Opportunity, Networking and Asking — How I Got A Few Things You Wouldn’t Expect

I haven’t written a blog post for the last two weeks. I must apologize. The one week was my birthday, and the next I had a couple of articles to work on for Between 10and5. Naturally, I had to prioritize those articles because of how life works. A lot has happened since I last wrote, and I think I need to fill you in on that and hopefully we can both come out with a couple of lessons.
As you may know I have been trying to gain a couple of freelance clients and projects that I am working on so that I can have more creative freedom in my work-life going forward. One of the projects I received is one that I am extremely proud to be a part of and that is Between 10and5. I landed a freelance project with them as a content manager. They are one of South Africa’s premium online magazine’s on the pulse of the African creative scene. As a South African creative it is one of those gigs that seems like an absolute dream.
With having landed this contract and hoping to move more towards being a freelancer, I figured out that I knew exactly what I wanted with my full-time job. Personally, I didn’t want more pay or more benefits, what I needed is what I consider to be the most important resource of all and that is time. So I spoke to my boss about potentially looking at creating my job into something that would open up more time for me. So I asked for a freelance position or a half day job. A couple of people told me that I would never get that desire. I completely get why they would think that, however, I had made my intentions and wants clear. I had an idea of the journey I would follow either way. As it stands right now, it has been agreed that I can move to a half day job over the next couple of months while new employees join the team and I help train them. It may be a massive surprise but I got the half day job I asked for. The details still need to be finalized, however, I asked and I received.
Interestingly after this was agreed, I landed two meetings with two potential freelance clients. One of which I have landed and am now working with and the other I must send a quote for my services.
The next thing that I have started to do is to train almost every week day. I have written before on the benefits of sport and it’s creative expression. I was trying my best to skate or exercise as much as possible but I still found myself tired on most days at work. Until recently the company I work for was offered discounts at the two gyms that are in the same building. One of the gyms I was never really interested in because, well, it’s a normal gym. The other gym (Stealth Fitness) though has a different approach, their approach is much more goal-oriented and personal. At the gym I now train with a couple of colleagues every day and we basically get group personal training every session. Interestingly the gym is in fact now one of my freelance clients, through training at the gym and getting to know the guys there, we built up somewhat of a rapport. I took a look at their website and saw that it could use a bit of help with SEO and content creation, step in, an offer to help out. It turned out they were looking for someone to help with online marketing so my offer could not have come at a better time. I then met with the owner of the gym this week Monday and we agreed to work together.
If you know me working with a gym would not be your immediate connotation but I was fortunate that I got to know the team at the gym and then decided to offer my help. The reason for this is because I knew them and liked them I knew I could work with them, one of the benefits of working for your own clients.
I am still working full-time, so you can imagine that my schedule has been somewhat full over the last couple of weeks, which is in large part why my blog has been M.I.A. My capacity is definitely growing, I am learning a ton about the creative world in Africa, I am learning more about people, more about my preferences and my hustle is growing.
With all of that said here is some of the key lessons that I have learned over the last couple of weeks:
- The going button on Facebook doesn’t work that well. So this is a personal joke, as for my birthday I hosted a little get together where a lot of people said they were going on Facebook but then never made it, without letting me know. In all honesty it doesn’t really hurt me, but it does bother me because I feel like it is a symptom of our society at the moment. We seriously struggle to honour our yeses. I struggle with it to but I believe it is something that we seriously need to work on as people in 2018.
- Get to know people, then network with them. There is a common saying; “your network is your net worth.” I mean it kind of is, but just saying that doesn’t make it easy to network. I have found that people tell us to network but they don’t tell us how to network. Personally, I feel like the best way to network is by just meeting people in your everyday spaces and get to know their interests then tap into that with your interests. That is how it seems to be working for me. Also, always remember that networking has a lot to do with the luck of who you meet, so when you achieve something because of your network don’t boast about networking be honest about how fortunate you were to meet people.
- Keep your eye open for opportunity. It can be overwhelming when LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor and Bizcommunity are all sending you emails every day about open jobs and you started your new job yesterday. I , however, still find having an eye open for opportunity is always helpful. When I mean opportunity I mean look for if people you know need help with what you do, you don’t have to even have to do it for money for it to be an opportunity. Doing it for free could be apart of the network we all so desperately desire.
- Don’t be afraid to ask. If you don’t ask you will never know.
- Hard work is hard and stressful. I mean there are million quotes on how hard work is temporary and all that. I’ll tell you this much I sure hope it is!
While, I have been working hard for the last couple of weeks, I have been enjoying what I’m doing and a vision for where I am going is developing. Ultimately, looking to opportunities outside of your full-time job in fields that interest you in my opinion are fantastic to pursue and we never know where they may lead.