This week's Maven Mini is for those of you who are struggling to network effectively. So, when you're just getting started in business, when you're still working to get new clients and grow your business to the level that you desire, you should heavily focus on your sales and marketing strategy. When you start seeing that there are no results coming in, you begin to stop doing the work and maybe even lose faith, but this is mistake number one. You really have to persevere through it.

Networking never really goes away, especially if you're a solopreneur. Frame it like this, you're building a snowball, you're pushing it up the hill and it's getting bigger and bigger. But if you stop, it will melt and the fruits of your labor will disappear, so keep going!

The second mistake I see are for those of you who are going out to networking events and are putting yourselves out there. You make the effort to go, but you don't take the time to follow up! Yikes! People don't get to know, like, and trust you during their first meeting. Building strong connections and relationships takes time. People are often busy, so you need to remind them in a gentle way what you have to offer and don't let yourself fall off their radar!

The last and final thing I would like to mention is that after you've gotten a client, you completely forget to ask them for referrals. Big mistake! Leverage your existing client base! It's a great place to network and it's easier. Remember, all you have to do is ask and people will often times be happy to help.