After knowing Kyle Wagner through LinkedIn for some time, we finally met in person.
Kyle is a former international school teacher who now consults with international school educators on project-based learning.
Kyle is one of the quadruplets and grew up in a family of musicians. One of his brothers is a professional musician.
Our conversation moved naturally from education to business and then to AI. We talked about how we use AI in education, creative work and business. We also discussed how much of our work we use AI for and how much we are comfortable letting AI do work for us.
As we have both moved from teaching into solopreneurship, we could relate to the experience of stepping away from classrooms, building our own businesses and navigating a new professional identity.
One of our conversations made me reflect on how I approach potential clients.
Kyle is proactive. He reaches out and follows up when he does not receive a response.
I am quite the opposite.
When someone does not reply, I usually wait. I sometimes hesitate to follow up because I worry that I might be bothering them or appear too desperate.Β
Kyle reminded me that no response does not necessarily mean no interest.
People are busy. Even when they are interested, they may have other priorities at that moment. If something is not urgent, it is easy to put off replying and eventually forget.
Sometimes, a simple follow-up message may reopen the conversation. It made me think I should be more proactive too.
It was lovely to meet a fellow educator who has also stepped away from the classroom to build a new path and to share our experiences.
βοΈ When you do not receive a reply, do you follow up or prefer to wait?