Make Connections Now, Before You Need Them

Exactly one year ago, I thought I was screwed. I had been with the same marketing agency for over 25 years. I’d  worked my way up to become a partner, with a piece of the business. This was going to be my last job, the place I’d work until I decided to call it quits. Then, boom. In the span of a few months our two biggest clients left and I had until the end of June before my job would be no more.

I thought I was really screwed

(I think I mentioned that). I hadn’t really prepared to ever be on the job market again. And to make matters worse, I had just turned 60. Marketing is a young person’s game. Digital and social media even younger. Remember, it wasn’t that long ago everybody thought they could just get an intern or someone fresh out of college to run their social media..

So, for sure I was screwed. Except… turns out, I wasn’t. Turns out all those connections I made in the early days of social media and digital marketing were there to lift me up when I needed them most. Turns out experience and reputation actually do still mean something. But only if you have people who know you and what you are all about. All those years helping run various social media clubs and education initiatives had enriched my life with amazing people I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Turns out it would also be my saving grace.

Connections I’d made were the answer

Last year, before I made it known publicly I was going to suddenly be a free agent, I contacted a few people I had connected with over the years to see if they knew of anything that might be available or had advice on where to turn. Two of them were women running their own firms. One I met through Twitter in the early days when we still met and connected with people there. Over the years we had become friends and had helped each other’s businesses along the way. The other was one I’d served on the board for the Social Media Association of Michigan with. Both wanted to meet with me right away.

They both had come to the conclusion that older, more experience people had more value to a firm than several millennials still trying to find their way. One of them put me to work almost immediately. The other? I just finished helping her launch a new agency that will be debuting in the weeks ahead. Other opportunities came along the way this past year through other connections. It turns out, thanks to all the people I met by getting involved in communities other than my own narrow advertising one saved me in the end. I’ve been very happy being a free agent and lending my experience where it is needed most.

I’ll admit, I was more than a little scared. Confident in my abilities, but worried it wouldn’t matter. Maybe it wouldn’t have if I hadn’t put myself out there years ago and expanded my horizons.

Prepare yourself now

So, I’m hoping someone will learn from my experience and it will save them later. We are going through some tough, crazy times right now. But, it’s not too early to be thinking about tomorrow. Put yourself out there. Do some networking. Volunteer. Get involved. Even if it has to be in the virtual world right now as we all social distance.

Trust me the connections you make today may take 15, 20 years before you find out how valuable they are. Or it may only take a week. You never know. I enjoyed those connections at the time. Years later, when I thought I was in deep trouble, they lifted me up. In my next blog post, we’ll look at some ways you can make connections today.

Mike McClure, happy to meet you!

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