get off the Internet and grow your business

I’m a big fan of the Internet. It’s provided a lot of opportunities for my business. (After all, without the Internet, I wouldn’t have Designing an MBA.)

But when I think about the opportunities that have grown my business the most, they all seemed to happen OFFLINE.

I built a thriving wholesale business because I put in the time (and dollars) at trade shows. And while technically Tara and I did meet on Twitter, it wasn’t until we started hanging out offline that we created some serious business magic. And the same goes for many of my other “online” friends. The ones I have the strongest connections with are the ones I’ve spent time with offline, at conferences or shows or brunch.

Lately, I’ve gotten the sense that a lot of business owners are hiding behind the Internet. It’s tempting to want to sit on your computer, hanging out on social media, while you “work” on your business. And while I’m sure you could find examples of people who have grown successful businesses like that, I think you’ll find a lot more examples of people who accelerated their online businesses by spending time building them offline.

Now is a good time to start thinking about your business strategy for 2013, and one of my challenges for you is to figure out ways to take your business offline.

If you’re a creative, product based business, there are three big opportunities you could look towards – retail shows, wholesale shows, and conferences.

Retail shows are fantastic for customer feedback and understanding which products people respond too. They’re also a great way to connect with your biggest fans and your fellow makers.

Wholesale shows let potential stores see your products in person (which is really important because that’s how they’ll be selling them) and lets you build face to face relationships with buyers. It’s also a great way to gain information about your business. (I’ve learned a LOT through the process of doing shows.)

And of course, conferences can be a great way to foster deeper connections with all those “friends” you’ve acquired online, not to mention learn from and be inspired by lots of speakers.

Of course, I know for many of you, taking your business offline can be a nerve wracking experience. (There’s a certain comfort to sitting behind a computer screen.) Which is why I’m so excited to be teaming up with Brigitte Lyons for a free training on building offline connections and busting the fear of networking. Brigitte is one of those “online friends” that I’ve been able to connect with in the past year during some amazing offline experiences and we’ve got some great conversation in store for you.

The Internet provides lots of opportunities for growing your business, but that doesn’t mean you should forget about the great big world beyond your computer. As you’re strategizing ways to grow your business, my challenge to you is to mix online strategies with real world connections to really maximize your business growth.

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Want to really maximize your offline strategy? The next session of Wholesale Academy starts October 22.