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Ask HN: How much time do you spend hustling?

6 points by curiousgeek ↗ HN
If you are a consultant, freelancer or in any other sense not a full time employee at a megacorp, how much time do you find yourself hustling for new work (i.e., networking with people, trying out new technologies, improving your online profile etc)?

8 comments

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sj4nz
ABC. Always be closing. Closing on skills, demos, phone calls, e-mails.

Just finished a Node.js "assessment" for a job opportunity and uploaded it to my Github. I may never touch it again, but there it is.

minhaz23
Where do you find these assessments?
sj4nz
This is the "homework" that is often given out by organizations looking to hire people that filters out those who "can" and those who "cannot."
SirLJ
0... the best side business is the one without clients...
jklein11
What is a business without clients?
SirLJ
Mine is stock trading robots, basically I am going against everyone else... no clients, no investors, location independent and completely automated... Just the best thing I can come up with, but I am open to other similar ideas, since I have a lot of free time on my hands...
devdad
Pretty much all of my time. We're a small shop. I network like crazy, both paid and free networks. If you have to choose, always go with paid. I also setup lunches with potential partners, clients and people who know people. About 3-5 lunches a week. It has a compounding effect and people will start referring others your way after a while.

My company's website is solid and it's purpose is to confirm that what I tell people is real. My online profile is also thought through.

Trying out new technologies isn't relevant, that's improving your skills as a SE. The others in my shop get to do this on a more regular basis since they hardly have to do any sales / networking.