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Hi, Reader,

How much time are you actually investing in building real relationships?

In 2022, I was hungry for more clients.

I had tried just about everything: cold emails, networking events, asking existing clients for referrals. There was really only one channel I hadn’t tried yet: posting on social media.

So I made a decision. I was going to post every day and see where it took me.

For the first six months, the answer was pretty much nowhere. A few people cheered me on in the comments, but it wasn’t generating clients or opportunities. By just about any measure, it was a failure.

Then one day, I saw a post from someone with about 40k followers asking, “Who in my network knows about startups?”

I commented, we started chatting, and eventually took the conversation to DM. I had a million questions for him, so I started firing away.

He quickly stopped me.

“We need to meet to discuss that.”

Ugh. A meeting?

My calendar was already packed, but eventually we found a time. When the day came, I wasn’t feeling great and almost cancelled.

I took the meeting anyway.

What I didn’t know was that this one conversation would completely change the trajectory of my career.

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All it takes is one person

You’ve probably heard this story a million times. One person enters the picture, and everything changes.

Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube by Scooter Braun. Dr. Dre invited a kid named Eminem into the studio. Mark Zuckerberg met Sean Parker, who helped Facebook grow far beyond what Zuckerberg had originally imagined.

So consider this your wake-up call:

Your network may be the most valuable thing you can cultivate in your career.

I’ve seen it happen over and over in my own life:

• The client that gave me enough work to go out on my own came from an introduction by someone I had once interviewed with.
• Our firm has generated multiple six figures of revenue from referrals through a single VC.
• We improved margins and nearly eliminated bad debt because a coach pushed us toward fixed pricing and upfront auto-debit.

So much of our profession comes down to trust. When someone introduces you, recommends you, or shares advice that took them years to learn, you get to borrow some of that trust and experience.

Sometimes one relationship opens a door you never would have reached on your own.

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Get in the Room

So how do you actually build that network? I’ll leave you with four tips.

Tip #1: Find someone who has already done what you are trying to do

Find someone who has already been where you’re trying to go and learn from them. Their playbook won’t translate 1:1, but it can save you years of mistakes.

Tip #2: Move up the ladder of connection

Start with an email or DM. Maybe that becomes a Zoom call, then texting, and eventually meeting face to face.

If someone is important enough, drive a few hours. Grab coffee. Go to the event they’ll be at. There is almost no substitute for spending real time with someone in person.

Tip #3: Never burn a bridge

Protect your reputation. People talk, industries are smaller than they seem, and word travels quickly.

That doesn’t mean every relationship needs to stay close. Downgrade the relationship if you need to, but avoid giving someone a reason to speak badly about you.

Your reputation takes years to build. Protect it.

Tip #4: Be in it for the right reasons

You can’t meet everyone or attend every event, so you have to be thoughtful with your time.

But don’t treat your network like a calculation of “What can this person do for me?” Get to know people, help when you can, and be patient. Some of the most valuable relationships in my life took years to become valuable.

Besides, spending time with ambitious, like-minded people is about more than ROI. It’s one of the best ways to stay curious, energized, and human.

Within a few minutes of our call, I could tell he knew a LOT about thought leadership and content. I hired him as a coach for a few months, but what came from that meeting became much bigger than a two-month engagement.

Four years later, we still talk almost every day. He’s one of the most impressive people I’ve come across, and an all-around great guy.

And if you know him, you probably won’t be surprised that I’m talking about Nicolas Boucher.

Nicolas showed me firsthand what can happen when you invest real time into relationships.

A few weeks ago, I hosted my first Strategic Finance Summit with over 3,000 people showing up live - it was one of the most exciting experiences I had been a part of, and one of my biggest takeaways was how powerful it can be to bring ambitious, like-minded people together.

I have more events coming, including in-person ones, and I plan to keep creating more opportunities to get people in the room.

Now I’m curious about you: Have you ever had one meeting or introduction that changed the course of your career?

I’ve shared mine. I’d love to hear yours.

Have a great weekend, and make time for that meeting you almost cancelled.

Josh

Your CFO Guy