Building Your Network for Growth
A lot of engineers think networking is a dirty sales trick, but it's not. It's a remarkably simple way to multiply your influence and get customers, especially in the early days.
I left my job to go full-time on Draft.dev last year, and right out of the gate, my first move was to approach my network. People were happy to make introductions which quickly led to my first 5 customers. Those customers referred others to me, and within 9 months, we now have a team of 50+ and are growing by leaps every month.
Whenever people ask about my growth strategy, I have to admit, replicating it would take 5-10 years of building relationships. So, there's no better time to start building them than now!
But How do I do "Networking"?
There are two parts to networking:
- Meeting new people
- Keeping in touch with them
For meeting new people, you need to get plugged into the community you want to meet. Usually, you can find online communities that you can then turn into more personal one-on-one meetings, but I also like in-person meetups and conferences (when possible).
You can also ask for introductions. Whenever I want to meet someone specific, I ask people in my network if they happen to know someone like that and see if they can give an intro.
The second half is just as important: you have to keep in touch with people after you meet them. I have used an intentional system of keeping in touch with people for years. Here's how it works:
- Spreadsheet with around 50 of my best network connections
- Includes a note about what they do and our last conversation date
- Each week, I update the list and intentionally reach out to 1-2 people to catch up
I find that 1-2 touches per year is usually enough to keep you relevant without being annoying, although power dynamics can come into play. If someone is much more successful than you, you need to approach the relationship as "looking for specific advice" but don't waste their time. On the other hand, if someone is a peer or earlier in their career than you, it can be "just catching up".
Finally, I have to admit that intentional networking takes time. I typically budget 2-4 hours per week catching up with people and making new connections. That said, it's a huge lever for growth and opportunity if you want to become a business owner.
