When you decide to be a consultant or freelancer, sometimes you will basically start from scratch. You may have had a long or even short successful career and already built your base, your contacts and your back-up plan. However, you will realize all these may not matter and you will need to start again. Let’s say you were the one making editorial pitches but not the one getting them. This means you had zero connections to either the editors at a print publication throughout the years.

This will often feel like you are at ground zero.

However, one thing is important at this phase, an understanding of how to create connections.
We always make new connections every single day without even realizing it. It may be online on social media through that friend request or new follow. It could be during an event you attend whether online or physical. It could be attending that Twitter Space and realizing someone else’s thoughts and opinions resonate with you so you follow up later.
In reality;

• No one starts out in consultancy or freelancing with everything they need and knowing all the people they’re ever going to work with.
• Making connections is all part of the adventure of chasing down an opportunity and getting out into the world. It’s getting out of your comfort zone as often as you can because you never know who you will meet.
• Remember to keep your human contacts smooth and pleasant. Are you actually listening to what the other person is saying? Become interested in what they are speaking about. Encourage them to talk about themselves.

“One can win the attention and time and cooperation of even the most sought – after people by becoming genuinely interested in them.” – Dale Carnegie.

• Always be intentional when making new connections. What do you want to achieve? How will this have an impact whether in the short term or long term?

Making connections is part of our social nature that we have learned as social beings from our childhood.