What I came to find out, however, is that networking doesn't have to be anything like that. It's informal and off-the-cuff. Opportunities present themselves in your everyday life. You just have to learn how to recognize them. In our line of work, we meet contractors, lawn maintenance men, landscapers and repairmen of all kinds. Those are the types of professions that share a close link with pool cleaning.

I want to start by explaining why networking is so important. The whole point of networking is to get referrals and recommendations. When you make connections with business owners and professionals in industries related to pool cleaning, they start to send customers your way. You continue to cultivate your network, and word-of-mouth advertising goes to work on your behalf. Your referrals start to refer you, and your network grows exponentially.

Let me give you an example of some real-life networking that really benefited my pool cleaning business. My wife's good friend from yoga class is married to a landscaper. She mentioned it to me over dinner one night because she thought it could be helpful in some way. She was right! We arranged a double-date of sorts so I could meet him – his name is Chuck.

Chuck, as I had guessed, often had clients ask him about pool maintenance. Because he works in the yards of private residences, people assume he must also know something about pools. They like Chuck and they trust Chuck, so they want to know who he would recommend for pool cleaning.

Chuck and I hit it off. After spending some more time together just hanging out and doing fun stuff, the recommendation/referral thing came up. I often get questions about whether I know any good landscapers. Now that we knew each other better, we both felt comfortable recommending each other to our clients. Over the course of the next month, three of Chuck's clients contacted me. I was able to provide referrals for him, too.

That's an important point I want to emphasize. You have to return the favor when a colleague or business acquaintance is getting you referrals. Networking is a two-way street. The need to reciprocate is one reason you have to be careful when building your network. Only build relationships with people you truly feel comfortable recommending to your pool cleaning clients. The businesses you recommend and the quality of the work they do reflects on you as well. Always be selective!

Here are 7 tips on networking that I know to be valuable from my own personal experiences. This is some of what has worked for me, and I believe that it will work for you my fellow pool cleaners as well.

1.                  When you meet someone new, always give them two business cards – one to keep and one to pass along to a friend or business associate.

2. Follow up. After being introduced to a potential source of business leads, be sure to follow up with a phone call or an email, whichever is appropriate.

3. Get chatty. You never know who might lead you to your next pool cleaning job or become your newest customer. Strike up a conversation whenever you get the chance – and remember Tip #1.

4. Send thank you notes. If a referral turns into a job, thank the person who referred you. They'll be more likely to refer you again in the future.

5. Keep on networking even if you have a full client load. Sure, you may have more work than you can handle right now, but a strong network will come in handy big time if you hit a dry spell.

6. Pursue your hobbies and interests. You can meet new people by joining a softball team, professional association, charitable group or just about any other club or organization.

7. Try your hand at online networking. Social networking sites are popping up all over the place. Not all of them are teeny bopper-oriented. Some are designed specifically for making professional contacts. They're free to join and it takes only a few minutes to create a profile.

You've come to the end of this blog post – you know what that means. Time to get out there and start networking!