Networking as a solopreneur can feel impossible. LinkedIn is full of the sort of hustle-culture aficionados who think yoga at 4 a.m. is something to brag about and who want you to buy their online course. Joining a networking referral group often costs money and can require a big time commitment without a guarantee of new leads. Asking friends and family to make referrals for you gives you flashbacks to that one summer in college when you got roped into selling Cutco knives.
But solo businesses are already nontraditional, so you might as well embrace quirky networking opportunities. Some of my best freelancing leads have come from Tumblr, carpooling, and on one memorable occasion, the ladies’ room at a Nick Cave concert.
If you’re struggling with how to grow your network as a solopreneur, here are some unexpected strategies you can use.
Invite yourself in
When consultant Garima Verma wanted to break into the entertainment industry as a student at UCLA, she found that going to networking events and applying to every opportunity got her nowhere. So she decided she needed to get herself into the same room with the people she wanted to work for.
“There was an event that NBCUniversal was sponsoring,” Verma says. “I wasn’t invited to it and I had nothing to do with it, but I volunteered to help set up and clean up the chairs.”
That meant she was there with the representatives at the end of the event and could get some one-on-one time with them. “I was cleaning up and ended up talking to–a little bit cornering–a couple of reps,” she says. “It’s how I got my first job in entertainment.”
Verma has carried that same energy throughout her career. In 2020, she realized she wanted to do more in the world and got really deep into the volunteer infrastructure of the Biden-Harris campaign. “I just DM’d a million people on Twitter and told them to talk to me and give me an interview for a job,” she says. “That’s how I got my first job in politics.”
These days, Verma works for herself as a strategic advisor and consultant, but she continues to open her own doors. “I don’t tend to get invited in the same way others might, and at a certain point I decided I’m going to invite myself in.”
Ditch the elevator pitch
Author and speaker Jason Vitug talks about the “networking anxiety” that occurs in business environments. When you’re expected to schmooze and impress other people, rather than simply connect, it puts too much pressure on every conversation. You might as well imagine Alec Baldwin telling you that coffee is for closers.
That’s why Vitug was able to feel comfortable chatting with someone at what could have been a disastrous book signing. No one showed up, and his new contact wandered over to ask why Vitug was sitting there. The two men enjoyed a spirited conversation that landed Vitug a speaking gig.
“The bookstore environment allowed for a casual conversation,” Vitug says. “So my advice is to always be open to a conversation because there’s a good chance if you’re in the same place you have something in common.”
While Vitug certainly offered his new patron some form of his elevator pitch during their long talk, he didn’t lead with it. Instead, he was open to making a real and friendly connection to someone who was curious about him.
Immerse yourself in community
Charlotte Baker provides full-service payroll for small businesses in Jacksonville, Florida, with her new solo business, Easy Pay. When she was getting the solo enterprise off the ground two years ago, she heard about a community of local businesswomen that she wanted to join.
“Women Business Owners of North Florida is an independent group,” Baker says. “It’s not like a franchise or a paid networking group. It’s a group of about 150 women who’ve all joined the organization to support and encourage each other.”
Unlike the traditional group networking model, Baker’s community does not expect members to bring referrals each week. Instead, the group offers weekly get-togethers that foster personal and supportive relationships–which Baker has found to be invaluable both emotionally and professionally.
“Most of the women in the group don’t need my services,” Baker says. “But I’ve built close friendships with these women, which has made my life a hundred times better as a business owner. And at least 60% of my revenue I can trace directly to recommendations from that group.”
Becoming part of a supportive community makes networking much less onerous, since your friends will recommend your business, just as you will recommend theirs.
When networking looks like fun
Networking as a solopreneur only feels agonizing if you assume it has to follow the corporate rulebook. There’s no reason you have to post performative dreck on LinkedIn, show up at networking events in powersuits, or stumble through memorized lines about your solo business to expand your network.
Start by inviting yourself in. Whether you find a way to volunteer for an event that will put you proximity with someone you’d like to talk to, or you keep knocking on doors (or sending DMs or emails) until you find someone willing to chat, remember that you can be friendly and persistent–as long as you’re willing to graciously take no for an answer.
Then ditch your elevator pitch. Remember that you’re just a person who can have casual conversations with other people. Leading with curiosity and interest rather than a business agenda is more likely to end with a new contact. It’s also much less nerve-wracking than self-consciously trying to network.
Finally, immerse yourself in your community. A large and supportive community will help do your networking for you, since people who care about you and believe in your business will naturally recommend you when they meet others who need your services.
Doing all of that makes networking something you can enjoy rather than something you have to suffer through.