Book Yourself Solid

What Hacker News says

1. solresolJan 2023
   Niches = riches.

   You want a super-tight thing that you do (e.g. "I fix performance issues for large NodeJS code bases", or better still "I write tooling to measure performance hotspots in NodeJS code bases".)

   Despite this sounding like cutting off potential customers, it doesn't work that way. Customers will reach out to you with some generic work that they want done "because I know you know NodeJS" even when you say you specialise in something.

   A good first book to read: "Book yourself Solid" by Michael Port.

   Show morethread
2. ergonaughtOct 2022
   Random advice, perhaps, but purchase Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port and do the work therein (there's a workbook and such). It will help with the cold sales as well.
   thread
3. jameshushMar 2022
   I agree, specialize at all costs. Reading “Book Yourself Solid” and doing the exercises was incredibly helpful to me.

   Good luck! There’s a learning curve to sales and marketing just like engineering but we all believe in you! :D

   thread
4. solresolJun 2017
   It's not easy finding a job after being a founder.

   My experience is that years of {mediocre data scientist and AI}, {mediocre project manager}, {mediocre product manager}, {mediocre software developer}, {mediocre book-keeping and financial management experience} and {mediocre salesperson} doesn't line up very well with any job description that any company hires for. Sometimes product manager is the closest fit. I think in 6 months I've had two interviews in my own country, plus a few more overseas, none of which have led to anything. I've not quite -- but nearly -- given up searching.

   In the meantime, I'm still finding I can pitch ideas to people about software that they could use in their business (or sell to other people) and hack together things quickly enough to keep some money ticking over. It's not ideal, because I'm spending more time doing sales than doing development.

   It occasionally gets surreal, where I've been rejected for a role from a big corporate where I would be looking after a solution that I had sold and implemented for them -- but because I don't have big name employers on my resume, HR wouldn't put my name forward for it.

   There are also freelancer networks where you can keep your skills (not just coding skills, but other business skills as well) ticking over while you figure out what's next.

   It seems like most people can end up being happy in a lot of roles, it's mostly about the people you are spending time with. So a good place to start is to think about what sorts of organisations you want to be with, or who you want to be with rather than what you want to do.

   A nice book which might help is "Book yourself Solid" by Michael Port. It's mostly about how to run a services & consulting business, but he has some early chapters going through exercises that make you think about what you want to do.

   Perhaps the world needs a company who specialises in hiring ex-founders on the grounds that the market doesn't do a good job valuing them at the moment.

   Show morethread
5. wycMar 2017
   If you've been successfully freelancing for 7 years, then it's likely that you already know much of what I'm about to write. I'd say scrap partnerships and salespeople, and focus on what sales channels are best for you, online or local, whatever works. The two most important lessons I've learned in consulting so far are:

   (1) It's really all about trust. The client wants someone who can reliably solve their problem, and tooting your own horn has a very limited effectiveness in building that credibility. Trust heavily impacts what projects people will give you, and how much you can charge. It's common that a company will somehow find 2-3x budget to hire a partner who they know will get the job done.

   (2) Referrals and good deeds are the fastest way to build trust. When you come well-recommended by a prospect's trusted friend or partner, then a good amount of that trust gets instantly transferred to you. This transitivity of trust is key to building a good referral network that will consistently send work your way. If you don't have this, then you have somewhat of a cold start problem. In this case, providing value to people on a regular basis could really help with establishing your credibility. I don't mean doing projects for free, but more like offering people free 30-minute consultations about how to build their things, or sending them resources (articles or books) on a consistent basis that would really benefit them. This demonstrates that you can already deliver value, and makes it more convincing that you would do much more of that if you actually got paid for it.

   Here are some more resources that could help someone get a start:

   [1] Getting Started in Consulting by Alan Weiss is a little antiquated, but talks about what's important in getting your firm going and how to think about your work's impact on your client. (https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Consulting-Alan-Weiss...)

   [2] Book Yourself Solid by Micheal Port talks about the best ways to build these client relationships that will result in trust. (https://www.amazon.com/Book-Yourself-Solid-Reliable-Marketin...)

   [3] Double Your Freelancing by Brennan Dunn actually has very good information about the tactics of pricing and the business side of project management. It's pricey. The accompanying podcast has good information for free. (https://doubleyourfreelancing.com/)

   There are thousands of different info products online about this stuff, but this bundle should give you the most core knowledge for your money.

   Show morethread
6. toumhiAug 2013
   Congrats Jaana on the launch and the transparency you're showing here!

   I agree about the last lesson indeed (not having enough authority). Also, something that was discussed on the 30x500 alumni list, was that the trust you have to inspire to your followers in order to sell a product at $300 is much higher than if you sell a $20 ebook. Hence, all other things being equal, it's better to start with a lower priced first product.

   That's also something explained very well in the Book Yourself Solid book (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Yourself-Solid-Reliable-Marketing...).

   You first need to build trust with free stuff, then cheap education products, then more and more expensive products or services (in the case of the book's author, 1-to-1 coaching). Very few people are going to buy something expensive from you if they don't know you. Most often they'll consume the free stuff first, then move on to your cheap product, etc.

   Show morethread