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I second the network point, but not quite in the same way. I often find meetups and conferences can be hit-and-miss (though a developer conference may be more u
by jlees 13y ago
I second the network point, but not quite in the same way. I often find meetups and conferences can be hit-and-miss (though a developer conference may be more useful!), but I agree that connecting with people is good.
In the thread on consulting a few days ago a great point came up: if you can translate your skills into value to a business, you might end up having conversations with people they didn't know they wanted to have. An example: you can go to a tech meetup and pitch yourself as a full-stack Rails developer, and try to get work from people who know they need Rails developers -- or you can go to a finance meetup and pitch yourself as a solutions builder, and end up getting 10x the revenue from a project that's turning a spreadsheet pipeline into a CRUD app.
My take on networking, and what's been working for me, is to reach out through people you already know. They might not be hiring your skillset, but they might need a solution to a problem. Almost all of the work I've been doing lately has come through intros, and several of those started off as fairly cold relationships. For example, I applied to a startup incubator, whose founder decided I was smart but too early in my idea, so hooked me up with another founder who needed some heavy lifting done on the Android side. Other projects have come through more direct referrals, but almost all have been for startups who are flexible on parameters (including time, remote, etc) and who don't even have websites, let alone job ads.
- bigtunacan 13y agojlees, Definitely they are hit and miss; but I have found that to be true in all forms of networking. This should certainly not be your only avenue for networking. I take multiple approaches to networking. Meetups, events, conferences, calling/emailing people I already know, cold emailing companies directly if I know they use a technology I specialize in. I also wear T-shirts almost constantly that are simple and state the nature of my business and a phone number to reach me at.
- jlees 13y agoSolid points all. I guess what I didn't say but was trying to get across was: if you are uncomfortable cold-introducing yourself repeatedly at a large gathering of strangers, you don't have to do that. Does the T-shirt approach work? I've wondered what would happen if I put my details on my laptop skin, as I work from a lot of SF/Valley coffee shops :)
- bigtunacan 13y agojlees, I have bought large numbers of T-shirts and give them away as well as wearing them myself. I honestly don't have any statistical evidence that shows they have worked to gain me more business. However I always wear these when going somewhere that I specifically intend to network. In the same way as having business cards does; company branded T-shirts lend credibility to your business and I have been approached and directly asked questions about my business from wearing the shirts. And believe me; I totally understand the uncomfortable at introducing yourself point. I am an introvert by nature. I have a rule for myself when I go to these places; I force myself to do a minimum of 2 new introductions each time. More is better, but a minimum of 2.