Working for myself 😅

August, 2024

👋 Last time, I was excited and nervous about beginning to work for myself. It’s been about six months, and I’d like to check-in. In no particular order, here’s a list of things that I’ve learned:

• It’s hard to make time for marketing and generating new leads when you’re busy “just” doing the work

• As a consultant, you need to care just enough but not too much

• Establish credibility right away, don’t assume anyone bothered to google you

• Using profit-first banking has made it simple to pay myself

• The most unexpected leads will ghost you

• A contract coming to an end makes you feel uneasy about what’s next

• I’m capable of much more than I acknowledge

Wonder what the list will look like in another six months 😅

On to the rest of the updates. 👇

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Speaking Engagements

LeadingEng NYC 2024 - September 6th

This is my first time presenting at LeadingEng. I’m excited to share the ways I've grown my career without always getting the feedback I craved.

My talk, Adventure Beyond the Keyboard: Growth Strategies for Senior Leaders, will have a survivalist theme. It was cool digging through stock photo sites to find the perfect pictures to illustrate the various points.

These are the key concepts:

• Strategies for effectively interpreting unspoken feedback

• Identifying meaningful leadership success metrics, and

• Crafting a growth roadmap

You can use my code: DAVIS-TECH to get a 10% discount on a ticket.

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Podcasts I’m Listening to

The Right Way to Manage Emotions on Your Team - HBR IdeaCast

Early in my career, I intentionally masked my emotions at work. There were lots of reasons for this, mostly, I didn’t want others to know how I was really feeling. My feelings were my feelings.

However, over the years, I’ve felt more comfortable sharing more of how I feel about something at work. And it’s validating when others can back you up. In fact, studies have shown that teams perform better when leaders acknowledge their members’ emotions.

This episode provided a few useful tips on how to properly acknowledge a teammate’s feelings without being disingenuous. Team leaders will benefit from listening to it.

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Entrepreneurial Things

The pivot. I started my business with the idea that I would help companies monetize their apps. I updated my website to highlight that. I wrote about it. And I told friends and family. So what am I doing now?

Helping companies level up their engineering organizations, leading teams through major transitions, and executive coaching. Nothing near app monetization. What happened?

The market didn’t want or need me to focus on monetization strategies right now. Instead, people reached out about the work that I’ve spent most of my career doing. I have a track record of leading engineering teams through meaty changes. So I gave the people what they wanted. 😁

In all seriousness, I was initially disappointed. I had spent the past year deep in “app monetization land” and wanted to keep going. But that’s not how things turned out. However, it’s been rewarding to see my ideas and strategies used to improve not just engineering but the whole organization.

Until next time, thanks for reading! 👋

"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

- Maya Angelou

Links: 

https://www.annycedavis.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/annycedavis/

https://androiddev.social/@brwngrldev