CEO of HomeFront Brands, a published author, and speaker. He is also host of "On the Homefront with Jeff Dudan" podcast.

As the English poet John Donne so eloquently wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”

This is true not just with the interconnectedness of humanity but also in business and franchising. And this is especially true when we begin to build our professional networks and inner circles.

With an eye toward cultivating our strategic relationships, we should seek partners we can learn from to help us reach our full potential and grow our businesses into those that are helpful in the community and successful on the financial ledger.

But making certain you choose the right partners can be tough in an era when so many are trading relationships like currency. You must learn where to find the best relationships, how to nurture them and, eventually, how to cultivate them for sustained success.

Put Your Real Face Forward

With the onset of social media, podcasting, video conferencing and other online platforms, we have become accustomed to “meeting” others from the safety of our computer screens.

And while this was the only way to establish connections during the pandemic, it should only be a small part of assembling your network now. The best way to build trust with potential strategic partners is to meet with them face-to-face.

In the franchising industry, we often hold annual or semi-annual meetings with our franchise owners. These provide an opportunity for the corporate team to meet with franchisees as a brand family and trade successful ideas from within a safe harbor.

It’s also a good idea to attend industry conferences and collaborative events throughout the year. These in-person meetings allow you to showcase your abilities to others and demonstrate how you would be a valuable partner while also allowing you to assess the same from your contemporaries.

You should be involved in your community and, as a franchise, encourage your franchisees to be involved in theirs. Your list of partners doesn’t just have to include those high-powered C-suite inhabitants of the business world; it should also include those members of society who work to make the world a better place.

The leaders of nonprofit organizations generally have very different leadership styles and must strategically solve a variety of problems you may not encounter at work. These organizers can teach you how to be a more collaborative leader and how to motivate your employees, for example.

Attending regular conferences and community workshops should be as important to your development as vendor training classes, corporate retreats and staff meetings. This doesn’t mean you need to completely give up your online outreach, but that is better reserved for staying in touch with the people you have met in person. It shouldn’t be your sole source of networking.

Make Sure To Give What You Get

Most of us learn in preschool or kindergarten that selfishness isn’t a virtue, but sadly, many of us forget that by the time we enter the world of big business. If your idea of networking only benefits you and your company, you’ll soon gain a reputation as an untrustworthy source, and your ability to build partnerships will suffer.

But if you work with others to build mutual referral programs or share resources and expertise, you’ll be able to diversify and expand your strategic network. Sharing information and resources also increases your access to new technologies, marketing successes and, most importantly, knowledge.

It’s also important to give back. If you’ve been in business for some time and have been successful, chances are that you had a mentor or someone you could call upon to bounce ideas off in your early days. Once you reach a certain level of success, offer to be a mentor to someone in the next generation.

Too often, we reach the pinnacle of success and then pull up the ladder behind us. If we expect younger generations to take care of us in our golden years, we need to pass along our wisdom and be a friendly ear.

Nurturing Isn’t Just For Parents

We also can’t forget our partners. Understandably, we all have periods when work and duty call, and we don’t have the time to spend on our professional relationships outside of our funnel. But we have to make time to nurture our networks. You should regularly engage with your partners, even if that means contacting them online or sending them a note via snail mail during particularly busy periods. But making time to meet with them in person is more beneficial to you and them. Celebrating your mutual successes, discussing issues and solving problems over a monthly dinner or meeting for drinks after a day at a convention is a great way to stay in touch and build relationships.

And, as your business and industry evolve, so should your partnerships. Your relationship with your family may involve the same people, but as anyone with a teenager knows, it certainly doesn’t stay static.

Keeping up-to-date on market trends allows you to identify new opportunities for partnerships. You can also introduce these new ideas to your current network. Both are great ways to stay relevant. Expanding your network while maintaining positive partnerships takes work, but it’s worth it.

Once you find your community, you’ll soon see that success is contagious. You and your partners should be able to unlock new opportunities, overcome challenges and build companies whose long-term success is attainable for generational growth.

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