I walked into Starbucks and walked out with a Mocha Latte and 2 New Gigs


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There are 3 Starbucks within 5 miles of my house. I know, nothing new there, right? Your house is probably no different. I used to think this is overkill, but recently something happened to make me see this phenomenon in a whole new light.

I Once Was Blind…
I’m no stranger to these establishments. The three coffee shops are practically my satellite offices. Two maybe three days a week, I’m getting caffeinated and spending a couple of hours away from the home office.

And I’m not alone. At any given time, there are a handful of us busily clacking away on our laptops. On this particular day it’s more crowded than usual, and two guys at a table next to me are chatting while they work. I try to mind my own business, but one of them cracks a joke and I catch myself laughing out loud in spite of myself.

This starts up a conversation. The two guys are friends and both freelance designers. We exchange cards and keep talking. By the time I leave, they have each hired me to help with individual projects.

…But Now I See
On the way home, it hit me… Starbucks have become the de facto second office for countless freelancers of all stripes. Not only that, but I know more than a few in-house and agency designers and CDs who head there to “get away.”

In other words, every Starbucks is a networking goldmine of potential clients. Do I expect every trip to end in a couple of new jobs? No. But you can bet I’m going to be much more open and gregarious from now on, and make a point of meeting new people as often as possible.

Networking doesn’t have to be formal and stodgy, at the hands of business groups or industry associations. If you can find out where your clients hang out, then you can get to know them socially. People would rather work with someone they know, anyway.

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2 Responses to “I walked into Starbucks and walked out with a Mocha Latte and 2 New Gigs”

  1. Brian O'Donnell on November 29th, 2010 2:55 pm

    Great suggestion – makes perfect sense but never would have thought of it!!!

  2. Danny on November 30th, 2010 11:31 am

    I know; me either! It was just a happy accident.

    Now my brain has been running… making a list of all of the coffee shops, bistros, pubs and bookstores that I have used as “offices” over the last seven years.

    Feel free to throw out other locations like this that I might have overlooked.

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