What would it feel like if when you walked into an interview, you were confident, collected, and calm?
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If you have a company in mind that you want to work for, maybe you’re curious what types of jobs/experience you should take to eventually get a job at that company.
I’ve always wished I was better at following up with people and networking. If I took a few minutes every day to email 5 friends or acquaintances, man, in a year that’d be 1,500+ people I was keeping in contact with.
If you’re starting off as a freelancer (or have questions about becoming a better freelance and landing more clients), you might be asking yourself “How do I write a proposal?” or “How do I write a better proposal?”
Next to productizing your services and meeting more decision makers, understanding how to write an effective proposal that speaks to your client’s needs and communicates the value you bring to your client is the most important skill you can bring to your business. [click to continue…]
If you’ve ever thought about making money on the side by freelancing or charging for a service you provide, how do you answer when someone asks what you can do for them?
- “I can write copy for your website”
- “I’m a general practice marketer”
- “I build websites”
If you describe your service simply in terms of the service you provide, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with the specific problem your client needs solved and communicate the value you’ll provide to your client.
“What gets measured, gets done.” – Peter Drucker
Last week, I took 60 minutes in a quiet café with no electronics to figure out what I wanted to get out of February.
All I brought with me was 10 pieces of blank paper and a good pen. I left my laptop and phone back at home. I wanted a quiet, distraction free environment for this project.
My goal? Figure out the results I wanted out of February.
[click to continue…]Jonathan Boston read my Hacker News comment (‘I don’t look for jobs that have been posted’) and reached out to ask exactly what I do to reach out to companies as a freelancer / prospective employee. He was curious what I do to learn about a company’s needs, how I find the contact information for the decision maker, and why people would want to meet with me.
1) How do you decide what companies to contact? More specifically, how do you figure out if a company falls in your set of ideal companies (uses X technology, pays employees $X, etc)?
2) How do you get contact info for the decision maker? How do you know who the decision maker is?
3) How do you get people to meet with you? What’s your offer? What’s in it for them?
Yesterday was Groundhog Day, so I celebrated by buying the eBook version of How To Write Groundhog Day by Danny Rubin (the writer of the screenplay) and read through it on the beach.
If you’re interested in the history of the movie Groundhog Day, it’s a fun book to read. Seeing Danny’s creative process and learning how the screenplay changed between the initial draft and the movie was really cool. Plus it answers the question of ‘How much time did Phil spend trapped in the time-loop?’
One section – how Danny quickly wrote the initial draft of the screenplay to get it out to his agent – helped me solve a creative problem I’ve been chewing on for the past week:
[click to continue…]The first time I bought a used iPhone on Craigslist, it turned out to be stolen. I brought the iPhone home, called Verizon, and started to add it to my account.
Verizon: What’s the IMEI (International Mobile Station Equipment Identity) Number for the iPhone?
Kai: It’s XXX
Verizon: Sir, that iPhone has been reported stolen. I’m sorry, we can’t activate it.
Kai: What’s that mean? I just bought it.
Verizon: You better see if you can return it.
Curse.
[click to continue…]These are the 4 best articles I’ve ever read on building a business / launching a product. Listen, it’s Friday. You’re kicking back and getting ready for the weekend.