Why playing by different rules might be exactly what your business needs - and how it works for Innovator International's co-founder, Richard Harrison.

Networking events make me uncomfortable. There, I said it. While others work the room with ease, I'm the person wandering around wondering who to approach next. If networking feels like an awkward first date to you too, you're not alone—and more importantly, you may not need to master it to build a successful business.

The truth is, traditional networking isn't the only path to business growth. In fact, it might not even be the best path for many of us. Here's how we built a thriving business by playing by different rules entirely.

The Problem with One-Size-Fits-All Business Advice

Most sales trainers are brilliant at teaching techniques, but they often can't tell you if you're selling the right thing. You can become the world's best salesperson, but if people don't want what you're offering, you're still stuck.

The recent shift in how businesses operate has made this even more critical. Companies operating on thin margins need to completely rethink how they find and retain clients. The old playbook isn't working anymore.

Step 1: Choose Your Ocean Wisely

Before you can succeed, you need to decide where you're going to compete. Think of it as choosing between two oceans:

The Red Ocean is packed with competitors fighting for the same customers. Success here means beating others through slightly better features, lower prices, or superior marketing. It's called "red" because the competition is cutthroat—bloody, even.

The Blue Ocean is wide open space where competition is irrelevant. You create something so unique that customers don't have alternatives to compare you against. Here, you set the rules instead of following them.

Most networking groups serve Red Ocean businesses—companies desperately seeking that extra referral to gain a competitive edge. But if you can create a Blue Ocean offering, you don't need to fight for scraps.

The key? Spend time understanding what your ideal clients actually want, then build that exact solution. Don't just sell what you have—create what they need.

Step 2: Competence Beats Confidence Every Time

We've all met people who love to promise they can "turn your business around in X days." Here's the uncomfortable truth: they usually can't, and neither can anyone else without understanding your specific situation.

Real business transformation starts by developing a genuinely valuable offering, not from learning to sound more convincing. If your product or service isn't meeting a real need, no amount of confidence will fix that fundamental problem.

Before investing in confidence training, invest in making your offering genuinely excellent. Then you can sell it confidently because you know it delivers real value - and if you still want that support with your confidence, it's being build on solid foundations. .

Step 3: Map Your Client Universe

Who do you actually serve? This isn't just about demographics—it's about understanding the complete ecosystem around your clients.

You might discover that reaching your ideal customers directly isn't the most efficient path. Sometimes working through intermediaries who already have relationships with your target market is far more effective.

Think of it like running an airport taxi service. You could chase individual travelers, or you could partner with travel agents who book dozens of trips weekly. Both approaches work, but one scales much better than the other.

Step 4: Design Relationships That Actually Work

Not every business relationship needs to be built over months of coffee meetings. The type of relationship you need depends entirely on what you're selling and how people buy it.

For simple, clearly defined services, customers often prefer a straightforward transaction. They want to understand what you offer, see if it fits their needs, and make a decision quickly.

For complex, high-value services, deeper relationships matter more. But even then, the relationship should serve a purpose beyond just "getting to know each other."

The best approach? Be upfront about what you offer and what you need. It may be better to skip the elaborate courtship dance and focus on delivering value.

Step 5: Find Where Your Clients Actually Gather

Here's something most people miss: businesses cluster by size and type. Micro-businesses (1-10 people) typically network with other micro-businesses. Large corporations rarely show up at general networking events—they have their own circles.

If you're trying to serve mid-size companies but spending your time at events full of solo entrepreneurs, you're fishing in the wrong pond. No matter how good your technique, you won't catch the fish you're actually after.

Identify which "cluster" your ideal clients belong to, then figure out where those people actually spend their time. It might not be traditional networking events at all.

Step 6: Work With Your Natural Strengths

Everyone needs basic sales skills, but you don't need to become someone you're not. I discovered that I didn't hate selling—I hated lead generation. Cold calling and approaching strangers felt unnatural and ineffective.

Once I restructured our business so clients come to us instead, everything changed. Our "sales process" now involves sharing information, answering questions, and helping people determine if we're a good fit. It's collaborative rather than combative.

Figure out what aspect of business development energizes you versus what drains you. Then design your approach around your strengths rather than fighting your natural tendencies.

Step 7: Audit Your Time Ruthlessly

This might be the most important step of all. Track how you actually spend your working hours for a week, then categorize everything into four buckets:

Eliminate activities that contribute nothing to revenue or genuine prospects. Stop doing these immediately.

Reduce necessary tasks that you could do less of or more efficiently. Does that meeting really need to be in person?

Raise activities that generated real results. Do more of these.

Create important activities you keep meaning to do but never find time for. Make space for these by eliminating and reducing elsewhere.

When I applied this framework, I freed up nearly 30 hours per week. I eliminated most networking meetings, reduced speculative coffee chats, and cut way back on social media marketing that wasn't generating returns.

Those 30 hours went toward sleep, family time, and the few meetings that actually mattered—including three conversations that completely transformed our business.

The Results That Matter

This approach didn't just improve our revenue—it improved our lives. We now spend about 10% of our time on lead generation instead of 90%. We work with clients we genuinely want to serve. And we sleep better at night.

You still need to network, but not necessarily at networking events. You still need to sell, but not necessarily by becoming a traditional salesperson. The key is designing a business development approach that works with your personality and serves your actual goals.

The business world is changing rapidly, and the old approaches are becoming less effective. Companies that figure out how to operate differently—how to find their blue ocean—will thrive while others struggle in increasingly crowded red waters.

Your path to success doesn't have to look like everyone else's. In fact, it probably shouldn't.