My dad gave me this book when I graduated college, and it has served me well through my life. I still use these principles every day to grow my business.
One of my all-time favorite business books is Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty, which is written by Harvey MacKay. My dad gave me this book when I graduated college, and it has served me well through my life. This book teaches you how to really network, which in Harvey’s view of the word basically means favor-banking and keeping in touch with people so you can call on them and ask for help when you need it. Some of my favorite parts of the book were the lists of the people everyone needs to have in their network. When you read this list, you quickly realize where you have gaps that need to be closed.
[EasyDNNnewsToken:Left Justify Embed 300 x 250] Harvey also provides many real life examples of when his network has helped him, including how he got his first book published. Another gem is all the quick and easy ways that Harvey shares that will enable you to stay top of mind for your network by only spending a few minutes a day. More than anything, he teaches that networking is just keeping your network in mind at all times. When reading the daily news, is there an article a friend would love? If so, send it to them. If you hear about a job that would be perfect for someone, give them a quick call.
While this book was last updated in 1999, it is still as relevant today as it ever was. I still use these principles every day to grow my business. In an interesting turn of events, it was my own network that helped my father at the end of his life. It is a long story, but the short version is that when my dad was at the end of his fight with Leukemia, he told me my mom would be fine because of some life insurance he had arranged for her through his company. I knew that the investors in his company would try to claim the insurance when he passed, so I called a friend from college who was a lawyer in Florida. She referred me to someone in her network who was the number two ranked civil litigator in the state of Florida. When my dad died, sure enough the investors tried to claim the insurance as I expected. When they got the letter from the number two civil litigator pointing out not only his background but reminding them that suing the widow does not go over well, they backed right down. My dad would be proud that I used his gift to me when we needed it most.
Derek Christian is the owner of My Maid Service with locations in Cincinnati, OH and Dallas, TX, as well as a business coach through Cleaning Business Builders and publisher of CleaningBusinessToday.com. Derek is now an investor in several cleaning companies including My Maid Service Dayton and Real World Services Columbus. Derek is also a consultant for industry leaders Marvelous Maids and Castle Keepers.
