Why Meet People?
When I started SET Consulting in 2002, networking meant connecting computers, not people. At 20 I had no concept for shmoozing. But I understood math I knew the concept of snowballing—if 5 people told 5 people who each told 5 more, we’d eventually have more work than we could handle. In retrospect, it took a long time to get to that point—finding the right groups of people, better understanding the market, spreading the right message. I was perhaps a little naive in my blind faith that things would snowball. But sure enough, and perhaps unfortunately, we’ve turned down more business than we’ve accepted this year…and I’ve done almost zero networking for SET Consulting for the past two years. We’re lucky, but once upon a time I pounded the pavement pretty hard. Now I’m meeting just as many people for AwayFind. Networking is really just forced serendipity. They say you’ll never meet that special someone when you’re looking for her. Bullshit: there are plenty of ways to increase your odds.
