Erik’s Advice for Freelancers & Entrepreneurs

Back in the days of Erik’s software development business, he got a lead about a company that had an application that’s PHP, a programming language that Erik didn’t support. But he went ahead and took the meeting thinking there might be some other way he could help them. Turns out, they wanted to replace their application and could be an opportunity for Erik to transfer it to a new platform.

This was really a lesson learned for him because a lot of freelancers close the door on opportunities because they’re just overwhelmed and when it seems like something you might be unable to do, you just avoid it. But he’s here to tell you don’t turn away those opportunities or refuse to speak to the client until you figure out what exactly they need. Don’t worry about what they have, worry about what they need. Or, even better, what they want which can be more powerful than their needs.

We apply this now at Array Digital all the time. Glen, our sales manager, is really good at this because he will take just about any meeting he can get even if it seems like a dead end. If you want to grow your business, take the meeting and communicate with that prospective client. Don’t make assumptions; get in front of them, find out what they need/want, and see if there’s an alignment with what you need/want.