PSA: My mentor's one harsh comment at a coffee shop changed how I network

I was at a Starbucks in Austin last fall complaining about how hard it was to find clients, and my mentor just said 'you're asking for favors, not offering value.' That hit me hard because he was right - I was just asking people to help me out with nothing in return. Has anyone else had a moment where someone's blunt feedback shifted your whole approach to building connections?

2 comments

2 Comments

diana8292d ago

Totally agree. Had a similar wake-up call when I realized I was just handing out business cards like they were party favors instead of actually listening to people.

black.mark2d ago

Wince every time I think about my early days of handing out cards like candy at a parade. Spent five minutes talking about myself (yikes) and then wondered why nobody followed up with me. Figured out real quick that people don't care about your card until they care about you, you know? Now I just keep them in my pocket and only pull one out if someone actually asks for it, which happens way less often than you'd think.