The information to Win in Business, the information to Win in Life, all wrapped up in one winning, weekly email. Winformation Weekly.

My 14 years’ experience of growing a business from £0-£100m as well as the life that goes with it.

No ads. No affiliate links. No BS.

Simon Says

Winformation this week...

There was a time when the word “networking” made me die a little inside. It usually meant being herded into a tired hotel function room with a bunch of strangers who had nothing in common apart from the fact none of us wanted to be there. The atmosphere was as dry as the beige buffet in the corner. As a natural introvert (until I warm up to people), these events were literally hell on earth for me. But, thankfully in 2025 it no longer has to be this way.   

What if I told you, you could become a valued contact of pretty much anyone in the world? There are 2 caveats, however. Firstly, it will take time, effort and patience...which let’s face it is a good thing, because these skills are seriously lacking in most people these days. Secondly, when I say “anyone” in the world, I don’t mean anyone...you're not going to be strutting into the oval office this time next week. I mean anyone of any significance in the market in which you operate. Below, in today’s One Idea to Win in Business I provide my exact blueprint, complete with a downloadable cheat sheet on how to do this.

Did you know... you don’t have to steal books from the library or claim to Amazon “it didn't turn up” to get your hands-on top-drawer self-development books for free. People think personal development means training courses...and training courses mean money! Not true. Below, in today’s One Idea to Win in Life we look at 5 free or very low cost methods to become a self-development master.  

One Idea to Win in Business

Steal My Networking Template: How to Become Valuable to Anyone in the World. Free Download

Alright, if you’ve read the intro above, you know exactly why you’re here so let’s get straight to it. Networking isn’t about what you can get. The people with the biggest and most valuable networks understand it’s about what you can give. Once you really grasp this, everything changes. 

Here’s the thing: the more value you provide to the people higher up the food chain in your sector, the more the law of reciprocity works in your favour. In short, the more (and most) people will give back. 

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to do exactly that. And to make it even easier, I’ve shared the exact spreadsheet template that I personally use to do this. It’s available to download in the Victory Vault in various formats to suit your preferences, now ready to help you start building those connections today.  

Identify the right people - Start with a list of 20-30 people that could directly impact your business or your goals.

Get detailing - Use the below downloadable cheat sheet (Victory Vault) to detail who they are, and what social platforms they use, and how many followers on each.

List their interests - What do they post about? What’s their interests, pain points and challenges?

Least busy platform - Start to engage authentically. Comment on their posts across platforms. I would make sure your handle on each platform is the same, or as close to the same as you can, so they start to recognise the engagement is from you across their platforms. Please, no template comments. Genuine thought-provoking ideas and insights.

Give, give, give - Now is the time to ramp up the value. Choose the platform where they have the least followers (but they are active) and reach out privately. The first direct reach out, is one of value provision. Never an ask for yourself. Offer a product or service recommendation that would solve a pain point. Recommend a connection from someone else from your list of 20-30 people that talks about the similar pain points, or topic trends. “I notice you mentioned you are having trouble with x...someone else I follow had a similar issue, here’s their profile, could be worth reaching out” 

Be consistent & patient - Now you aren't going to be best mates after one DM. Be genuinely helpful over a consistent period without pestering. 

It’s a ratio game - The law of reciprocity is like anything in life. Some people will take the value you offer and NEVER return any value to you. This is a fact of life, please expect this to happen. What “normal” people do in this situation is give up offering value to anyone else because of these few experiences. You won’t get anywhere with this attitude. This is like never getting married because your first ever junior school boyfriend or girlfriend dumped you. If 1 in 5 come back and offer you the support, connections and help you are looking for, then this is an excellent return on your effort. 

Take it offline - The initial contact these days almost always starts online. However, when the relationship is off and running, the sooner you can meet in person the better. I’m old school, I think the best, deepest connections always happen in person.  

One Idea to Win in Life

Personal Development for Free: 5 Ways to Level Up Without Spending a Penny

As the saying goes, you can only coast downhill. When it comes to your life, personal development is a continual journey. It’s about investing in yourself. But everyone instantly thinks self-development means training courses, and training courses mean money. Here are 5 ways you can develop yourself for free.

1. Read books online free and legally - You don’t have to steal books from the library or claim to Amazon “it didn't turn up” to get your hands-on top-drawer self-development books for free. Platforms like Open Library and Project Gutenberg have tens of thousands of titles totally free to read.

2. Ted Talks - Every man and his dog has done a Ted Talk now, but you can’t deny there is some gold in these short, concise value packed talks. They are on Youtube for the cost of an internet connect. No excuses.

3. Dual purpose your time - Back in the day I used to drive into the office listening to commercial radio stations or Talk Sport. I consciously made the decision to stop listening to them years ago. I replaced it with podcasts and audio books instead. This simple change has resulted in 40 minutes a day of free or low-cost personal development content. Over the past 5 years that's 750 hours of knowledge being pumped into my brain. Don’t go crying about the results you aren't getting because you have decided to instead listen to traffic updates for roads that are 150 miles away, weather updates when you didn't plan to leave the house and payday loan adverts when you have never taken a loan out. I’ve never met a successful person that listens to the same songs and adverts day in, day out for years on end.

4. Audible...free content - Yes you can pay for Audible, trust me I should know, I pay for 110 Audible accounts a month for my team members. But there are loads of free books, podcasts and resources on Audible too.  

5. Free LinkedIn Learning - Again LinkedIn Learning isn't free...unless you have a Library card. In some UK regions and US states you can access this part of the platform for free. Courses on leadership, marketing, productivity etc – all available through the library’s portal.

Win or Wonder?

Ask Me a Question…

No matter where you are on this mad journey. Starting out, scaling up, or somewhere in the messy middle feel free to ask me anything.

Business, life or mindset, I read and reply to every question. The best ones will get featured in future editions of Winformation, with your permission of course!

To ask, just hit “reply”, type away, and send. That’s it. No forms. No fuss.

Until next week! 

Let’s win, together!