A few months ago I joined the Indianapolis-based networking group Rainmakers. Because walking into a room full of people I didn’t know was the most intimidating part of starting a business for me, I decided to introduce myself to the Rainmakers group through serving as a board member for an event hub called Incubators. After attending the Incubator events in February and March, I began feeling more comfortable and decided to dedicate an entire month almost entirely to networking.
My goal for April was to generate more exposure and awareness of Point Brake in the Indianapolis area. More specifically, I wanted to rid myself of the 100-200 business cards of mine that I had left. Within the first two weeks, I had successfully achieved my goal.
The Good News
There are some really awesome people in Indy! I met so many great people within the last month. A few of them proved to me that networking does not have to be the uncomfortable, scary monster I had always imagined it to be. I met a couple of people that are highly respected within the community, and I had the honor of sitting down for lunch or coffee with them. The best advice and greatest encouragement I received all month came from them.
I achieved a very ambitious goal in half the amount of time I had planned on. I tend to constantly critique myself and only focus on how I can improve, and I hadn’t even noticed the significance of this until just now. I kicked some major tail!
The Not-So-Good News
There are also some people in Indy that I did not find much synergy with, and a few of them actually brought down the level of my confidence. With little time in between meetings and even less time to myself, the month ended with me feeling more discouraged than I really ever should feel.
Though I achieved this massive, amazing goal, doing so definitely got in the way of achieving my other goals for the month. It caused me to fall behind on real work, left me constantly exhausted, and took a minor toll on my health.
Everyone really does have an opinion, and they’re more than willing to share it. (That isn’t the not-so-good part.) Though I got some really great advice over the last few weeks, I received far too much of it in such a short amount of time and did not have time to process my own thoughts and generate my own opinions.
Looking Ahead
Within the last month I was invited to be a board member for two other Rainmaker event hubs, Socially Awkward and the Columbus Lunch. I began to evaluate all of my responsibilities within Rainmakers, the Greenwood Chamber, and others.
I realized that to be a sole proprietor that successfully generates exposure while balancing client and in-house work, a detailed and meticulously planned strategy for networking and personal schedule must be implemented.
I have many goals for the month of May. I am off to a much slower start this month with them than last month. I spent all of last week regaining my sanity and mental focus. This week I have been trying to catch up on referrals and the connections I have recently made as well as client work. I am hoping that by next week I can begin the in-house work and begin to achieve my goals for the month.
In the meantime, I will also be attempting to recap all the valuable information I gained over the last month and catch up on the articles I have missed writing.