 This article was originally published on LinkedIn. How often does it happen that you say yes to a new project or service engagement, even though it’s not something you actually want to do, then spend the next several weeks drudging through and kicking yourself for it?
This kind of situation is all too common among service-based business owners, who aren’t consistently landing the clients and opportunities they want and, instead, end up settling for what they can get.  This article was previously published on LinkedIn.
Few things are more nerve-wracking than running a project-based business. Sure, the rush of new clients (and payments!) is exciting at first. But it quickly wears off when you realize your next paycheck might be your last for a while. Even if your business is bustling, when your income is inconsistent you never have the sense of ease and flow you need to be able to relax a bit. Instead, you find yourself in constant hustle-mode, bouncing from one gig to the next, and hanging on by a thread.  As a solopreneur, I bet there are certain projects you take on for clients because they’re nice people and the work is within your wheelhouse. But you don’t enjoy it. No matter how “good” you are at this work, it always takes too much time; you find yourself drudging through and feel used up and empty by the time it’s finally, finally done. Once you hit send on your wrap-up email and collect your final payment, you’re so exhausted that you can’t even feel good about the awesome job you did or the money you earned.
You believe you have to work hard to earn well, so you continue taking on these projects. You’re frustrated, but there’s more to it than that. Here’s the thing you might not realize: while you’re all wrapped up in this busy work, you’re leaving easy money on the table.  When you choose to hyper-focus your expertise, it might seem harder to find ideal clients (because you’re inherently “narrowing” your options). Networking can feel like a fruitless endeavor. But if you know where to show up, the right folks will find you and know right away that you’ve got what they want.
Here are four places—some online, some offline—where you’ll be sure to find and have an instant spark with your ideal people: |
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