I’ve got a friend, who’s that guy that everybody loves, the one that no matter what you need knows at least one person who can do it.
We were talking about this, and he said that there had to be some way of making money off that skill. I agreed but couldn’t think of how. So, I turn to the all-knowing Dope: how do you turning being that guy into a paying gig?
He could be a recruiter. Large corporations do pay people who find employees with certain skills for them. Typically if the person is hired and lasts N months, the recruiter gets paid X% of the hired person’s salary by the corporation.
As someone who has useful skills, but knows no one important, I like recruiters. 
[Deleted]
I’m not sure this is what is being asked. I have the impression her friend is a problem solver, which means he’s the one other companies would want to do the work.
If he’s that good, and he’s well known in his field, he could make money being an independent consultant, but that’s a risky move. Especially in this economy.
Unless of course, I read the OP wrong, in which case I apologize.
There’s always contracting, specifically he’d be contracted to do a job and then he’d subcontract his friend/acquaintance that can do the task. However, that’s risky since contractors often need to have some skills in the industry themselves, they usually delegate lesser tasks and know exactly what each lesser party is doing for them, rather than just getting money to throw 100% of the work at someone else.
Edit: Also, it’s hard to trust someone that doesn’t know the industry, because then how can you trust their judgment that the person they’re getting to do the job will do it right?
Concierge?
This is probably better suited to IMHO than GQ.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
It’s not likely to be a very lucrative gig, unless he has something really unique and special, but… depending on your friend, his contacts, and how accurate his recommendations are in finding truly talented contractors that meet or exceed his clients expectations… he can take a shot at head hunting.*
I do find a little irony in the OP, in that you claim he’s “that guy” who, no matter what, knows at least one person who can “do that.” Yet, he’s never ran into a head hunter, if’n you catch my drift? :dubious: 
Another observation: The way you describe him is far too vague for anyone looking to find corporate level talent/services. Be sure he really focuses and nails down exactly who he knows, how good they are compared to their competition, if they’re willing to be represented by him, etc. Otherwise, anyone and their grandma can use Google to do the same thing for free.
*this was just one of the first links that came up when I googled “head hunters”… I don’t know anything about this ostensible online business.
You did. 
While my friend has skills, and a wide variety of them, he’s not the best at anything as far as I know. His big skill is meeting people. People I’ve met through him: a paramedic / ex-bartender, a professional domme (I think pro anyway), a teacher in a juvenile detention facility…
cymk, his biggest problem is himself. I love the guy, but he has no ambition and he doesn’t realize the skills he has. This started as idle conversation, and I’ll share the results with him, but probably nothing will come of it. But, otoh, he is running a social hobby group now and making a bit of money at some of his hobbies so you never know.
What are his hobbies?
No matter how skilled you are at something, being unambitious and directionless is going to be a dealbreaker. It is drive, not talent, that makes the world go 'round.
Anyway, knowing people is a good skill, but he is going to have to pair up with someone to make use of it. He needs a business partner. All I can think of is getting into donations for museums/high-end philanthropy. In this (and most) cases, it helps to know movers and shakers rather than an assortment of random people.
I’m not a Malcolm Gladwell fan, but The Tipping Point has a good section on this kind of person.
If he had the drive, he could be a politician!
Public Relations. He is the guy who brings together the people who can make a party into an event. He’s the guy who knows the lady who can get you that venue even though they’re normally closed on Sunday. He’s the guy who is comfortable with everybody and will never make the celebrities feel skeeved out.
I also suspect that he’s the guy who will never do the necessary work to achieve his potential. And that he’s a guy who has come a long way just by making other people do his thinking for him, and invest their emotions and effort into him, with no reciprocating effort of his own. Be careful not to put more effort into this guy than he puts into himself.
I suppose he might be good at sales or something. The thing is, companies really don’t need people with no ambition and no real skills beyond having an eclectic group of friends.
What about runnign the local Chamber of Commerce? That’s pretty much what those guys do, isn’t it?
Fundraising? A lot of non-profits depend on donors. Above a certain size, these organizations need somebody who serves as a point of contact for donors and is the “face” of the organization. There’s a large social component to the job, but it’s more than just meeting people - you have to be comfortable speaking with them in a variety of situations, make them feel comfortable and appreciated, and not be embarrassed about asking them for money.
As other folks have said, though, someone who’s less than ambitious is going to have problems at any professional job. Being able to meet people is a start for this kind of job, but it’s only one of the qualifications.
Maybe.
Definitely not. He’s a really great guy, very giving and selfless, and he’s very very smart. Just has no ambition. Neither of his brothers have gotten real far either, so its something in the family. Of course, who am I to judge?
Depending on what state you live in a great job the for a the person you describe is insurance.
Insurance sales is a renewal based business so the more you sell the more you make. It is a snowball effect.
I tell people like this all the time that “everyone you know is alreading buying insurance from someone the don’t like or trust as much as you”
In my state you can gross over $100k in 5 years if you work at it. But remember you start out at zero.
It all depends on the cost of insurance in your area.
In my state every insurance policy is worth about $100 average in commission. So if you know 100 people and they have 3 policies each you just made $30,000 without making a single non friend call.Then next year aprox 85% of those people renew, so without doing much of anything you made about $25k add any new business and you can see how the snowball grows. It gets harder after about 2500 policies but it can be a sweet business if you can get past the perception people have.
Sounds like a salesperson (pick a field, any field; doesn’t matter). Salespeople don’t actually have to know anything about anything, they just have to be likable and outgoing, which it sounds like your friend is.
Public relations and sales are two good choices, but both are extremely results-oriented and to be good at either requires, yup, hard work and ambition.
If he did, say, event planning, it wouldn’t be enough to know the person who can get the venue even on Sunday, he damn well better also be there on Sunday, a couple hours early, to make sure everything works right.
Ditto with sales, fund-raising, etc. He has to have both the skills and the tough hide to “turn no into yes,” to keep your competition away from your clients, and the drive to find new contacts and new approaches all the time.
If he’s making money at a couple of hobbies, there’s a possibility that he could focus that into a genuine career, assuming he’s willing to put in the effort.