Getting Started As a “Connector”
Yesterday, I introduced you to Matthew Adams – and I told you about the very profitable form of networking he has mastered.
I don’t mean handing out business cards at Chamber of Commerce mixers.
I’m talking about actively building a group of contacts who can help you with your wealth-building goals… as you help them with theirs.
Depending on the deals you put together with them, these relationships can be long term or short term. Either way, you’ll find yourself cut in on business ventures that you would have not otherwise heard of… let in on the ground floor of investments about to take off.
You get the idea.
So how do you get started?
First, let me give you an overview of another deal – or “connection,” as he likes to call it – that Matthew put together.
He heard about an individual who wanted to purchase a travel website. The man was specifically looking for one that already had significant traffic and featured e-commerce.
Matthew did a little research and found two sites that seemed to fit the buyer’s needs. So he sent him an e-mail. He explained that he specialized in “connecting” buyers with sellers – and that he had two websites in mind that he thought the man would be interested in.
The buyer was interested, and he was fine with the 3% commission that Matthew wanted. So Matthew simply introduced the owners of the two websites to the potential buyer… who made an offer on one of the sites. The sale went through a week later. And Matthew’s fee, $2,250 for about an hour of work, was wired soon thereafter.
It really is that easy. And you can do it too.
Start close to home. What do the people around you need? Are they looking to start a business? Do they need certain products? What about your local community, especially the businesses? Are they looking for new suppliers? A new location?
As a “connector” (also known as a “finder’s agent”), you can help them – and earn a “finder’s fee” at the same time.
If you’d rather get started online, Matthew recommends checking for leads at craigslist.org (under the “items wanted” section) and the classified section on Crain’s for New York (www.crainsnewyork.com), Chicago (www.chicagobusiness.com), Cleveland (www.crainscleveland.com), and Detroit (www.crainsdetroit.com).
Then, once you get your feet wet, you can move on to sources like these:
- The Wall Street Journal
- Investor’s Business Daily
- The New York Times (especially the Sunday Edition)
- the Chicago Tribune
- the Miami Herald
- the Los Angeles Times
- and any newspaper in your area where you can find people and companies looking for products, businesses, land, commercial real estate, surplus inventory, bankrupt companies, capital, etc.
Three sources for finding clients and deals overseas, says Matthew, are the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/), The Times (www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/), and the Gulf Times (www.gulf-times.com).
International Wealth Success (www.iwsmoney.com/iwsnewsletter.htm) publishes print newsletters with an abundance of contacts and leads for connectors. They also publish a comprehensive course on how to become a connector. (Contact them for details.)
And there are hundreds of useful websites for finding clients and deals, too. Alibaba.com, in particular, says Matthew, is an excellent source for companies looking for specific products.
You should also check out business-for-sale sites like bizbuysell.com and businessbroker.net.
Yes, you’ll feel like you’re out of your league at the beginning. Everybody does when they start out as a connector. But before long you’ll feel like – and be – a pro.
“Connecting” is just one of the dozens of wealth-building opportunities we write about in every issue of the Liberty Street Investor. From huge savings on travel… to getting the best deals on major purchases like home goods and cars… to real estate, commodities, precious metals, stock investing, and ETFs… it’s all in the Liberty Street Investor, and much more.