Why I network so much?

A lot of people ask me and sometimes criticize me why I go to so many networking events, why do I have a side business, or even why can't you do normal things like watch a movie on TV or something. Usually, I will sit and listen and note that the majority of those people still rely on the traditional way to be a professional.. You know, go to school, get good grades, get a job 9-5 and then go home and plop yourself on the couch and watch mindless TV. Then when that 9-5 job does not exist, they use the traditional ways to look for their next great opportunity and wait and wait... These people never think of a Plan B and new ways to come across their next professional opportunity. Anyone with children are without a doubt exempt from this but interesting enough the criticism I receive are from people that do not have children or are older.

In 2007, after leaving Staples and starting a new role at another company, I decided to network more. I got involved with my alma mater's Alumni Networking Exchange at Northeastern first then also started going to local networking events in Boston. After going to these events, I discovered the "other life" of small business and entrepreneurism. I found myself more passionate and interested in small business so I decided to look for my own. For months, I looked at franchising, starting a gym, network marketing etc... finally after networking with a fellow alum at Northeastern, I decided to give internet marketing and sell health/ wellness and online shopping to my customers. In 2008, I also started become interested in helping small businesses with their website and social media presence since without this in place, the business would suffer. In the meantime, I continued to network and build a personal roledex that has now grown today to over a thousand professionals in the Boston area. So now with a full-time job, two businesses, a family, I still continued to go to networking events and am meeting on average 5-10 professionals a week. All of this networking has made me much more of an on-going person, a more confident professional and also a very popular person in the Boston networking scene. But the biggest reason I network so much is that I am able to help make connections between two professionals. I may not get a good client or a job lead ( BTW, I am in between full-time jobs) at a networking event, but I feel a sense of satisfaction if I am able to connect two people in need of the connection.