Decent techie, shit at business
Sebastian Varga
4 replies
I think I am a decent techie. I have been working as an IT Freelancer for 15 years, in IT total for 25 years. I know IT infrastructure from datacenter to cloud inside out and I am a decent IT security guy, too.
But I suck at business scaling. I could try to find and rent out brains and bodies like myself and scale that way (aka consulting firm). But I’m really terrible at networking (the human kind, not the IT stuff) and also not a really good sales person. There’s too many who are good at that, anyways, so I can’t bring anything new or better to that market.
So, I’m doing pretty well since I can sell my skills at a high ticket price but eventually you can’t scale renting out your time too much.
How can I find a decent business coach, partner, mentor who can work out with me the scaling part?
What’s your advice?
Replies
Daniel Zaitzow@dzaitzow
Launching soon!
I think this ecosystem is a solid place to find some degree of guidance (at least folks within the community) I'd say reach out to folks who seem to be excelling in the space you're in / doing exactly what you'd need someone to be doing and just reach out on LinkedIn - ask politely to pick their brain - most folks love to talk about themselves and are happy to share their success story.
From there I would determine what you need. A full time, fractional employee / partner? A mentor (if you want to improve those skills) or a business coach - again who can help you improve those skills.
With respect to a "mentor" that'll likely be hard to find given the nature of folks time vs value props - if they are excelling at their craft - likely they are charging for their time in some capacity (beyond the initial call or guidance etc)
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Associate with someone that has your missing skills 😁
Have you considered hiring a fractional CMO or business coach? They can provide part-time expertise to level up your business skills without the commitment/expense of a full-time hire. Many are former entrepreneurs themselves who love mentoring. LinkedIn is a great place to find them and set up an initial call to see if there's a fit. Most importantly, don't be too hard on yourself - a lot of techies struggle with the business side at first. You'll get there with some outside guidance and by learning from those who have been in your shoes before. Keep at it!
100% agree that having solid business skills is crucial, even for techies. A mentor who has been successful in your space could definitely help level up those skills. But like you said, successful folks usually charge for their time. An alternative is to find a business coach or take some courses to shore up the gaps in your business knowledge. It's an investment, but leveling up will pay major dividends in the long run as you grow your venture. Don't be afraid to reach out to people you admire on LinkedIn either - many are happy to share some insights if you approach respectfully. You got this!