Are You Missing Business Opportunities on LinkedIn?

How I Discovered I Have a Local LinkedIn Network of Over a Quarter of a Million

Speaking to groups in my part of the world over recent months I have found there are a lot of business professionals who know about LinkedIn and may even have a profile of sorts there but are not convinced that LinkedIn represents any real business opportunity for them. Some are quite sceptical, even dismissive about the idea.

While I certainly don’t share their negative or sceptical attitudes, I think I understand. It’s fair to say Facebook, Twitter and maybe even the new one on the block, Google Plus, are more fun and more interactive. On the other hand, LinkedIn has a lot to offer – such as the averages in income, educational and decision-making levels of its members compared to the averages for other networks.

And the fact that it is still in its fundamental structure and mode of operation a trust network means that for those who use it well it can be a very powerful way of building business.

But what about locally, if you don’t live in the USA or in a big city anywhere? There are, I believe, still opportunities. At the very least, I believe it makes good sense to check out the possibilities.

In that vein, and as part of preparing for a presentation on LinkedIn for local business people at Terri Cooper’s business networking breakfast this coming Friday Sept 16th at Mermaid Waters here on Australia’s Gold Coast, I did some searches to get a view of the size of my network in my part of the world.

I found that within a 120km (75m) radius of Mermaid Waters, I have over a quarter of a million connections, and connections of connections, going out to the third level. That’s 9.58% of the population of the region (South East Queensland). My guess is that in amongst that quarter of a million plus there is business waiting for me and I need to put my mind to checking that out.

For those of you in the neighbourhood, as mentioned above I’ll be sharing LinkedIn info, tips and insights at Terri Cooper’s business networking breakfast this coming Friday September 16th, at the Quality Hotel, Mermaid Waters.

Have you searched on your LinkedIn profile, using the location search? Have you found interesting results you would care to share?

Des Walsh

Business coach and digital entrepreneur. With coach training from Coachville.com and its Graduate School of Coaching, and a founding member of the International Association of Coaching, Des has been coaching business owners and entrepreneurs for the past 20 years. Over the same period he has also been actively engaged in promoting the business opportunities of the digital economy. He is a certified Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) coach, and a certified specialist in social media strategy and affiliate marketing.