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Make The Most Of Your Contacts |
In any line of business, it pays to tell people what you do for a living, but this is especially true for the self-employed, the sole trader and the start-up. If people don't know what you do, how can they know that you're out there when they need a new...whatever it is that you do? I tell everyone I meet that I'm a freelance writer based in Berkshire, available for journalism, CV writing, press releases, PR, editorial, web content and copywriting.
As a sole trader, I tell everyone what I do. True, 99% of them will never have a need for a copywriter, but the 1% that do will remember me and consider me for the job. If they don't know what I do, a conversation will invariably ensue when they eventually find out, and it will go a little something like this: "Oh, you're a copywriter? Do you ever write stuff for people's websites? Oh, I wish I'd known! We needed our website overhauled last month - but it's done now." 'Who you know' counts for a lot in the self-employment game and, in my second year of self-employment, I am finding that more and more of my work comes through friends, acquaintances or friends-of-friends. I don't see that as a cop-out, I see it as astute. People are more likely to give work to someone they know or someone they've heard of. Your reputation will precede you and word of mouth counts for a lot. So, the lesson is to tell everybody what you do. Roll out that Rollodex and pick up that Palm. You can never tell what services people will need tomorrow, next week or next year. One thing is for sure, though: if they don't know that you're out there, they won't think to give you that all-important call. |
