7 ms·
1) Don't use the freelancer sites. They're markets for lemons. 2) There are a variety of networking mechanisms besides networking events. Anything pitched
by patio11 14y ago
1) Don't use the freelancer sites. They're markets for lemons.
2) There are a variety of networking mechanisms besides networking events. Anything pitched as a "networking event", explicitly, is going to self-select for people who have nothing better to do than go to networking events. Successful businessmen largely don't go to that sort of place because they have networks. They go to places which promise value to them.
One specific example is e.g. focused presentations or conferences on a topic of immediate need to their business. For example, the Business of Software conference charges something like $2k a ticket, and is pretty much totally attended by people who own or work at software companies that can justify $2k a ticket and a half-week at a luxury hotel if it sells more software. That might be a good place to meet well-heeled software companies if you're in a mind to do that. (How to avoid paying an arm and a leg for conference tickets? One way is to get invited as a speaker. How to do that? a) Get really good at something. b) Reach out to conference organizers. c) Tell them that if you speak about your thing at their event it will receive high ratings and people will talk about it after the conference.)
Another hack: can't get invited to a party? Throw a party. Invite yourself. You must be a desirable person to meet at the party, after all, you're throwing it. Ryan Carson talks about this all the time. It takes absolutely nobody's permission and a budget in like the two to three figure range to say "October 22nd: SEO For Law Firms seminar, Community Center Conference Room A, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM with reception to follow. Register now to reserve your ticket."
3) they are probably hiding behind an army of secretaries
Is this an obstacle that the world is presenting to jiggy2011 or an obstacle that jiggy2011 is presenting to jiggy2011?
I know at least 30 people who can greenlight 5 to 6 figure engagements. 25 of them have publicly routable telephone numbers... I assume, anyhow, because calling people scares the heck out of me. Every last one reads their own email. None has a bodyguard separating them from the hoi polloi at e.g. industry events.
You don't need to get the CEO of Bank of America on the phone to charge $1X0 an hour. A company the size of a BoA bank branch can be a great, great client to have -- one or two people in the decisionmaking loop, monthly payroll of $X00,000 to $Y million so your invoices won't threaten the ability of anyone to make their mortgages.
- danielweber 14y agoFirst time I tried to get a consulting gig, it was a group of college or just-out-of-college kids trying to sell what we today call Incognito mode. IIRC I mentioned a price of $5000, and the eyes nearly bugged out of one guy's head. Clear sticker shock. They wanted to spend about $500. As the podcast is saying now, it was a very very good thing that I did not end up doing anything for them. People who want cheap are to be avoided. To date I have yet to successfully get a contract gig, but I have succeeded tremendously in not getting bad clients, and that's something good.
- jiggy2011 14y agoThanks for the reply, certainly some food for thought there. I guess there are a few things at the crux of this. Having worked on mainly typical "line of business" type software and CMS type systems I've tended to find myself on projects where the number of voices has meant that everything tends towards mediocrity and anything approaching an innovative idea gets shot down immediately. In other words it's difficult to produce something that you feel proud of and would be happy to show people as an example of your skill. Also as very much a generalist (everything from server admin to dev to SEO) it's difficult to find an area where I would feel confident speaking as an "expert" on any particular subject. Perhaps, I would be better off using the time to develop things of my own that people might find useful/interesting and would give me something that I could talk about?
- patio11 14y agoAlso as very much a generalist (everything from server admin to dev to SEO) it's difficult to find an area where I would feel confident speaking as an "expert" on any particular subject. This is a common worry in our field, even for people who are absolutely drop-dead world-class experts in things! You do not have to be absolutely drop-dead world-class expert in things to teach hugely valuable things to people, because the overwhelming majority of people are not experts at $FILL_IN_SUBJECT. You do server admin? Hypothetical example: Have you ever administered a MySQL server? Have you written a backup strategy for one? Once? Jiggy2011, you know more than I do about a subject which very nearly cost me $$$$ and a heart attack last Thursday. Would I be listening to hear you talk about MySQL backup strategies? Heck yes. I burn with need for that right now. Are there other people who know it better than you? Yes. Do I know who they are? No. I know almost nothing about this field, which includes not knowing the straightforward paths to learning more about this field. You know this subject better than I do, maybe you could tell me who they are, but you can probably also tell me that they're busy building Facebook and since you aren't you're the one actually talking about this stuff.