Monthly Archives: September 2010

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To Be, or Not To Be

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I was surprised to learn that the number of Freelancers in the US has dropped to the lowest level in eight years,  down 13%  from a record high of 9.98 million in 2006.  The Department of Labor recently reported that as of August 2010,  there are now 8.68 million of us.

Because full time employment is not materializing for many citizens,  I assumed that the survival instinct would kick in and induce laid off salary men/women to assess their skill sets and figure out a way to package and promote their acts.  That’s what brought me to Freelance Nation.  But the stats have proved me wrong.

It is true that self-employment typically increases in the aftermath of a recession,  when laid off workers are unable to get rehired and thus venture out on their own.  But in this recession,  a variety of factors have weakened the demand for Freelance services,  causing many to choose alternate paths.

Some are maxing out their unemployment benefits as they sign up for temp work or settle for low end hourly wage jobs,  seeing those roads as their best,  albeit unsatisfactory,  survival options.  They don’t see much financial potential in either Freelancing or setting up a small business.

Diminished credit and poor sales are stifling the growth of small businesses.  A recent report issued by the National Federation of Independent Business Owners shows that 31%  of small business owners say that poor sales is their company’s single most important problem.

This news is interpreted by economists and labor experts as a sign that economic recovery is not just around the bend.  There is evidently not enough money being spent by consumers to sustain the survival of many small businesses.

However,  easier lending terms could encourage small business owners to make capital improvements and staff additions that will help to improve competitive positioning and perhaps attract more customers.  The Federal Reserve recently confirmed that about 20%  of banks are making commercial and industrial loans more available to small businesses for the first time since 2006.

Unfortunately,  large and mid-size companies prefer to play the wait and see game.  They are waiting for the outcome of the mid-term elections,  wonder what the newly reconfigured Congress will do about economic  initiatives (will the Stimulus Bill be extended?),  they wonder about taxes and wonder what the new health insurance regulations will mean to their bottom line. 

The big boys do have money to spend.  They slashed payrolls by laying off workers whether or not that strategy was necessary for the organization’s survival.  They limited hours worked per week,  limited or eliminated raises and off-shored as many functions as possible.  Paradoxically,  productivity remains high and continues to increase,  as businesses get more work out of their leaner and meaner staff.

There is precious little incentive to hire under these conditions.  Why bother? Those at the top of the pyramid are free to put still more money into their bulging wallets.  That explains why the only healthy segment of the real estate market consists of 7 figure properties.

These practices have left many current and aspiring Freelancers in the lurch.  Although the Fed states that lending to mid-sized and larger firms has over the past six months begun to ease,  there remains a marked resistance to green lighting the projects that Freelancers depend on.  A hard freeze is in full effect and it shows no sign of abating.

According to Scott Shane,  professor of economics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland,  the failure rate of self-employment is significant during this recession and economic  indicators do not point toward a quick recovery.  Only when larger companies,  those considered bell weathers and thought leaders,  begin to hire again will demand for Freelancers increase.

That said,  not all Freelancers are suffering.  A fortunate few are having their best year ever.  Recently,  I was chatting with a friend who makes and restores fine string instruments.  He does not lack for work.  I am also aquainted with a market researcher, with  someone who arranges and supervises the relocation of scientific laboratories and with someone who helps manufacturing facilities comply with environmental regualtions.  All of them are enjoying very healthy billable hours.

It just goes to show you,  in every kind of economy, there are always those who make money.  I just wonder when it will be my turn?

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Now is the Time to Take Control of Your Time

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The secret sauce of effective time management is discipline.  The cruel truth,  my child, is that if you want to get more things done,  you must have the discipline to get your ass out of bed,  often before the sun comes up.  This is a habit best established when the days are getting longer.

According to new research by Christoph Randler,  professor of biology at Heidelberg University in Germany,  morning people are more proactive and therefore more successful in their professional lives.  Morning people anticipate problems and try to minimize their impact;  spend time identifying long-range goals;  and feel in charge of making things happen.  So rise and shine, cupcake.

Another time management essential that you must have the discipline to incorporate into your schedule is transition time.  Whether moving from one task to another or traveling from one meeting to the next,  the only way to ensure that you will be efficient,  productive and get where you are going on time is to take into account each time consuming step of the process.

In other words,  be realistic about how long it takes to go places and do things and give yourself adequate preparation and execution time.  Avoid over-scheduling.  Build in little cushions of time where possible,  to better manage annoying,  schedule-destroying delays like lines at the post office.

The idea is to successfully roll through tasks and appointments and preserve your sanity,  if not your sense of humor, along the way.  Besides,  if there are fires to put out and you’re too tightly scheduled,  things will fall apart and you’ll be back where you started.

Oh , and manage your emails,  rather than letting them manage you.  Do not let them seize control of your day.  Particularly if you receive a huge volume,  assign 2-3 blocks of time each day for email read and respond.  Institute email triage.

If something time sensitive and high priority is on,  you may prefer to check for incoming messages throughout the day and decide what requires a faster response. While doing that,  delete the nonsense emails and lighten your load.  When answering emails,  respond first to the “short answer” messages and then tackle the “long answers”.

Some form of social media participation is now on every Freelancer’s schedule,  like it or not.  No one is sure what any of it does for business,  but very few feel confident enough to ignore it.  Keeping up with this stuff can siphon off much valuable time if you’re not careful.

Limit time spent on social media and while you’re at it,  think about the extent of your involvement and the ROI.  Do you really need FaceBook and Twitter?  Must you go through the LinkedIn Answers Forum every day?

Yet another source of time theft are manipulative,  controlling people.  You have no doubt encountered your share of those who feel entitled to dictate how you spend your time,  quickly  resorting to whining,  badgering and other forms of verbal arm wrestling to force you into doing their bidding.  They may be neighbors,  family members,  so-called friends  or clients.   Set good boundaries and be prepared for uncomfortable moments as you put a few people in their place.  Have the discipline to say “no” and stick to it.

Have the discipline to bring time management into your life.  Missed deadlines,  lost opportunities,  exhaustion and burn-out are not what we want.  Applying our skill set to work that we enjoy and generating an income that we deem satisfactory is what the Freelance life is all about.  Effective time management,  along with SMART goals and objectives—Specific,  Measurable,  Attainable,  Realistic, Timely— will help us get there.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

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The Time of Your Life

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Welcome back to reality!  Labor Day Weekend has come and gone and Summer has officially (although not technically) ended.  Like it or not,  we are in full business mode again.  Yet despite what the calendar indicates,  Summer’s slower pace may still cling to you like sand on your ankles and you might be having trouble getting up to speed.  Maybe some good time management tips will help you find your groove?

Freelancers are busy people.  Effective time management is important not only for our P & L bottom line,  but also for our spiritual and psychological health.  In addition to drumming up and working on billable hours,  it is equally important that we make time for our personal pursuits.

We owe it to ourselves to go to the gym or out for a bike ride,  participate in our children’s lives,  nurture our relationship with a special someone,  or recharge our batteries by maybe taking a nice walk.  Therefore,  it is imperative that we utilize our time efficiently,  so that important things get taken care of and we avoid running in circles,  which wastes precious time,  creates aggravation and eventually leads to burn-out.

But there is so much to do and it is easy to get overwhelmed.  On top of  billable hours,  we must network to remain visible,  attend certain conferences that help us build skills or prospect for new clients,  maybe prep for a speaking engagement,  keep up with social media and there are perhaps also board responsibilities that were taken on to demonstrate commitment to one’s community and expand one’s  skill set (and bring in a referral along the way,  we hope).

Then there are the administrative functions like invoicing,  paying bills,  calls and emails,  updating the website,  de-constructing the new health insurance options and planning and budgeting for next year’s marketing initiatives. 

Oh, and dare I mention housework,  laundry, cooking and grocery shopping?  Yikes! It’s enough to make you want to hide in the closet.  How can any one human being face this down? 

I suggest that Step One in getting your arms around all that you must do is to make a list and document major tasks and responsibilities,  so that you can visualize and make sense of your obligations.  Once your list is created,  separate business obligations from personal.  Red star all tasks that have a deadline  e.g.,  September 15 for filing third quarter taxes.

On the business side,  make separate categories for client billable time,  marketing/self promotion and administrative tasks.  On the personal side,  create categories for fitness,  household,  children, etc.  Next,  prioritize according to what must be done first and what brings (or can potentially bring) the best ROI to you.  Break responsibilities down into what must be done daily (emails),  weekly (children’s lessons/ sports),  monthly (networking/ board meetings) and quarterly (taxes). 

Block out corresponding time periods,  make calendar entries and build a daily to-do list schedule.  Examine your schedule and look for ways to be more efficient.  You may have always gone to the gym after work,  but might a time change be advantageous? Is there a Zumba class at 7:00 AM or Pilates at lunchtime? That change will free up time in the evening for other activities and will also ensure that you maintain your fitness regimen.  Or maybe now you’ll see that you can start one!

PDA electronic calendars and smart phone apps are now standard,  but I’ve found that posting on an office white board or old-fashioned desk calendar is especially helpful for remembering monthly and quarterly tasks.  It’s good to have it all there in your face,  a constant reminder of what you must do and when you must do it.

I’ll be back with more time management next week.  Thanks for reading.

Kim

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Bringing You Down: The Procrastination Blues

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We just hate to do certain things.  Some things are a headache to even think about,  let alone actually do.  So we conspire to ignore the irksome thing and pretend it will go away.  We promise ourselves,  our spouses,  our children and our friends that we will get to it…only not now.  We are busy now…

Admit it.  Those crafty avoidance schemes make us feel guilty.  We go into denial.  We are prone to get defensive and there might be an argument,  yet we continue to stonewall.  Oh, but we cannot hide forever.  Eventually,  we’ve gotta man up and do the deed. ç

Why do we do this?  Don’t we realize that allowing loose ends and evil-but-necessary tasks to pile up only makes it worse for us when we are finally forced to take them on?

Yes!  But everyone procrastinates once in a while.  It’s part of the human condition.  In fact, under certain circumstances,  what appears to be procrastination can serve us well.  Sometimes a problem or task needs to be pondered,  with more information about the cause,  implications and possible resolutions sought.  It may not be wise to quickly jump in with both feet.  Due diligence is not a sign of procrastination.

Other times,  it is best to wait for more favorable conditions before making a move and attempting resolution.  Timing is always important.  Or maybe this item really does deserve to be put off,  because there are more important issues pending that deserve your immediate attention.  Prioritization is not a sign of procrastination,  it is good time management.

So what makes us procrastinate?  Psychologists say that chronic  procrastination results from a fear of failure or success.  Either way,  it’s self-sabotage.  Fear prevents us from taking action and moving forward.  The experts have a few more theories:

1.  The Perfectionist.  If you cannot perform in a flawless fashion,  then you will do nothing at all.

2.  Poor Decision Maker.  You are trapped in analysis-paralysis quicksand and unable to settle on a course of action.

3.  The Overwhelmed.   You consider the task to be beyond your capabilities,  or you just hate doing the thing.

4.  The Disorganized.   You cannot get your act together.  You don’t know or have what is needed to complete the task and cannot focus on it.

You can tame the procrastination beast.  The easiest way,  if you’ve been persistently unable to make yourself tackle a certain job,  is to take the hint and outsource it.  Maybe you avoid doing this thing because doing it makes you miserable and you’re lousy at it anyway?  If you’re holding the cash,  call in a professional and stop the drama.

If you are not holding sufficient cash,  then you need an attack strategy.  You must bite the bullet and face down this demon,  because continuing to avoid your responsibilities kills your momentum and adds stress to your life.  Procrastination is bad for business and you cannot afford to wallow in it.

Break the beast down into manageable blocks and chip away a little at a time.  Devote 30-60 minutes each day to the job until it is completed.   Self-discipline builds  self-confidence and will keep you motivated to stay on track.  Reward yourself  handsomely once you’ve crossed the finish line.

Keep the procrastination beast at bay by setting reasonable goals for yourself.  Reaching for the stars is admirable,  but be realistic (and not pessimistic or self-limiting) in recognizing what you can achieve.

Finally,  always prioritize.  Time sensitive and other important tasks go to the top of your list and are preferably done early in the day,  to promote the likelihood of successful completion.  Lower priority tasks are done later.  If a project lands on your to-do list,  then it should be done within a reasonable time frame,  so don’t ignore it for six months.

Thanks for reading,

Kim