Relationship Building for Authorpreneurship, Part 1 of 5
50 easy ways to build sustainable connections for your author business and general social satisfaction
Where did my most recent client work come from? Let’s see: Referral from the husband of an author I once published. Referral from someone I did a couple favors for two years ago. Referral from a neighbor. A former client. An author I once published. A minor Twitter relationship. A Medium article. A Google search.
In other words, the work showed up at unpredictable times from unpredictable sources. Yet, big yet: It did show up and in a sufficient quantity for me to make a living.
This is how it is when you have a sustainable business. I’ve re-built one three times and it’s almost always the same. Sure, it’s essential to spend time on marketing, sales, and business development. But in the end, much of the work comes from relationships and reputation that have been built slowly over time.
You may never know for sure who or what is going to trigger the work, but one thing’s for sure, building up social capital over time — friendly and supportive connections at a range of depths and intensities — is smart. It’s an element of defensive entrepreneurship, building in cushions before you need them. It’s also…
