“Social media is an amazing tool, but it’s really the face-to-face interaction that makes a long-term impact.”~ Felicia Day ( aka ‘Queen of the Nerds‘ )
It’s killing me that, even with my incessant data hoarding, I can’t pin down the person responsible for telling me about Hustle Con happening in San Francisco this May. I want to share my appreciation for an introduction to such a fantastic event.
Hustle Con is a one-day startup conference where the best non-technical founders (aka hustlers) teach how they got started and give practical advice on growing your startup. If you’ve heard of a hacker, well a hustler is its counterpart. Basically, Hustle Con is a rock n’ roll version of TED, except not as hoity-toity and focused on startup entrepreneurs.
The conference is put on by The Hustle, and features the founders of OkCupid, Bonobos, Chubbies, Headspace, Indiegogo, Goodreads, and more. I’ve never been, but the reviews of those who have are nothing but enthusiastic and I’m pumped to attend.
I’m planning to be in San Francisco for the week after the conference to connect with old friends and run in Bay to Breakers. The rough dates are 5/12 to 5/18 and I’d love to meet (or get drunk with) some of you in person!
My ticket was sent with the event staff linked as a point of contact and I figured no harm would come from reaching out with my usual “let me know how I can help.” While I would have loved for her to tell me that a speaker dropped out and they were in need of a substitute… I was equally jovial when she offered you all a discount. Use the code ‘GHOST’ and get 10% OFF the ticket price and join me at Hustle Con.
If you don’t ask the question, the answer is always ‘no’.
Ok… so I didn’t “ask” for the discount code, but I did renegotiate my lease yesterday. When most of my neighbors are seeing a 3-4% increase in rent, my renewal offer was a paltry 1.5% bump. Still, what’s the harm in attempting to negotiate?
I asked myself, what would they want? I live in an apartment complex with over 1000 residents and a waiting list 4-months long. What could I possibly use as leverage?
My rate was already lower because I’m facing a construction site and they’re about to spend a few weeks fixing my balcony so those wouldn’t help me much. I thought on it for a week and realized that at least three times a day, the leasing agents point at me working alone in the lobby and say, “This is our lounge area where you can work on your computer.” In an apartment complex that (subtly) caters to remote workers… I was a selling point. “What the hell,” I figured “it’s worth a try.”
The leasing manager (who is subscribed to this list) pretty much laughed me out of his office, as did his subordinate a few days later (both of whom I have come to know personally). Still, I hadn’t gotten a ‘no’ just “I doubt that’s going to happen.”
I finally connected with the property manager face-to-face who greeted me with a similar response, but I pushed politely by saying, “Take a look and let me know if it’s possible, I certainly love living here.” He knew I wasn’t planning to leave and pitching myself as a marketing asset certainly wasn’t strong, but like I said… it’s worth a try.
To my extreme surprise, he came back through the lobby an hour later and quietly said, “we can do your renewal at $XXXX” …. 0% increase. When he left, I was like…
If you don’t ask the question, the answer is always ‘no’.
The money saved, while seemingly inconsequential on a monthly basis, pays for a new iPhone. I’ve never been great with saving money so I’m sure my accountant father is smiling as he reads this. A dollar saved is indeed a dollar earned.
- It never hurts to ask, but that’s not an excuse to do so non-strategically
- Think of what the other person wants and how you could help deliver
- Never participate in a novelty run without recruiting a team in costume
When’s the last time you made request that was surprisingly met with a ‘yes’?