Hi Reader,

Fractional Jobs just put out their 2026 Fractional Work Report, a survey of 1,733 fractional workers. The number that caught my eye: 94% have won clients through network referrals, and 72% found their very first client through someone they already knew.

That tracks with my own experience - almost every engagement I've had started as a conversation with someone who already knew me.

What I'm noticing

When you go independent after years in senior roles, you pivot, but the network you walk out with is still set up for your old job. Former teammates, people who reported to you, vendors who used to pitch you, peers from the leadership offsite, etc.

Most of them like you. They also know you as "head of X at Y," and it probably hasn't occurred to them that they could hire you. A lot of them couldn't buy what you're offering now anyway, and the ones who could don't know you're offering it.

So when I talk to people going independent, I don't usually worry about how big your network is; I worry about whether anyone in it knows what you do now.

With my SRE hat on, I'd call it a routing problem - the traffic is there, it's just still going to your old address.

Your next move

You probably don't need a new network so much as an update to the one you have, so the people who already like you know where to send someone. Something to try this week:

1. Write down 15 people who'd take your call. Don't worry about whether they could hire you, only whether they'd pick up.
2. Next to each name, write what they think you do. If you're honest and the answer is your old title, there's your gap.
3. Pick three and set up a catch-up. Ask what they're working on, and tell them what you're doing now and the kind of problem you help with. Don't attach an ask.

Step 3 is harder than it looks. For that conversation to land, you need a clear answer to "so what do you do now?" - who you help, with what problem, in a sentence or two that doesn't sound like your old job description. If your answer keeps coming out vague, the positioning probably needs work. In my experience, getting it right takes real time and a few rounds of trying it out on actual people.

That's a big chunk of what I work on with people in Fractional Kickstart: figuring out who you're for, your 30-second story, an offer you can price, and then a plan for working the network you already have. We start with positioning, because the rest gets a lot easier once you can say it out loud.

And even once you know what to say, reaching out to set up that catch-up is its own hurdle. That's what Thursday's Fractional Water Cooler is for (more below).

Life beyond the screen

I see a version of this outside of work too. The people I'm closest to these days tend to be the ones who know what my life looks like now, which isn't always the same as the people I've known longest. Usually it's because at some point one of us made the effort to catch the other up.

Skip that, and people hang on to a slightly outdated version of you. Friends and clients both.

A question for this week: Who in your life is still working off an old version of you?

Come to the Water Cooler this Thursday 🚰 On September 24 (9am PT), I'm hosting Sara Royf, a LinkedIn coach who's helped 200+ consultants build predictable pipelines. She's walking us through when to reach out, what to say in that first message, and how a conversation turns into a booked call. Bring your list from step 1. It's free. Save your spot: https://luma.com/w53o3qmx​

Let's Chillaborate,

Dina

Founder, Chill Labs

PS: Know someone who just went independent (or is about to)? Forward this to them. Step 2 is a good one to do early. 💙