In a previous life, one where I was actually being paid to write software, I was a hermit. I spent most of my time in my office, door closed, heads-down on whatever the must-fix technical problem of the moment was. In my naiveté I figured that the rewards and recognition should come based mainly on the quality (and quantity) of my productivity. I’d heard that this mysterious thing called "networking" was supposed to work wonders for a career, but to me it seemed a bit dirty and fake. In my mind, networking was just a crutch to supplement what couldn’t be shown through productivity.
It took time, but I came to see that networking wasn’t dirty or fake. At a basic level it’s simply a force multiplier, amplifying the effects and opportunities that come from one’s work. Still, it was tough to change my habits from what the had become. Perhaps it was because I was still working with in the same group, or perhaps it was a function of the culture I was raised in, or maybe it was one of a myriad of other factors. Isn’t it always easier to blame anything and everything but yourself?
Complacency sneaks up easily in a stable corporate job, which is one of the reasons Justin and I decided to take the sink-or-swim approach of doing our own thing. Having been at it for a couple months now, I’m well on the road to being a convert – networking is important in a corporation but almost life-and-death for a startup. Even with our limited networks we’ve been able to find fantastic contacts and resources to help our business. One thing that’s helped my conversion has been discovering two networks of local entrepreneurs in similar positions as myself:
- Biznik is a small business networking group that was started here in Seattle, partly as a reaction to existing business networking associations that were stuffy and what I’d call "fake". Members host all kinds of interesting and informative events. I found the site through a post on Scott Berkun’s blog (highly recommended), and my first Biznik event was a website design and UI crash course hosted by him and Ario Jafarzadeh, a local user experience designer. I’ve been to a few events and found the members to be open, friendly and definitely not "fake".
- Seattletechstartups is a small and informal group of techies in the Seattle area who are either doing or thinking about doing their own startups. I went to my first meeting last week and met a number of interesting people (and ideas). It’s amazing how many of them are ex (or current) Microsofties.
To my surprise, I had a great time meeting new and interesting people at these groups, and it didn’t feel "forced" in any way. Networking also helped satisfy the need for social interaction that can be an unexpected issue when doing your own thing. All in all, I’m happy with the progress I’ve made so far, but there’s definitely room to grow. Here’s one small step in that direction: I’ll be attending the Seattle Mind Camp 3.0 on November 11-12. What could be more fun than 300 people together for 24 hours, discussing whatever comes to mind? Let me know if you’re going, hope to see you there.
-JL
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