If you need professional advice, being able to just reach for your smartphone means you save time and stress. If you're looking for a new job, you may hear about interesting opportunities from people you know in the same industry.
"It's useful to have a network in almost every profession," says Karin Kreutzer, professor for Social Business at the EBS University of Business and Law in Germany. And if you want to go freelance, you'll find it especially hard to get started without a good network.
