The entrepreneur starting a business is extremely busy. Inspired by the dream of escaping the 9-5 work week, it is common for entrepreneurs to put in 100+ hour weeks during the startup phase. Every effort is made to ensure a profitable business in the futurefrom creating a catchy name to building the perfect product to orchestrating an effective marketing campaign. But in this flurry of activity, there is a strong propensity to forget something extremely important: building business relationships with other people.

This tendency is further encouraged by our notion of the lone ranger entrepreneur. The concept of a person building a successful business alone is held in high esteem by society, yet dangerously unrealistic. Entrepreneurs who build their businesses with assistance from others are far more likely to succeed than those who attempt it alone. For this reason, it is imperative that entrepreneurs work on building relationships with people who can help them.

As an entrepreneur, here are some of the reasons you need to be networking:

Networking gets your name out
Spend some time preparing a 30-second elevator pitch you can use when talking to people. For a startup business, its essential to get people talking about your product. You can start building this buzz by meeting influential people and talking to them about the product or service you offer. They in turn will tell others. People are more likely to refer friends to someone they know personally.

Networking can build your reputation
Become known as a knowledge broker, and youll soon be recognized as an expert in your field. Every time you offer advice and solutions for free, youre building into people who will spread word about your business in the future.

Networking develops new business ideas
Talking with other small business owners is a powerful way to fuel innovation. As you talk with fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners you can learn about new markets that have potential, and come up with ideas you wouldnt have thought of on your own. Many a new product, service, or market began as a person-to- person discussion.

Networking helps you find joint venture partners
Joint ventures are a powerful means of doing business. Each party contributes something that the other doesnt have. If you socialize with the right group of people, you will find great partners for profitable ventures.

Networking lets you learn from others
As you begin to mingle with other professionals, you will glean tips on how they became successful in business. Often some of this information can be more relevant than what you would read in a book because its localized information. Talking with someone else often gives you insight into an area that you wouldnt have thought about by yourself.

So entrepreneurs, as you work on building your business, dont forget to build relationships with people. They could become future clients, colleagues, and mentors. The knowledge and opportunities you gain will make it well worth your time.