Networking is usually an important marketing tool for any small business, but it’s particularly important for the home based business operator for two quite different reasons.

The first reason is that as many business operators will tell you, many of their best jobs come from personal referrals. Referrals don’t just come from people you’ve completed work for – they come from people you’ve met and handed your business cards to. When someone you’ve introduced yourself to hears someone say they are looking for a person with your skills, there’s a good chance they’ll say “I know someone who does that...I’ve got their card here”. Networking generates referrals!

Not everyone has a social nature. Certainly many people who choose to work from home rather than in an active workplace environment may not like the idea of attending functions to network. Even if you’re not inclined towards personal networking, you should attempt it. Joining a local small business association is a good start – you’ll meet some like minded people and you may even begin to enjoy networking!

Another good reason a home business operator should network is simply to get out and keep in touch. When you first switch from a traditional workplace environment to your home office, you might find it a little isolating. If you’re home alone through the day there’s nobody to greet you when you arrive at work, nobody to chat to at morning coffee break and nobody to go to lunch with. There’s no workplace gossip to keep you entertained or office politics to distract you. If you’re used to an active and interesting workplace, you might find working alone quite boring. Another thing you may miss is the support and information previously provided by colleagues. Some of this can be replaced by networking.

Joining industry associations is a fabulous form of networking. Not only will it give you contacts in your industry, but it will help you keep up with changes and trends. Most professional associations have electronic newsletters. You may also be able to access member discounts for products and services relevant to your business.

If personal networking doesn’t suit you, you’ll find entire communities of people like yourself networking online. There are forums and online groups you can join and many of these are related to home business enterprises and groups. There are forums and groups for affiliate marketers, work at home mums, marketing and website workers, writers, and many more. Joining a few of these groups can give you a fabulous network of people that can answer questions when you get stuck, give you the benefit of their experience or simply have a chat when you need a break from your work.

You can combine “social networking” with business networking by signing up to sites like Facebook and Twitter. Sites like Twitter can also provide you with a wealth of information about the types of work people are doing from home and how they’re doing it. You can get to know your competition – and even chat to some of the friendly ones!

As a home business operator, if you can make networking work to your advantage you might find you begin to enjoy it!