My blog focuses on Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Networking is a key to success in all industries. In some instances, branching out into other sectors can greatly help you core business. The following contributed post is entitled, Why Networking Outside Your Industry Actually Helps Your Core Business.
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A few weeks ago, I found myself in one of those reluctant coffee shop queues. That shop everyone goes to because they need a break from their inbox, but no one really wants to make small talk. And there I was, chatting to a man who restores antique furniture with the kind of finesse you’d expect from a heart surgeon.
I thought we’d end up talking about varnish or wood grain. We didn’t. We spoke about juggling customer requests without becoming overwhelmed by admin. By the time the conversation had ended, I had filled the back of a receipt with my own notes. Interesting how that happens.
Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/women-holding-takeaway-coffee-cups-7490979/
Routines Are Good Things, Until They’re Not
When you’re always surrounded by people who do similar work to you, it becomes easy to forget to ask questions. Everyone’s approaching things in the same way, chasing similar goals, using the same language.
Eventually, your thinking starts to follow the same patterns. Reliable, maybe, but it can start to feel like you’re running a loop, like watching a film you once loved and suddenly noticing that you already know every word.
Something Changes When You Change the Conversation
Now and again, I find myself in a completely unrelated conversation with someone whose work couldn’t be more different from mine: a butcher, a lighting technician, a garden landscaper. And somehow, I always walk away with a fresh idea. Sometimes the link is obvious, and sometimes, it’s more like working backwards through a puzzle.
One afternoon, while helping a friend organise her delivery schedule, we got chatting about her rural suppliers. We ended up discussing stock flow and logistics for something entirely outside my usual remit Farm Supplies Shropshire. That one conversation quietly nudged me to rethink how I manage my own planning calendar. Nothing dramatic, just a gentle reframe that helped things fall into place.
Those smaller nudges are sometimes more powerful than big, flashy strategies. They come without pressure, without an agenda. And that’s why they stick. Because they come from moments that feel human, not transactional, and they open the door to creativity without you even trying.
No Pitch, No Pretence
There’s something refreshing about conversations that don’t involve trying to impress anyone. When you’re speaking to someone from outside your industry, there’s no silent comparison going on. No need to translate your job title or prove your worth.
You just tell stories. You ask questions. You listen. And in that space, ideas show up. Honest ones. Useful ones.
Shifting Sideways Can Still Move You Forward
If your calendar’s full of the same networking calls and familiar faces, consider this your nudge to shift things slightly. Say yes to the community walk. Chat to the woman running the local flower stall. Join the talk on a subject you know nothing about.
Let the conversation be what it is: natural, unplanned, and maybe even a little odd. Sometimes those quiet exchanges plant the seed for something useful to grow later on.
You might leave with nothing more than your usual flat white, or you might walk away with an idea you didn’t know you needed. Either way, the coffee queue has its moments.
