Recent Biz Graduate? Time to Develop an Expertise!
By Danny Holtschke from StartupGeist
You are not your resume, you are your work. — Seth Godin
I had two major goals after leaving my first startup: First, establish myself as an expert and second, offer a service as a freelancer.
I aimed at spending half of my time on my own projects and the other half on freelancing.
Why? I wanted to pursue and invest in my own projects without financial pressure. My solution for making income was freelancing.
Moreover, ‘expertise’ establishes freedom and financial independence.
Business student and freelancing — how?
I always felt intrigued comparing myself to freelancing designers or programmers. Because they made money while pursuing stuff they are really interested. This doesn’t seem to be realistic for me as a business student.
What can I offer? Accounting? Finances? As a student, you don’t really have any practical experience. No portfolio. No references.
You quickly realized what Seth Godin meant when saying:
You are not your resume, you are your work. — Seth Godin
A portfolio and references are significant and necessary for getting a freelance job. As a recent business graduate, you most likely don’t have either — as I had nothing to show.
Hence, creating an expertise, building a portfolio and getting references became a strong motivation for me!
I decided to postpone starting another startup until I established myself as an expert. Three questions helped me to focus on where to search for expertise:
- Which topic am I passionate about?
- What is the potential?
- What access do I have or can I build?
Developing an Expertise
My main areas of interest are startups and innovation (culture). I researched both — the local Berlin market (e.g. The Dark Horse; SI-Labs) as well as international pioneers (e.g. Move the Needle).
I quickly realized that I want to support startups — not corporations. Though many corporations have a great need for consultancy and coaching in areas, like ‘The Lean Enterprise — How Corporations Can Innovate Like Startups’.
But these corporations are too dull and sluggish for me. They will never be bigger versions of startups by applying the ‘StartupGeist’ — a Startup-like mindset based on startup’s best practices and success principles.
As a result, I focused on organizations that help startups succeed because most startups don’t and shouldn’t have the budget to afford a coach/advisor. Side note: Most startups give equity in return for advice. I needed cash. Hence, I approached startup accelerators.
How I started…
In summer 2014, I reached out to my network and I signed two projects as a freelancer and one speaking engagement.
First assignment: Startupbootcamp Berlin hired me as their ‘Lean Guy’ (P.S.: Thanks to Alex and Tanja). I promised to push startups forward. Teaching applicable stuff in ‘Lean Startup’, ‘Customer Development’ or Team Productivity. Feel free to read more about my experiences here.
Customer Discovery #Workshop w/ @dannyholtschke — Sbootcamp Berlin (@sbcBerlin) August 22, 2014
Second assignment: My friend Bjoern, CEO at Compass (formerly Startup Genome) asked me to be the project leader for the 2015 Startup Ecosystem Report. Feel free to download the report here.
— Lessons Learned From my Start as Freelancer: Because I never burn bridges, be kind and try to help people, I leveraged my reputation when I most needed it. I got my first two assignments from friends who knew me well from projects before.
Take a look at my freelance offering at DannyHoltschke.com: I assist Startup Executives in Customer Acquisition and Team Organisation & Productivity. I also inject the StartupGeist to SME Managers via Workshops.
— Awaken the Giant Within: Try stuff. Work with different people in different projects. If you don’t burn bridges, you’re already planting seeds for future ventures.
Share your ❤ below — and respond with your thoughts.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
I am Danny and started StartupGeist to help students and recent graduates build a business — and have a good life. Why? To be free, financially independent and healthy. How? Build a growth mindset and deliberately practice skills that turn your ideas into something bigger.
