Networking with the best

Building a strong network is a key to success when it comes to starting a new business venture. This is true to pretty much all industries, however it makes even more sense when your core is to organize top placements for international internships in a foreign country like China.

Len Hayashi, one of Next Step Connections co-founders and current international internship program director landed in Shanghai in 1997 and spent a good 13 years building contacts in Shanghai.  This has proven to be fruitful.  Len knows most senior management of multinationals across various industries ranging from advertisement to Finance.

“I have to say that being well-connected in Shanghai and more so in the whole of China has played a major role in our fast growth. Since our start, we have been able to secure internship placements in large companies like McCann, Tesco, or AXA-Minmetals. This is also the main reason why we named our organization:  “Next Step Connections”; our participants benefit from our strong corporate connections in Shanghai and at the same time we encourage them to spend time growing their own network once they have landed here.” Says Mr. Hayashi.

Shanghai holds numerous networking events, some are effective, and some aren’t, but it takes more than spending hours exchanging business cards at public events to build a strong network.

Once you realize that you can actually meet people pretty much anywhere and at anytime; it becomes an interesting game. It’s all about being ready to open-up and taking the time to interact. You also need to be ready to step away from your comfort zone, as approaching people might seem intimidating at first.

According to the NSC co-founder, the concept of building connections comes with being ready to give first before eventually asking back for a favor.“ I always try to see how I can help people around, it’s all about doing a favor first” explains Mr. Hayashi.

Not only do you need to build a network but you also need to keep it alive, which can be quite time-consuming but once again crucial. “ You do not want to realize one day that your main contact is no longer working at the same company, you need to plan ahead to anticipate moves. Maintaining a strong corporate network requires a lot of strategy and planning.”

Anyone who has been living in China long enough knows that doing business without Guanxi is impossible. Guanxi is a central idea in Chinese society and is commonly translated as connections.