How Networking Helped Me Grow My Business Without Social Media

What would happen if you walked into a networking event with no agenda, no notes, and no expectations. What if it turned out to be one of the most memorable moments in your business?

That is exactly what happened to me. And it is why I have come to believe that networking and building genuine relationships is one of the most powerful growth strategies available to small business owners. One that has nothing to do with social media.

In this post, I am sharing the honest version of my networking journey: what pushed me to start, what has worked, what has gone wrong, and why I think relationships are the growth strategy that compounds quietly in the background of everything else you do.

Why I came to networking late

For most of my career, networking simply was not something I did. I spent years working in a salon, a world where your clients came to you, your team was your community, and growing relationships outside of that environment never really crossed my mind.

Looking back, I can see how much of a missed opportunity that was. Even attending a local chamber event occasionally could have made a real difference, both for the salon and for me personally. But at the time, I had no frame of reference for why it might matter. I did not understand the power of building relationships beyond my immediate working world.

That changed when I left my salon role at the end of 2021 and went all in on my business.

How loneliness pushed me to start

By mid-2022, I had been working from home on my own for a few months, and I was struggling. I had gone from an environment where I was surrounded by people all day: team members, clients coming and going, the background hum of a busy salon. Even on quieter days, there was always someone to check in with.

Working alone was a completely different experience. And whilst I had always considered myself an introvert, a personality test suggested I was actually 50% introvert, 50% extrovert. When I thought about it, that felt exactly right. There is a real contrast in me between wanting to hibernate and wanting to connect. I just had not fully recognised it before.

It was a friend who finally said it plainly: it sounds like you need to get out and talk to people. She suggested looking for local networking groups. Not just to find clients, but to feel less alone, to meet other people building their own businesses, and to start learning how to actually run one.

So I put aside my nerves, found a local group, and joined. I also started networking online. And looking back now, I can trace almost every meaningful connection in my business back to those early groups.

What incidental networking is (and why it works)

Alongside more formal networking groups, some of the most valuable connections I have made have come from what I think of as incidental networking: being in the same space as other business owners whilst doing something else entirely.

A good example is the NatWest Accelerator programme I am part of locally. Between sessions, over lunch, during introductions, there are natural moments to get to know the people around you, hear about their challenges, and share your own. I have had several clients come directly from that environment, not because I was pitching, but simply because I was present and willing to talk about what I do.

The same principle applies to workshops, business development events, and even personal pursuits where you happen to meet people who ask what you do. You never know who needs what you offer, or who they will meet tomorrow who does.

Incidental networking tends to feel lower pressure than walking into a room specifically to network, which makes it a good starting point if formal groups feel daunting.

How to approach networking without the pressure

The single most useful shift I have made in how I approach networking is this: I go in without expecting to come home with a client.

That might sound counterintuitive. But when you walk into a room thinking I need to find a client here, it puts you on edge. You stop listening. You start selling. And people can feel it.

When I go in with an open heart instead, curious about who I might meet, what I might learn, who I might be able to help, everything changes. I am more relaxed, more present, and far more likely to make a genuine connection.

It also helps to remember that networking is never just about the people in the room. It is about everyone they know. Whether you are talking to five people or fifty, each of those people has their own network. That is where the real reach lies.

A clear, low-pressure ask makes it easy for someone to help you, even if they would never become a client themselves. It feels a lot less uncomfortable than asking someone to buy from you, and it is far more likely to get a useful response.

Your ideal connection avatar

One of the most useful concepts I have come across in relation to networking comes from Michelle Warner, who teaches Networking That Pays. Rather than focusing on finding your ideal client in the room, she encourages you to think about your ideal connection: someone who works with the same people you do, but not a competitor.

For me, that might be a business coach, a brand photographer, or a copywriter who works with established service business owners. They are not going to hire me themselves, but they are surrounded by people who might.

When you know who your ideal connection is, you can be far more intentional about where you spend your networking time, looking for groups and events where those people are likely to be, rather than simply turning up wherever is convenient and hoping for the best.

The downsides nobody talks about

Time is the most obvious cost. Attending events, following up with people, having one-to-one coffees. It all adds up. If you are not being intentional about it, it is easy to stay very busy without actually moving your business forward.

You cannot control who is in the room. Most people you meet will be warm, genuine, and doing their best, just like you. But occasionally you will have a conversation that leaves you feeling deflated. I have had exactly one person ask me whether I have a degree in web development. It was not a pleasant moment. But it was one moment in years of networking, and it is not representative of the experience as a whole.

Your own inner critic is probably the biggest obstacle of all. The worry about what people think, the fear of saying the wrong thing, the discomfort of walking into a room where you do not know anyone. These feelings are real, and they are almost universally shared. Everyone else in that room is navigating the same uncertainty.

A small but useful reminder: nobody is watching you as closely as you think. I once dropped my water bottle at a busy International Women's Day networking event and narrowly avoided soaking everyone nearby. I am the only one who still thinks about it.

What has actually come from networking in my business

The results have been significant, though rarely immediate or predictable.

Through the Female Entrepreneur Association, I built friendships and connections that led, eventually, to me delivering an SEO masterclass to their membership, content that continues to bring clients into my business. That opportunity came not from pitching myself, but from being active in the community, being known for what I do, and having a friend who encouraged me to put my hand up.

A connection introduced me to a local networking event, where I ended up giving an impromptu SEO talk having barely walked through the door. Jenny Moore, who joined me for a live website audit in Episode 77, had introduced me to the host, and it became one of the most energising moments in my business.

At an industry-specific networking event for beauty professionals, a client called Kim spoke to the room about the impact our work together had on her business. A single session focused on her Google Business Profile had brought her a new client who went on to become a business partner. I had not asked her to say any of it. She simply wanted to.

None of these things were planned. All of them came from showing up consistently and being genuinely interested in the people around me.

Relationships versus algorithms

Social media has its place, but it is a channel you do not own and cannot fully control. Algorithms change. Reach fluctuates. What works one month may be invisible the next.

The relationships you build are yours. They are not subject to platform updates or shifting trends. A connection made today, nurtured over months or years, can bring clients, collaborations, and opportunities that no amount of posting could reliably replicate.

This does not mean ignoring your online presence. Sustainable growth tends to combine both: a website and content strategy that brings in people who are actively searching for what you do, alongside relationships that bring in people who already know and trust you. The two work well together. But the relationships are the part that no one can take away.

Where to start this week

You do not need to overhaul your entire approach to marketing. Start small.

Think of one conversation you could have this week: reaching out to someone you have been meaning to reconnect with, attending a local event, or simply being a little more open when someone asks what you do.

You do not need all of the billions of people in the world to be your clients. You need a handful of the right ones. And the right conversation, with the right person, at the right moment, can change the direction of your business entirely.

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∧ Transcript

Introduction: Networking to Escape Social Media

Hi, welcome back to the Website Success Show. It is Jules here, and today I wanted to talk about one of the most powerful ways I've grown my business in the last few years. I want to talk about networking and growing relationships and how it can help you to escape social media and really grow your business in a way that feels good for you. I am going to talk about some of my own experiences with networking, some of the goods and the bads, and how you can approach it with an open heart and realistic expectations about what it can and can't do for your business really.

Jules's Background & Starting the Business

So back at the end of 2021, I decided to leave my salon job and go all in on my business. I'd never done any formal networking. When I think about back to my salon days, it had never been something that had crossed my radar. I'd never been in a corporate role and it just wasn't something that we really did in the salon role. I look back now and I think, well, actually that probably could have been really helpful, just taking some time out of the salon and spending it to grow relationships, even just in the village we were in really.

Discovering Networking: Loneliness & the FEA

By mid-2022, I'd been working at home on my own for a few months and I was feeling really lonely. I'd gone from literally touching people all day long in the salon and having lots of team members there and lots of clients coming in. I always considered myself an introvert. That being said, when I did a Myers-Briggs, the 16 personality test, it said I was 50% introvert, 50% extrovert. And that feels about right for me actually.

I was having a chat with a friend and she suggested, why don't you just look for some local networking groups? She said it could solve a few problems in my business: not only the loneliness, not only the feeling disconnected, but also getting some clients and getting to know people and learning more about how to actually run a business. I put aside the fears about networking and found a local networking group, which I joined. I can trace many of my connections — pretty much all of my connections — back to those networking groups.

One of the things I did was I joined Carrie Green's Female Entrepreneur Association. Even back in 2022 when I found Carrie and the FEA, I Googled "can you grow a business without social media" and one of Carrie's YouTube videos came up. The members club opened its doors and I joined. I got to know so many people through being part of that membership.

Incidental Networking & NatWest Accelerator

One of the things that I have found has been a bit easier than going to organised networking groups is kind of incidental networking, where you are together in a place with other business owners and you get to know them whilst you're doing something else. For example, I'm part of my local NatWest Accelerator programme and I've got to know people through that. I've actually had clients come from that. I guess part of it is not being afraid to speak up in the group.

Approaching Networking with an Open Heart

One thing I would say is to approach networking with the mindset that I'm not going to get a client from it. I like to approach networking with a really open heart and to really think of how I might meet friends, get some support, or meet somebody who can help me solve a problem in my business. With networking, I always feel like it's not the people that are in the room right now, but it's everybody that they know.

Knowing Your Ask & Ideal Connection Avatar

One thing to do before you go into networking is to make it easy for somebody else to understand what you do. It's really good to have an ask question. Rather than asking people to buy from you, you're asking: do you know anybody who is this, this, or this? I really like Michelle Warner. She talks about Networking That Pays where you actually think about who is your ideal connection avatar — who would be working with the same people that you work with but isn't a competitor of yours?

Downsides of Networking

Obviously, one of the biggest downsides is time. And if you are not making good connections and not following up on those connections, we can end up being kind of busy fools. You can't control who's in the room either. I have only ever been asked once if I have a degree in web development, and that was from a guy at a networking event. It made me feel about two feet small. But that's one of the few times that I've been talking to somebody at a networking event and it's been a bad experience. Your own self-critic is the biggest downside really.

Amazing Outcomes: FEA Masterclass & Surprise Talk

My amazing friend Jane, who I met through the Female Entrepreneur Association, said to me: you should offer to do a masterclass around SEO. I sent them an email, asked if they would be interested, and they said yes. I now have a masterclass in the Female Entrepreneur Association that I've recently updated, and it's content that will bring clients into my business for years to come.

Another thing that happened: I was introduced to a new network locally by the fantastic Jenny Moore. I'd only been in the room about two minutes when the host said, our guest speaker who was supposed to be talking about SEO tonight is sick. Do you fancy standing up and doing a talk? I hadn't even taken my coat off at this point. And I said yes. It was honestly one of the moments in my business where I felt my true calling.

Relationships vs. Algorithms

The relationships that I've built — no algorithm can take that away. With SEO, there's lots of work to do at the beginning, but once you've done that work, it keeps paying dividends for years to come. In the Website Growth Club, at the end of phase one, we are wrapping up all of the work that people have done on their core pages and really celebrating how far they've come.

Action Step & Closing

This week, have a think about where you can do some networking. Think of one conversation you can have this week that can help to grow your relationships, either in a big or a small way, and just be open to the possibility that relationships are one of the best ways to grow your business. If you'd like to get your SEO in order so that you can connect with clients and customers at the point they're looking for your business, visit thewebsitesuccesshub.com. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you soon. Bye.