What is the Question that People Ask You Most Often?

The Problem with Limited Self-Promotion

If there is one question I hear from every friend of mine, it’s a variation of the question, “I’m sorry I don’t already know this, but what is it you do again?”

Wouldn’t this be the best time to have a smooth answer like “I’m sorry, I’m not authorized to tell you that”?

But alas, the truth is much less dramatic.

My teaser answer is, “I work in software.”

90% of people pull up, full stop, and move along to the next topic. Just saying “software” pulls many people into an area they know little about. It’s a field many aren’t excited to talk about at social events.

If there is a follow-up question, I’ve rehearsed my true answer, “I acquire and operate companies, primarily software businesses, in the B2B and cloud application space.”

What They’re Really Asking: “How Does This Guy Make a Living if I Never See Him Working?”

I do zero self-promotion and rarely talk about my career. I’m a proud introvert and a private person. I enjoyed the anonymity and privacy of this type of career choice afforded.

I am comfortable asking many questions about other people while volunteering almost nothing about my own background. When I seem more people-focused, it’s because I’m a well-rehearsed “professional extrovert.”

This fact has led many of my friends to be really close to me without really any understanding of what I love to do, what gets me up in the morning, or what I do all day.

They only know I don’t go to an office, don’t appear to have any job, am rarely out of flip flops, and seem to travel a lot.

With an entirely virtual set of business lines, traveling and working in a bathing suit is not that unique in our industry. The disconnect is that none of my friends knows anyone else that works entirely virtually and online. Since I do almost no self-promotion, almost nobody – including most of my close family – has any idea what I’m doing all day.

The Need For a Bit More Self Promotion

I want to start sharing my work product and lessons learned with my close friends and the world. Hopefully, these essays about my experiences as a software engineer turned online business owner will help.

I believe there is a strong future in the self-directed, small business online investment profession. I likely have a lot to share from what I’ve learned this past decade. If you’re interested in a similar career, hopefully, I can help.

Plus, now when someone asks me what I do all day, I can send them to my own website. Likely, they will find so much more about my career than they ever wanted to know!