We recently connected with Margaret Gerety and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Margaret thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, let’s jump into one of the most exciting parts of starting a new firm – how did you get your first client who was not a friend or family?
When I first started, I wasn’t confident in what I was offering, the price point, or my level of expertise. So I put up a shingle, so to speak, on the Fiverr platform and the projects literally came flooding in. As anyone knows who works on these freelancer marketplaces, you don’t have much control over which project you get to reject, and so in that first month I was waking up at 4 am to write resumes for $99 a piece. I worked incredible hours that month and learned that there was tremendous demand for my service. I also realized that I wanted to have more control over the types and number of clients I worked with, which is what led me to form my own business.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
After graduating from Harvard Law, I worked at a large international law firm advising clients on executive compensation and non-profit tax matters. I then shifted into academic administration, spending seven years at Georgetown Law as an assistant dean and academic advisor, where I counseled upwards of 200 students a month. As a lifelong squash player, I pivoted again in my late thirties. I was approached by the owners of a new 19,000 sq. ft. squash and event space in Washington, D.C., to serve as its first Executive Director.
When COVID hit, I took my love for storytelling and counseling and my background in making big career pivots into the entrepreneurial space. I started my company, Margaret Gerety Advisors, as a resume writing business. However, I soon began to develop other career materials for my clients, including LinkedIn profiles, cover letters, and professional biographies. While I primarily work with senior executives in an active job search, I also work with small business owners who are trying to establish their presence on LinkedIn and provide coaching services and webinars to academic institutions and corporate teams to help them become better brand ambassadors on the LinkedIn platform.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
The best sources of new clients for me are (1) referrals, and (2) LinkedIn. Since I haven’t scaled this business outside of my one-on-one work, I function a bit like a consulting or coaching business. I don’t need a massive pipeline of clients; if I have more than 5 or 6 clients a month, I will be drowning a bit in work. LinkedIn taps into my robust network in very meaningful ways. It is also a platform where my ideal client – an experienced professional – comes to look for career services and resources.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I make a point of posting tangible and specific content on LinkedIn. I always encourage people to provide “real advice” on LinkedIn—real takeaways and to-dos—as opposed to thin, marketing-type posts. If people find your posts helpful and actionable, they come to think of you as someone who will provide high-value, high-quality services. While it’s always better to post with some frequency, my advice is to post what you know. Find 3 or 4 content areas you feel are in your sweet spot, and make a point of posting on those topics 1+ times a week. They don’t need to be long or incredibly original. You can even repost (with your thoughts) someone else’s post or include a link to an interesting, on-point article you’ve read. Build your brand—and your audience—by leaning into and sharing your expertise. If you think about social media from that perspective, as compared to the perspective that its sole use is to generate clients, you will become much more comfortable with using the platform and creating a “presence”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.margaretgerety.com
- Linkedin: linkedin/in/margaret-gerety
