I’m in the midst of a rebuild right now. This is scary but normal. If you’ve been in business for any amount of time, it’s never linear. There are valleys you have to go through, and it just so happens I’m in one right now. And that’s why I’m really focused on finding new potential clients.

What does that look like for me? There are a lot of things I’m doing, but probably the most effective is simply putting myself in the way of new potential clients.

Go to more in-person events

Like just about everyone, I fell out of going to in-person events during the pandemic. Then, my daughter came along, and I couldn’t comprehend even having time to go to anything that required her not being there. The joy of not having childcare.

Now that she’s in school, things have been changing drastically for me. I define myself less as a mom and getting back to being the businesswoman I used to be. Well, not exactly.

I used to ditch the regional or local in-person events. I didn’t really believe that my potential clients were there, so I went to only the events that I thought were most likely attended by people who would hire me.

But now, we have a sticker business that attracts smaller clients, so I have been less likely to turn down a smaller event. And you know what? While I was busy selling stickers, a potential client for my content marketing business connected with me. I was surprised and started questioning everything I had done before.

Maybe my old way of doing things did work before, but I’m questioning it now. I’m going to everything I can, and we’ll see what happens. So far, it’s been great.

Writing, writing, writing

I go up and down with this blog. It’s not because of how I value it. I actually value it quite highly. If I’m not writing here, it’s because I’m overly busy with something out of my control. I am just one person with all the human problems that come with it.

But writing has been one of my more effective way of turning a potential client into an actual client. So regardless of time constraints, I will always come back to it.

Let’s be honest: I’m writing in a crowded space. I can’t really make much of a dent on Google, so that is not how I will get new clients. So this is about connecting with potential clients after I have met them in a different way and then keeping in front of their faces as they decide whether they should hire me.

And it’s also a demonstration of my theories around social media and advice on topics around social media, whether you are working in social media, trying to get into social media or looking to hire someone in social media. Those audiences have all resulted in clients for me, so the more swings I take at them, the better.

One-on-one meetings

No one will know I’m looking for work unless I regularly remind them. And no one is going to do anything for me unless I am working for them as well. This is where one-on-one meetings come in.

If you’re only doing these with potential clients, then you are missing out. I honestly will meet with anyone who wants one. I never know what might come out of it, and it’s a great way to get myself in the way of others. Recently, I went to one that I thought was about looking at how we could work together. We ended up talking about each other’s businesses, and I realized it was a potential client meeting. So yes, that’s a mark in favor of taking any meeting that comes your way.

What we talk about really depends on the person and why they asked for the meeting. Sometimes, it’s straight business. Sometimes, it’s about what we’re struggling with right now. And sometimes, it’s wins. Or to be honest, it can be something completely different. I take meetings where they are and follow them where they go. And I’ll take what I can from them and hope that I give something in return.

Boards

Something I’m adding right now is attempting to get on the board of an organization I believe in. I have been resistant about this in the past, not because I didn’t want to do it but because I wasn’t confident that I had enough to share. At the insistence of many, MANY friends, I’m changing that.

Seeing big names on a board makes me feel unworthy, which frankly isn’t all that hard to do. But having sat in on board meetings lately, I’ve realized I have loads more to offer than I think. And now that my daughter is at school, I have the time to show that.

That will hopefully put me in contact with more people who can hire me or who know people who can hire me. It’ll be a lot of doing it the long way, but I have high hopes here.

Just talking

I have a tendency of not wanting to brag about what I do. I take it to the extreme though. It ends up being that I don’t talk about my work at all. Too many people think I’m just a stay-at-home mom simply because I don’t talk about myself in any other light. And that has worked against me.

I’m trying to treat more people as potential clients or people who might know potential clients, no matter where I meet them. That sounds annoying just typing those words out. But I think there’s a balance of doing that and not being annoying. So I’m going forward trying to strike that balance. Will I get it wrong at times? Absolutely. But that’s a part of the learning process. And more than anything, I love a good learning process.

How are you putting yourself in the way of potential clients?