This is a very good question.  I always say your NET WORTH will never out grow your NETWORK and I still believe that and I am going to expand on that, as I believe the quality, not just the size, of the network is important too.

The first time I heard that your salary/income is the average of the people you hang out with, I really took a hard look at who I was hanging out with - did I want their salary/income? Think about the 6 people you hang out with the most - do you want their income/salary? Chances are you're saying NO.

In business, who you hang out with, who you network with is so important. Everything you need you will get from other people. I have been involved with real estate investing in some form or fashion for over 17 years and I quickly realized that networking was vitally important to my success. Over the years I met and talked with literally hundreds of people all over the country and the world. Of course as the internet and social networking become more a part of our lives, networking becomes easier. Some of the greatest deals I have done have been because of someone I knew in my network knew someone who could get the deal done and "boom" the deal was forged.

So how do you improve your network? You must get out there an talk to people. Networking events, Business events and seminars are great starting points. Also, social networking sites and the internet are becoming great ways to meet a wide variety of people; however, with the internet it is easy to hide who you are so beware of charlatans. Once you start building a network, look at who is in it, is there someone you want to follow or emulate? If so hang out with that person, some of what they have will be your average. If there are some millionaires in your network you may definitely want to consider hanging out with them if they have time, as that could boost your average considerably. Remember don't be a secret agent when networking, tell people what you do as you never know when a referral could be the ticket to the best deal you have ever done.

So get out there and network, take someone to coffee who you want to emulate, it may be the best coffee you ever had.