The Twelve Days

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Ian's story is one I keep coming back to when someone asks how a first client actually happens. He wrote one sentence, sent it to three former colleagues, and waited twelve days for the first reply.

That stretch between sending and hearing back is the part almost nobody plans for. This week is about it: what he did before he sent anything, what happened while he waited, and the one piece of writing worth doing before your first message goes out.

Most advice about a first client spends its time on the message. Write it well, send it, wait for the reply. Very little of it covers what to do while you wait.

Ian O. is an Operations Director with twenty-three years behind him. By the time he sent anything, he'd already done the hard writing. He revised his sentence three times, until it stopped sounding like a job description, and sent the third version:

"Your growth is creating operational problems that your current team doesn't have the bandwidth to solve."

What I like about that version is where it puts the attention. Not on Ian's responsibilities, but on a problem the other person might recognize.

He sent it to three former colleagues who'd moved to companies under 300 people. Former colleagues only, people at organizations he'd already left. Nobody at his current employer.

Then nothing came back.

His first reply came twelve days after the first message, and it came after he followed up with the same person. That's the detail I keep returning to. Twelve days is a long time to look at an empty inbox. I'd have been refreshing my email more than I'd like to admit.

Ian's case can't tell you why someone else hasn't replied. Silence doesn't come with a reason attached. That's why I'd build a follow-up into the plan from the start, and not treat the first message as the whole attempt.

That follow-up led to a forty-minute conversation, and the conversation led to a process audit for a logistics company that had scaled faster than its systems. It was worth $3,100.

Not financial advice. Example only. Your results will vary.

"I kept waiting for it to feel complicated," he said afterward. "It never did. The hard part was writing the sentence. After that, the rest of it just followed."

None of it needed a website or an announcement, and Ian stayed in his role the whole time. The writing fits inside an ordinary week. The waiting takes longer, and it's the part worth planning.

So plan it. Before you send the first message, write the follow-up. It doesn't need to be clever. A short note saying you're following up, and the same sentence again, is enough.

Then pick the date you'll send it, and put it on your calendar. The silence never has to be interpreted. You'll already know what happens next, and when.

One hour, three pieces of writing, and nothing gets sent.

First, write your sentence three times. The first version will sound like your resume. That's normal. Keep the version that most clearly describes the problem a buyer is living with. If none of them does, write a fourth.

Second, write down three names. Former colleagues, former clients, former vendors, people at organizations you've already left. Nobody at your current employer, none of its customers, none of its current vendors.

Third, write the follow-up now, before the first message exists in anyone's inbox, and pick the date you'll send it. Two or three sentences is enough.

That's the whole hour. When you do send, you'll already have the next step written.

Last week I wrote that nobody had asked these clients what they earned. Since then, I asked. These are their own estimates, rounded, shared with their permission. "Built" means the monthly revenue from outside work they reported once it was established, in most cases a monthly average, and "typical" means the middle figure in each group. Not financial advice. Example only. Your results will vary.

A short assessment, about fifteen minutes, built around a question most career tests skip. It doesn't stop at which job titles might suit you. It tries to explain why certain kinds of work pull at you and others drain you. Useful this week, because the hardest part of the weekend exercise is picking the one problem to write about, and this makes that choice less of a guess.

Somebody asked me this week what my first paid project was. I couldn't tell them.

I've done enough of this work that the early ones have all run together. I couldn't tell you which one came first.

The first project gets a lot of attention before it happens. In my case, it became one of many afterward, and I can't pick it out of the line-up.

I find that reassuring.

P.S. If you write your follow-up this weekend, reply with the first line. I'll tell you honestly whether it reads like a follow-up or an apology.

Most of the people this is written for do not know it exists. They are not searching for it, because they do not have a word yet for the thing they are looking for.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this issue, forward it to them. That is the whole mechanism.

There is a referral program attached if you want it. One referral gets you a sixteen-page workbook on building a tangible asset you are already qualified to create. Three gets the Projects Playbook plus your pick of an AI Survival Guide. Five gets a written audit that I read and return myself.

A few things I've built, if any of them are useful this week.

No pressure on any of it. Take what's useful, skip the rest.

Scott Fulbright

Not financial advice. I am a career coach specialising in corporate skill monetisation, not a licensed financial planner, CPA, investment adviser or attorney. Nothing here is financial, tax, legal or investment advice, and nothing in it guarantees any outcome. Results vary with experience, market and effort.

This issue also discusses who to contact about outside work. It is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Employment agreements, company policies and applicable law vary. Consult a qualified employment attorney about your specific situation.

Some links in this newsletter are affiliate links, including Amazon Associates, which means I may earn a commission if you purchase through them at no additional cost to you.