InContact

As entrepreneurs, we can agree that our network is one of our most valuable assets. Whether finding partners, getting feedback from the right people, or redeeming a favor at the right time, a well-organized network of contacts can boost your career incredibly.

However, keeping your key contacts in mind can become a heavy burden. I was developing a project to sell to IT recruiters a few months ago. As a programmer, I've connected with many recruiters over the years on LinkedIn, so I thought seeking feedback and finding clients would be a cakewalk, right?

But as I went along, I realized how limited LinkedIn is for this. I had to go through my hundreds of contacts one by one to find recruiters, and that took hours. LinkedIn didn't offer the tools I needed to manage my network efficiently.

That's when I decided to create InContact, a Chrome extension that allows you to organize and categorize your LinkedIn contacts with custom tags and add notes to each one, so you don't miss any relationship details.

What's the moral of the story? Every pain you encounter on your way is nothing but a new possible project because chances are you're not the first (or the last) to suffer it.
The next time you encounter a new problem, write it down in an “idea notebook” (can be a Notion too, I'm just old-fashioned and prefer paper lmao). Then, take a short time out of your day (an hour or so) to contrast those ideas: ask your friends, acquaintances, and colleagues if they also suffered those problems. Finally, once you have defined which problems are common, come up with a solution for each one. Then, you will realize which idea is in demand and can have a quick and easy first MVP.

And if you are having trouble deciding who to contact, it may be the ideal time to use InContact to better organize your network.

Good luck on your journey and never stop creating!