Shauna here — every few months, I hit the road with The Blogcademy, a blogging workshop I co-run with Kat Williams and Gala Darling. Over the weekend, as I circled the room at Makeshift Society in San Francisco and chatted with the ladies who attended, I was once again reminded of the power of in-person connections.
As creatives and small business owners, it can be all too easy to get caught up in our day-to-day worlds of sitting at our desks, powering through as much work as possible. At the end of a long day, it feels easier to stay in and do our networking virtually. But over the last year, I’ve had a realization — while we all have to spend a certain amount of time at our desks, the real connections and growth happen when we make an effort to leave the office regularly.
As I looked through the current Branch client roster, I noticed that ours were divided into three distinct categories:
• One third were long-term clients that had cultivated relationships through my personal blog. Initially, they felt like they knew me from my posts and I’ve since met most of them in person.
• One third had met me through The Blogcademy workshops, where I talk in-depth about branding. After class, I had the chance to discuss their businesses one-on-one and address their needs.
• One third were referrals from clients Branch currently works with. Personal recommendations via word of mouth, even in this digitally-savvy age go a long way.
The common bond between all of these clients was a personal touch, mostly through in-person meetings with them or their friends. While Branch still gets many inquiries through our website, the majority of our long-term clients came about from face-to-face meetings.
The next time you have an invite to an event or a chance to meet some new folks at a party, instead of staying in for the night, push yourself out the door — your dream client just might end up sitting down next to you.
Photo by Made U Look.