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Warning: that 'slow season is for networking' advice almost bankrupted me
Everyone in this group keeps saying slow months are your chance to go to every networking event and coffee meeting. I tried that last February in Portland and it was a disaster. I spent $150 on event fees and parking alone, plus 3 hours each time driving downtown. After 4 events I had zero new clients and had missed a chance to fix a bug in a client's project that blew up into a 2-week delay. That client left me a bad review and I lost two referrals from them. I think people push the networking idea because it sounds productive, but for me it just burned cash and attention I needed for existing work. Has anyone else found that staying home and doing admin work during slow weeks actually worked better than pounding pavement?
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michael_williams8d ago
Your one bad experience doesn't mean networking is useless for everyone.
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kai_ramirez385d ago
god that sounds rough, sorry you had to deal with all that. networking can be such a money pit, especially if you're already juggling client work. i've been in a similar spot where i dropped cash on events and got nothing but tired feet and a lighter wallet in return. sometimes staying home and catching up on boring admin stuff actually pays off way more than shaking hands with strangers who don't even remember you the next day. that bad review and lost referrals sting, i get it. not every slow season tactic works for every person or market.
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