Dave Schofield on The Power of Networking and The People That Will Make Your Business Successful

Start Build and Grow

Today we discuss essential skills for small business owners including strategic networking, prioritising your time, and the importance of trust.

In this final episode for this Start, Build, and Grow podcast series, host Rob Lawrence interviews Dave Schofield, a seasoned professional with over 46 years of experience in various roles in the banking sector.

Dave emphasises the importance of listening, building a network, as well as your resilience. Sharing insights on leveraging personal connections, and the significance of feedback and reflection, Dave also highlights the value of building your confidence and how coaching and mentoring can support you.

We also focus on reliability, credibility, and intimacy as key elements of building trust in business relationships.

In this episode you'll learn:

Introduction (00:00:00) Getting to know Dave and his professional background.

Career Evolution (00:01:23) Dave's various career transitions within a single organisation over 46 years.

Transition to Development and Training (00:03:01) Dave's shift toward development and training, and the significance of relationships in his work.

Skills for Small Business Owners (00:05:13) The essential skills for small business owners and the importance of networking.

Resilience in Business (00:10:35) Building resilience as a new business owner and managing challenges effectively.

Building a Network (00:16:30) Strategies for creating and maintaining a valuable professional network, even without a formal one.

Using Your Network (00:17:35) The power of personal networks and leveraging them for various purposes, such as fundraising and business support.

Networking Strategies (00:19:36) Exploration of networking strategies, including leveraging LinkedIn, joining specific business networks, and building a social media presence.

Nurturing Your Network (00:22:15) The importance of nurturing and maintaining personal and professional networks, including reciprocity and mutual support.

Prioritising Time (00:25:16) Prioritising time and focusing on activities that add value to personal and professional networks; with a focus on strategic use of time.

Strategic Networking (00:30:47) Insights into strategic networking, including thoughtful reflection, and targeting specific opportunities for network expansion and business success.

Social Media Management (00:34:12) Balancing social media engagement, and time management for effective business presence.

Confidence and Capability (00:39:06) The relationship between confidence, capability, and success in marketing and business, and the importance of experience and giving and seeking feedback.

Coaching and Mentoring (00:45:38) The role of a coach or mentor for moving forward in business.

Intimacy in Business (00:49:40) Dave explains the importance of understanding clients and building relationships for trust in business.

Trust Equation (00:50:47) The elements of reliability, credibility, and intimacy in building trust with customers.

Importance of Trust (00:51:45) Dave emphasises the significance of trust in business relationships and as a foundation for recommendations.

Connecting with Dave (00:52:02) Dave offers his contact information.

About Dave:

"I started work in 1976 at a small branch of TSB (Bank) on the outskirts of Manchester. I come from a family of 4 children; 3 boys, of which I am the middle one, and a girl, the last to arrive. Respect and honesty were key in our house and for me at work. In the days when computers were just starting to arrive and we shared one calculator between us, tech was not what it is today.

Why is this important? It tells you who I am at my core.

The values and beliefs I carry with me that shape how I behave toward others and where my relationships have their foundations. I think this is key to every person, especially new business owners creating a product and business culture.

From there I've done a lot of things, I see 4 "careers" all within one organisation from retail, processes, and procedure design and change, IT development and implementation, and HR. I have filled many roles in those disciplines from office junior to senior manager and now as an independent consultant, I'm in a place where I am running my own business."

You can connect with Dave here on email or here on LinkedIn.

Dave's recommended reading:

The Trusted Advisor by Maister, Galford, and Green

All for One: 10 Strategies for Building Trusted Client Partnerships by Andrew Sobel

The Corporate Athlete by Jim Loehr

To learn more head on over to:

www.startbuildgrow.co.uk