I'm Mateo,
a digital nomad, designer, and marketer with a strong belief in the power of learning and experiencing new things through the cycle of life.
In the past few years I’ve had the opportunity to connect with successful/hard-working people, through my observations I have identified patterns that they all had in common and through their patterns I taught myself valuable skills.
Let me explain,…
How I Leveraged my First Connection
In 2019, I created a group of friends with whom I could discuss topics related to cryptocurrency and trading. As the discussions gained traction from other people outside of my circle, I noticed a growing interest in my ideas, so I created a community around this shared interest.
In short, I ran a community of 300 members, offered some unplanned services, and, most importantly, established valuable connections with people. How did I do it? By simply approaching others and sharing valuable information through calls. After doing this about 50 times, I was invited to join a closed group, where I learned new skills, and leveraged its resources. Most of my trading success was because of it. But that is another story. Let’s move on.
Get Yourself a Mentor
A mentor is more than just a source of advice or someone to talk to. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that we are all human and make mistakes. It’s essential to take risks and learn from those mistakes in order to grow and succeed.
One of my most significant connections came during my time in Dubai, where I had the privilege of meeting my mentors, Moussa Soukal and Sanaz Hanke. I owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude for the person I am today.
My suggestion to you would be to take the leap and start a business, even if it’s just imaginary or you don’t have any experience in entrepreneurship. Put the ideas on a piece of paper and start telling others about it and working towards a simple goal. You’ll see how fast something can progress with just a simple goal and comments, that you gathered from others. This can also help you with meeting your mentor.
It’s essential to keep in mind that things won’t always go according to plan. I wasn’t always invited to events or parties, and as an introvert, I faced additional challenges. However, pushing myself outside of my comfort zone was crucial to my success, including moving to a new country, meeting my mentors and starting a startup company, without having any knowledge. Unfortunately, our journey with the startup has come to an end. However, I have since moved on to working on UIXA – Web Design & Development, as well as various other projects, including Sanaz Group, which I owe to Sanaz’s support and guidance.
How to Sustain and Grow your Network
As mentioned before, as an introvert I had great fear of talking to others. That fear will haunt anyone. It is like approaching a girl in a club or a bar, the first step is frightening and if you don’t take the leap, well the person you want to talk with won’t approach you.
My way of connecting with various successful people was not through events or bars. Most of my time I lived abroad, primarily in small cities and my way of connecting and meeting new people was through online meetings and private messages.
This approach is very easy today, as everyone is available online and you can get into contact with just a simple message. You will be surprised, how many people will accept and talk with you, even if it is just for 15 minutes. This can open a lot of possibilities for you, my first remote job at AIDEA Podkast was accomplished this way.
You Have to Start Somewhere
What I have learned is that nobody will ever tell you to take the leap and start. You can be encouraged, but at what cost? You will lose motivation and encouragement won’t always help you. Take the next step, even if it’s risky, the way up is an adventure.
Becoming an entrepreneur can be difficult. Even if you don’t have any ideas now, you have to begin somewhere. I founded my first company online, because it granted me free health insurance and I didn’t have any clients yet. But this gave me the motivation to seek and work every day.
I am sharing you two ideas, that I think are worth trying, so don’t tell me that you don’t have any ideas.
- Maps: an organizer for mobile apps. We have so many apps today and maps will allow you to customize maps in a different way, saving you time and getting you to your desired apps faster.
- Virtual closet: this closet saves your outfits via your camera phone. Insert additional clothes from your wardrobe and you will get suggestions on your outfit. Revenue can be generated through e-commerce platforms, you just suggest outfits from the stores to the person.
If you made it to the end, I would like to thank you for reading. Feel free to message me, if you are just starting or already an entrepreneur I am always open to talk to new people and listen to their new ideas!
P.S. If you would love to learn how to live outside your comfort zone then subscribe. ❤️
Mateo Jakelic
