Ever seen the film ‘Rear Window’? James Stewart plays a house-bound hero in what some call one of Hitchcock’s greatest works. I also sit beside a window most days and can identify just a little with Stewart’s character. And if you work for yourself and find that you’re keeping clients on the phone a little longer than usual or that you look forward to the small talk at the local café every day, perhaps it’s time you got out and about too. But where do you go?
Client meetings are enough to keep you sane usually but sometimes you might be lucky enough to win a few large jobs in a row and that might mean you are literally keeping your head down for weeks at a time. As a freelance copywriter, that is pretty much my lot at the moment and I look forward to getting out and about a bit more in the coming weeks.
Networking is not easy. But once you go into that room with the right attitude, it is always very useful. Whatever the event or conference, you could pick up the next crucial contact anywhere. And in my case, as a freelance copywriter, that contact could be anywhere – it might even be you. But getting out and about is about more than drumming up work for yourself. It’s about meeting up with old friends and finding out who’s moved jobs and where they have gone to. And that’s why I’ve just bought a ticket for the Digital Summit in Croker in early March.
The day-long Sunday Business Post Digital Media and Marketing summit is on in Croke Park on the 7th March. A good line-up of speakers covering a great range of topics means it should be good day away from the office.
The Dublin Web Summit held around October each year is also a couple of days not to be missed. More and more, you’ll hear of new, local events focusing on digital media, SEO and related topics – so you’ll have plenty to choose from.
Even if the work is consistently piling in, getting away from your desk for a day or half day is always worthwhile. Not only might you learn something new, you may pick up that morsel of industry news that you can never find online! And it’ll stop you getting paranoid about your neighbours!