new prospects, clients, or even business offers

7. Serving others is a beautiful thing to do. It does your heart, mind, and soul good to reach out to network and serve others. You will feel content at the end of the day if you follow your heart Remember the law of reciprocity whatever you give returns tenfold

8. Become known in the community. If you want more people to know and recognize you, networking and serving others is a great public relations strategy. Show up filled up ready to help in all situations Your name will get passed around - in a good way

9 Make new friends. Because you’ll encounter so many new people, you'll meet folks with whom you become friends Some of my closest friends in my inner circle have come from my networking events.

10 Strengthen your community. Networking and serving contribute to your community by uplifting others in the community Everyone likes to be liked When positive vibes fill the room, everyone wins

11 Know that you make a positive difference. Networking and serving make a difference to you, your group or organization, and your community It takes everyone to pull together to create massive synergy

12. We don’t operate in a vacuum. Living your best life involves making and maintaining connections with others. Serving your community develops a network of resources you can access when you need them I can't tell you the number of times my networking friends came to my rescue with the exact information I needed

13. Add to your resume. Networking and serving in your community give you marketable experiences and qualifications to include in your resume. Even for those entrepreneurial types, you can design your next podcast or speaking gig around your experience and expertise

14 Networking and serving in your community is a real-life experience that can’t be had in the classroom. Some college instructors recommend “service learning” which is another term for “volunteering” or “giving back to your community.” Service learning provides a real-world experience to students that would be impossible to learn in the classroom

15. View how others live. Seeing how others live their lives enhances your own life.

Networking and serving in your community are important for several reasons By serving, you view a world outside of yourself, learn new things, develop positive feelings, gain job experience, and make new networking contacts Plus, helping in your community is a kind and wonderful thing to do

You might become well-known, make new friends, strengthen your community, and even add a line to your resume when you network and serve

When you network and serve, you’ll experience things in the real world that you can’t in the classroom, and you’ll see how others live. For these reasons and more, make it a point to network and give back to your community. You’ll be inspired!