The number one way to grow a long-term, sustainable business is to get outside your friend circle and fast! Yes, your friends and family are going to support you and love you no matter what. Many of them will probably become your customers. But, let’s talk the long-term strategy. Can your friends and family alone keep your business afloat? Likely not! Getting out of your friend circle is going to be one of your very first strategies to extend your reach, connect with new customers and build for the future.

In this short 7-minute video, I share my experience as a new consultant. Guess what?! Nobody wanted to host a party with me. Sound familiar? While I hope your calendar is overbooked, mine wasn’t. If you’re ready to break outside your personal network and create a business that thrives, pick a few of these strategies and make it happen. I can promise the Party Fairy isn’t going to drop random new customers on your doorstep. You’re going to need to work at this and want to make it happen.

6 Strategies to Get Outside Your Friend Circle:

1. Book Parties from Parties – Duh, right? Thank you, Captain Obvious. But, really. This is the fastest and easiest way to get outside your circle of friends. Of course, your goal is making great sales, but equally (or arguably, more importantly!) is for 1 or 2 bookings. The first step in making this happen is ASKING each and every guest. Offer an incentive. Just pop the question – it never hurts to ask. It just takes one or two parties to get you outside of their circle. It’s a ripple effect from there.
2. Do an in-person event – Consider joining a vendor event in your area. Don’t invest too much if you’re just starting out, but expect to pay a modest vendor fee to join in. Heck, they’re bringing you the customers so chipping in to be there is a no-brainer. Go to those events with no intention to have big sales. Your primary objective is to get parties booked. This comes from building relationships so take your time and chat with your potential customers to get to know them. Make sure booking parties is front & center in your event set up. Whether it is a pretty chalkboard sign with your open calendar dates or a booking bag, you want to make sure your customers know that hosting a party is the best way to get free and half-off stuff. Check out these tips to find events.
3. Get out of the house – Join a networking group, playdate, meetup group, mom group, book club.  Go make some friends. For real. Ha! Put yourself in places where you’re meeting new people. Consider bringing your kids along as a distraction if you feel uncomfortable venturing out on your own.
4. Leverage your VIP group – Post consistently in your group to build relationships. As these relationships begin to grow, booking parties will get easier and easier with customers outside of your friend circle.
5. Join Facebook Groups – Find facebook groups where your ideal customer hangs out. This might be a local moms group or a hobby group. Be intentional about connecting with people and building relationships. While online relationships often take longer to kindle than in-person, you can make plenty of friends online. Be smart about your approach here. It’s a fine line between being a genuine, real person and a creepy spammer that is trying to make a sale. Don’t link drop. Share helpful information with the group. Be intentional about what you share.
6. Ask friends to introduce you to friends. Tag along on coffee dates and community events to get out of your circle. Even if your friend isn’t interested in hosting a party, she can always introduce you to friends that might be your customer in the future. Be their friend first and they may become your customer later.

Best of all… each and every one of these strategies will also contribute to growing your team!
Watch this quick video to learn how to get out of your friend circle!

Tell me — What strategy can you implement TODAY to get outside your circle?