In this business tv show, we ask Business Networking Strategist Andy Lopata, how to make sure you\'re seeing your networking investment the right way:\"For most people networking is about business development and they want to get a return form that investment but few people look at what that investment is. So when businesses look at membership fees of networks they think about can I afford that right now and is that expensive and can I afford that rather than if that\'s going to be affordable what\'s the return on investment then I need and I think the first step is you need to know the financial return from your networking. If you don\'t how can you know if you\'re successful, how can you break it down to the steps you need to take to get that financial return? \nIf you know you want to get thirty thousand pounds back in a year from your networking you can then break it down into the different pieces of business that if you got those in would help you reach that goal. You can then ask for that business whereas if you just think I want more business you\'re going to struggle to know what to ask for.\nSo to work out the return on investment it\'s not just about looking at the cost of membership of the network which is what a lot of people do. You have to look yes at the cost of the network but also the opportunity cost, what could you be doing with that money otherwise. \nYou need to look at the cost of that time and the opportunity cost of that time, what could you be doing with that time. You need to look at all of the follow up you need to do. If you join a network most of the power is actually in the relationships you build outside the meetings. \nYou have to quantify that as well and say how much is that worth in my business so return on investment isn\'t just about the money you pay. \nIt\'s about your time, it\'s about the commitment you put into it, it\'s about what else you could be doing and what return that would bring.\"See more business news television shows from Andy Lopata and other business networking experts at http://www.yourbusinesschannel.com/section.aspx?section=networking \n\nFind out more about the very latest show releases, as well as other yourBusinessChannel news by visiting our blog at http://www.yourbusinesschannel.com/blog.aspx advice, andy, business, cards, channel, elevator, expert, experts, lopata, networking, news, pitch, show, small, tv