Mukhtar Akinteye 

 As an intellectual, you either want to pursue a career, develop a business, have social impact through social entrepreneurship, or own an NGO.
To excel in any of the aforementioned, networking is sacrosanct.

 What is Networking?
 To be the best at what you do, you should be surrounded by people who inspire you, motivate you and challenge you.

These people ask you the most difficult of questions to get you to think and give you honest feedbacks even when things aren't going right .

The act of seeking out these set of people is referred to as networking...

 Your network therefore refers to a hub that you belong to that consist of people with specific skills, abilities and resources who can assist you to reach your goals when required.

Your network could be the people on your contact list,  your social media friends, or physical friends who you meet up with when in need.

Your network is an important resource which is as important and as tangible as your technical and soft skills.
Your network is built over time and it requires time and effort for it to stay healthy and useful.

Connecting to people requires certain skills. Key amongst them are
1)  Having a genuine interest In people: Whether a new friend, an old pal or a friend of a friend. To network, show genuine interest in them, listen to them and assist them whenever you can.
 2) Being open to New Ideas: don't just stay in your own comfort Zone thinking you've got it all, no matter what you know there are lots that you don't know. Again be enthusiastic when someone shares their idea(s) with you.
 3) Research your Interests: Especially for career development, you should actively look for people who are doing well In your industry and in that specific thing you hope to excel in.
To be a great business man/woman, you should research about successful business men and mingle with them as much as possible.
You could occasionally seek for connections outside your niche too, you would be only be fetching water in preparation for the day of thirst.
4) Attend Conferences, seminars and events: you never can tell, that connection you need to get that job might be a man you met at an event and related well with. Some people met their business partners at conferences and in fact investors are always there too.

The right network gives you lots of leverages.
 Have you noticed that in the world of today,  what you know isn't enough,  who you know has become an integral part of achieving your goals.

When seeking admission,  after you have as a matter of prerequisite, passed the necessary examination, you still need to know someone to be offered admission.

When seeking for employment,  despite having the certificates, more often than not, you still need to know someone before you get the job.

Even as a business man,  To access funds from banks,  you need to know someone who will stand in as a guarantor. 

The more the right people you know,  the more your chances at success.

 My Agripreneurship business (Mukhad Agro-processing Ventures) has enjoyed a lot of leverages from my friend @⁨Mansur Adebayo⁩ who has been our branding manager, and has been designing and branding us for close to nothing.

For those who know how beautiful our logo, brand labels, letterhead, complementary cards, flyers and banners as well as various e-posters are.  We indeed have enjoyed having THE CEO,  *DODGraphics* in our network.

 What these instances seek to elaborate is that *your network usually determines your net worth*, as you might just get an admission,  a job,  a contract,  a loan a discount or a bonus *just because of who you know.*

*Final thoughts*: If you are yet to have a linkedin account, please do so now as that is one trending online networking platform for you to get professional connections.

I would very much love to be one of your connections across all social media platforms (Facebook,  twitter,  linked in) : just search for *Mukhtar Akinteye* and connect.

Do have a blissful weekend.