Monthly Archives: March 2025

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Future-Proof Your Business NOW

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Freelancer friend, when did you last update—upgrade—your office technology? If it’s been more than five years since you’ve purchased hardware or software to modernize and optimize your company technology, let the warning bell ring and signal that it’s time to re-think your tech capabilities. While you’re at it, you can also research security solutions to defend your company against cyberattack. It is time to put on your strategic planning hat and future-proof your IT systems.

Think about it—if positioning yourself as a thought leader is an element of your marketing strategy, you cannot fully inhabit that role when the organization you lead is limping along on a seriously outdated, inadequate, IT infrastructure. Cyberthreats have become increasingly brazen and persistent, from high-profile data breaches to incursions into everyday life, such as a recent email that was sent to me by an alleged employee of an organization that has a name and email address similar to a company with whom I do business. The email message requested that I sign and return the attached “vendor contract and forms.” That message was the inspiration for this post (and it’s been deleted).

Updating and upgrading the technology that runs the business is an element of your risk management strategy and intended to protect your business by eliminating vulnerabilities. An updated IT system will bring many benefits to how you do business, including support of agile business practices, enabling operational efficiencies and facilitating a seamless and pleasing experience that not only keeps your customers coming back, but also inspires them to refer your company to their friends. Using the right technology is an affirmation of your brand promise.

So, whether it’s to strengthen IT security measures, or streamline business operations and enhance customer service and customer experience protocols, it will benefit you to rethink how you can optimize your use of technology, a reimagining that will likely cause you to consider Artificial Intelligence tools, cloud-based solutions marketing automation (which is now AI-powered) and customer relations management software.

Surrendering to avoidance behavior that makes you shy away from investing time and thought to considering goals you might pursue over the next 12-36 months or so, as well as researching potential tech solutions that are capable of supporting those goals, is costing you more than you think. The longer you plod along with outdated IT systems that no longer adequately serve your business, no matter that they’ve become familiar and comfortable, represents a risk—to the security of your data and to your ability to operate in an agile and efficient manner, for starters. Keeping up with Microsoft or Apple updates can only help so much—they are band-aids, a helpful short-term fix but not a comprehensive IT solution. Modernizing the technology that enables your business to function is not to be confused with buying the coolest and newest mobile phone. Your IT system is not a vanity project.

What technology does a Freelance consultant need?

Freelancers and other small business owners need hardware and software that serves both front-end (user facing) and back end functions (data management, processing, storage). A well thought-out IT strategy will function as a roadmap that outlines your technology needs and how to achieve them, including the budget and timeline. At top-of-mind must be that Freelancers are often in the B2B sector and work remotely; Work From Home demands a tech set-up that facilitates teamwork when team members are in different locations, maybe in different time zones, maybe on different continents.

Collaboration and communication tools that facilitate productivity and team cohesion are paramount for Freelancers and will include videoconferencing, team chat and project management. Also expected to be high on your IT shopping list will be AI tools and the hardware required to accommodate them and cloud-based solutions that will likely include CRM software, data protection and data retention.

A 2022 survey found that 61% of respondents whose companies upgraded their communication technology in the previous year primarily focused on streamlining processes, reducing costs, saving time and improving productivity to support the overall goal of making business operations more efficient. Those priorities will surely figure prominently in your IT upgrading decisions as well. Still, investing in customer experience tools has the potential to deliver tangible returns.

Let’s end with reassuring news—your IT upgrade needn’t be done all at once. The project can be structured to make it more affordable and manageable than you might expect in terms of time, money and decision-making stress. Your company’s IT infrastructure can be updated and upgraded step-by-step to replace obsolete equipment with modern solutions that align with your current strategies and will likely support your plans for future growth. Every wise and courageous action you take to move your company forward will deliver immediate benefits and also lay the groundwork for further progress.

Just remember that avoidance behavior will do you no favors and, in the end, will be more costly and stressful. Do yourself a favor and commit to starting the process within 30 days; if you’re in the midst of a big project, get started on your IT makeover within 30 days of wrapping things up. You will receive great satisfaction, among other rewards, by avoiding the drama of a hacking or other crises. The longer you put this off, the less control you’ll have over your time, money and satisfaction derived from your role as a company leader.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Courtesy Wikimedia Commons (1994)

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Be A One-Person Powerhouse

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Freelancers continue to refine our business practices as we observe and respond to the mega-trends that impact the global and national economies and, to some degree, affect the way nearly everyone on the planet lives and works. As we move through the mid-point of the 2020s, Freelance professionals are redefining success. We never intended to be builders of corporate empires that employee thousands, but we do intend to build and sustain a profitable business entity.

We believe that we can thrive as leader of a single-person business entity, a one-person empire, where we demonstrate our appeal to a discrete segment of the marketplace. We demonstrate also our grasp of customer needs within that market segment and we deliver services and/or products that our customers value. While aware of the time and cost saving advantages of turnkey processes and operational efficiencies, we reject the notion that one size fits all and we’re happy to build in a degree of flexibility that makes available personalized solutions tailored to address customer needs and concerns.

Niche is the new big box

The Freelance solopreneurs whom I’ve come to know over the years are too smart to try to be all things to all people. Instead, smart, successful Freelancers like you rely on market research to discover customer segments that are most interested in your category of services or products and then learn how to position your company to win business within those marketplace segments. Freelance solopreneurs will be interested to know that leading U.S. market researchers have validated this strategy and now forecast that in 2025 and beyond, start-up entrepreneurs who focus on a niche market will prosper while those who attempt the “all things to all people” big box approach will be on the wrong path.

Globalization is driving this emerging trend, as are AI-powered marketing communications tactics. Together, these powerful forces have made it both uncomplicated and cost-effective for even a business entity headed by a Freelance solopreneur to attract prospective customers in any geo-location that has internet access and invite them into your company’s buyer’s journey and community of followers. The possibility of developing a thriving niche market for your services or products that consists of people from around the world is real and is expected to become the norm for one-person shops as it is for multi-national conglomerates.

While the multi-nationals, however, pursue millions of prospective customers and compete in markets that are often saturated. Standing out in those marketplaces is a challenge that only big fish can afford, sometimes by advertising during the Super Bowl, for example. In stark contrast, those who dwell in micro-niche markets will devote most of their marketing resources to creating trust and legitimacy, demonstrating expertise and authority and building relationships and loyalty. Establishing a presence in a micro niche market, as would a Freelance solopreneur, isn’t just about selling products or services—it’s nearly as much about creating a community where customers feel a sense of belonging.

Because Freelance solopreneurs occupy a unique, personalized, space, customers are inclined to perceive you as an expert who understands their needs on a granular level and capable of solving their unique goals and challenges. In 2025 and beyond, Freelance solopreneur entities will use niche targeting combined with AI-powered analytics, marketing and customer service tools to fuel smart and sustained growth that supports a personalized boutique approach to their B2B or B2C venture. You can promote a brand-enhancing perception by showcasing the following:

  • Communicate capability, quality and consistency

Big business has the financial wherewithal to invest millions in branding, while Freelancers and other small business owners can effectively build and promote their brand, goods and services by adopting a niche market focus to achieve a similar effect by being consistent and integrating personalization and polish across all forms of communication and at every customer or prospect touchpoint. Get the ball rolling with a comprehensively cohesive brand visual identity that begins with an intuitively designed, fast-downloading, sleek, professional-looking website; you can carry that ethos into high-quality marketing materials that create an image that reflects capability, trust and legitimacy.

  • Be a thought leader

A solopreneur Freelance consultant can appear to be a nationally recognized authority if s/he is featured in respected industry media outlets. Establishing yourself as a thought leader confers respect and credibility that makes your business entity appear substantial and established. People tend to assume that everyone who is presented in the media as an “expert” of some sort who presides over a large business that generates an annual income that’s well into six figures and maybe more.

You can use that perception to your advantage: it is well worth your while to seek opportunities to publish your own insightful articles in reputable magazines or journals. Furthermore, you will do well by searching for opportunities to take on speaking roles at conferences, even if that means moderating a panel and appearing on podcasts and webinars whose reputation, while perhaps not blue chip, are nevertheless positioned to create for you the impression of authority and influence.

  • Show social proof at every opportunity

Incorporate social proof into your branding strategy by inviting happy customers to give online or print testimonials that describe how your service or product has solved their business challenge or helped them to achieve an important goal. Alternatively, you can ask customers if s/he would mind if you wrote up a case study that details how your product or service enabled that customer’s goal to be achieved or challenge to be overcome.

Customer success stories, which are brought to life by testimonials and case studies, are highly effective marketing tools and they deserve to be spotlighted on your website and social media platforms. You will provide still more examples of customer success stories when you encourage happy customers to post user-generated content (which includes testimonials), and also reviews on platforms such as Yelp, Google and LinkedIn. You might also request permission from certain customers (more prestigious, that is) to display their company logo on your website.

Another highly effective demonstration of the social proof of your brand reputation among your business community peers and colleagues is to display on your website the business and/or community awards that you’ve either won or for which you’ve been nominated. Seeing the names of recognizable authorities associated with your brand makes you look well-respected and trustworthy—because we are judged by the company we keep.

Inform local media outlets when you’ve got something great to crow about by sending a press release to announce your newsworthy achievements (e.g., a nomination for a business award) or your participation in a well-known charity or community event, such as helping to sell Girl Scout Cookies, supporting the Little League team, or sponsoring a marathon runner who is raising funds for a local hospital or other charity.

  • Expand your online presence

A business that is favorably mentioned in multiple media outlets more than once a year looks much more influential than a business that is mentioned on a single platform—infrequently. Maintaining an active presence on LinkedIn and other social media sites, contributing your insights to industry forums and getting your articles included in relevant publications reinforces the credibility of both you and your business entity.  Occasional press coverage in online or print media outlets, guest blog posts and other articles and social media activity, especially when taken together, can readily give your Freelance solopreneur consulting entity the impression of a capable and respected, if not locally powerful, enterprise. Being cited by industry sources, contributing to discussions and publishing original insights give the impression that you’re a major player, even if you’re running a small operation.

  • Deliver white-glove service

Freelance consultants and SMBs would be wise to develop exceptional customer experiences, including after-sales support services where necessary. B2B customers will greatly appreciate a seamless onboarding process, as well as automated follow-ups and structured client communications—all of which create the impression of a well-oiled machine, whether your company is a team of 20 or a solopreneur entity. Modern tools allow small businesses to operate with the efficiency of much larger organizations. A website and social media chatbot, AI-powered customer service and cloud-based collaboration tools make it possible to efficiently serve customers on every continent. When you create a strong digital infrastructure for your business entity, regardless of the number of workers on your team, you can operate at a level that is as capable and trustworthy as any enterprise-level competitor. You can become a one-person powerhouse!

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Keerthana Kunnath. In Kerala, India female bodybuilder Chitra Purushotham shows that she is a powerhouse.

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260% Hiring Increase Propels Freelancers Beyond Flavor of the Month

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Mellow, a global contract and payment services platform whose customers are Freelancers, consulting companies and independent contractors, revealed in Their latest report a startling 260% increase in overseas hiring of Freelance workers by U.S. businesses from 2022 to 2024. The report indicates that the projects were also outside of the U.S. and that skill sets in highest demand included engineers, technical writers, analysts and website developers. The organizations for whom the Freelancers worked were Mellow contractor-of-record clients, based in the for U.S. and with 50-200 employees, categorized as Small and Midsize Enterprises (SME). The Freelancers hired were based in regions with emerging economies, primarily Central Asia, the Middle East/North Africa and Eastern Europe.

Mellow researchers interpret the big picture of their findings as confirming the centrality of Freelance workers as essential participants in a global trend that demands flexible work models and as a standard that will ultimately benefit U.S. based Freelancers. Rather than replacing U.S. workers, Mellow investigators see the predominance of flexible work models as creating new opportunities for both businesses and individuals in the U.S. Mellow emphasizes that the Freelancing surge is not about offshoring, but rather about decentralizing work and enabling businesses to be more agile, competitive and profitable.

Freelancers are a core business strategy

The advantages inherent in flexible, ad hoc, project-specific work arrangements were already apparent to both Freelance workers and the organizations that hire them, and the practice was already well established and growing in acceptance and popularity when the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to reconsider their work models and shift their employees into Work From Home mode. The pivot spotlighted the value of both remote work and the availability of a talented and reliable Freelance workforce. Organization leaders now widely recognize the logic of employing temporary talent for specific projects and this acceptance has brought revisions to their strategies for talent acquisition and workforce management. Freelancers are no longer regarded as just a short-term fix, but instead as a strategic advantage that delivers tangible benefits in today’s layoff-prone environment.

Talent management within an organization is no longer considered primarily an HR strategy and is now recognized as a core business strategy that owners, entrepreneurs and executives must recognize. The data makes it clear that organizations are welcoming Freelance talent and the shift isn’t just about cost savings; it’s also about responding to the need to be agile in a hyper-competitive marketplace that includes the realities of a periodically unpredictable labor market.

Market research company Grand View Partners estimates that global Freelance marketplaces such as Mellow, Fiverr, Guru and Upwork will have a 17.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for the period 2025 to 2030, according to their recently published Market Analysis Report that examined the market size, share and trends of Freelance platforms. Industries setting the pace and providing a template that other companies can follow include Edtech, out front with an average hiring rate of 108 Freelancers and advertising companies, with an average Freelance hire of 34 contractors.

U.S. Freelancers thrived during difficult years

The years 2022-2024 were challenging for many American workers, executives and business owners. Numerous lay-offs, persistent inflation and widespread hiring freezes came on the heels of the coronavirus shutdown. “Quiet quitting,” the great resignation and persistent demands to return to the office—a condition that many employees find unnecessary, if not unacceptable—dominated the echoverse.

The unrest motivated many companies to adopt a flexible approach to getting the work done and increasingly, company leaders acknowledged that Freelance professionals are uniquely qualified to provide the skills their organizations needed. The inclination to hire Freelance workers also aligns with agile business strategy that likewise requires a flexible, capable and cost-effective workforce that drives innovation, growth and profitability.

 In a January 2023 survey of 1,000 U.S. business leaders of companies with more than 50 employees, Resume Builder showed that 40% of those companies hired Freelance workers to replace laid-off employees and 53% convinced some of their full-time employees to accept Freelance positions, in order to remain employed.

Return-to-office and lay-offs poised to increase Freelance opportunities

Lay-offs have been announced by Hewlett Packard, Grubhub, Meta and Chevron; meanwhile, RTO mandates have been repeatedly announced, most notably by J.P. Morgan, along with Amazon, Dell and Starbucks, all of whom are cracking the whip and herding the last of their WFH employees back into the office. As unpleasant as all that sounds (at least to me), Freelancers are positioned to obtain clients and potentially generous billable hours that result from lay-offs and RTO mandates that are ignored. One door closes and another door opens.

Data from Upwork, the Freelance marketplace used by both Freelance workers and the companies that hire them, shows that Freelance labor is 30-60% less costly than W2 employee labor; the latter entails costs such as payroll taxes, social security payments and vacation and sick time, while the former option enables company leaders to pivot into a flexible workforce arrangement rather than lay-off W2 employees (and perhaps face media scrutiny). Furthermore, Resume Builder data also shows the rise of a strategy called “quiet hiring,” that is demonstrated by the 37% of companies that had recent lay-offs and hired Freelancers to replace laid-off workers.

Regarding RTO mandates, the advantages of Freelance talent are not exclusively limited to remote arrangements. In fact, the in-person Freelance model is a fast-growing segment. Spurred by front-line workforce talent platforms specializing in retail, hospitality and even factory workers, in-person Freelance gig workers are solving significant challenges for industries known to suffer from high rates of employee burnout and churn.

The Freelance future is bright

The demand for Freelance talent is expected to energize the employer side of the equation as evidenced by the predicted 17.7% CAGR within 2025 the SME and large enterprise business categories. The rise of start-up businesses and entrepreneurship in general contributes to the increasing demand for Freelance talent, as detailed in the Upwork Freelance Forward 2023 report, that noted Freelance labor contributed $1.27 trillion to the U.S. economy in annual earnings and also noted that 38% of the U.S. workforce, or 64 million Americans, performed Freelance work as either a primary or occasional source of income.

Start-ups often have limited budgets that constrict their ability to hire full-time employees for every role. Fractional executives, who are Freelancers who serve companies on a C-Suite level, are also taking hold at start-ups and Freelance and fractional workers provide start-ups and SME businesses with an affordable way to access high-quality talent on a short-term or project basis. The scalability of Freelance hiring models makes it easier for entrepreneurs to manage fluctuating or unpredictable workloads while maintaining high-quality standards without exhausting financial or labor resources. The ability to hire specialized Freelancers enables start-ups and other businesses to remain nimble and efficient—agile—which is essential for their growth and survival in highly competitive markets.

The success of Freelancing is perhaps best summed up by data from Mellow which reported that in 2023, the average monthly income of Freelance workers in their report grew by 18% and grew by another 23% in 2024. Mellow’s data also confirmed that the way to earn billable hours is to take on more than one client at a time (but you knew that).

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: ©Epic Records. Singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton (1947-1979) in the cover shot for her gold album Perfect Angel (1974)

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Is Your Social Media Strategy Delivering?

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“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

Possibly apocryphal quote often credited to 19th century Philadelphia department store magnate John Wanamaker.

Accurately measuring the impact of the marketing activities you create to promote your company’s services and/or products and, furthermore, analyzing the impact of your marketing to verify that the activities were worth the time and money invested in them can be somewhat of a puzzle for a marketing manager. In particular, the return on investment of social media activity can be nebulous, given that much of its focus is often devoted to relationship-building that stimulates one or more aspects of brand-building, for example, brand loyalty and brand reputation. Determining which of your go-to social media platforms is your top performer might be difficult to confirm, there is not always an obvious path to follow as you track and document your customer’s behavior or buyer’s journey from first contact through purchase; and then there are those who jump ship somewhere between those points and the debrief on that scenario is yet another drama to unravel.

Social media remains a hugely popular marketing tactic that for the most part has earned its accolades in both free and paid options. So, it comes as somewhat of a surprise that recent marketing research shows that at a representative group of enterprise companies, the social media marketing spend is softening. According to the Spring 2024 edition of the CMO Survey, which surveyed 292 marketers employed by leading U.S. companies, social media investments declined from 17% in Spring 2023 to 11% in Spring 2024, reaching its lowest level in seven years.

The CMO Survey found further confirmation of this occurrence in participant responses to the question “Which best describes how you show the impact of social media on your business?” and one-third, all of whom are marketing leaders, reported “we haven’t been able to show the impact yet.” The remaining participants were evenly split on whether they’ve “proven the impact quantitatively,” with some stating that they have a “good qualitative sense of the impact, but not a quantitative impact.”

Maybe you’ll soon decide to pull back on social media paid ads, too, and rely more heavily on the “free” option (free except for the time spent to choose and post content that interests followers, that is) since it remains an effective method of customer outreach and enables you to build and sustain relationships with customers, convert prospects into customers and boost brand visibility. Your social media spend may decrease, but that adjustment could motivate you to make the most of a reconfigured, but still valuable, marketing investment.

Multi-channel is most effective

According to an analysis of performance data associated with social media marketing campaigns, the format produces greater results when used in combination with other marketing tactics, e.g. monthly newsletters and/or case studies, e-books, podcasts, or webinars. Furthermore, when researchers examined 10 years of CMO Survey retrospective data, below-average performance of social media marketing campaigns was reported by participants whose answer to “How effectively does your company integrate customer information across purchasing, communication and social media channels?” revealed weak scores describing the use of that data during the period 2011 – 2023. The performance ranking scale measuring customer data sharing ranged from “not at all” to “very highly.”

In light of the findings of the 10-year retrospective, survey researchers recommend that marketers consult with a Customer Relations Management (CRM) company, e.g., Sprout Social, HubSpot, BuzzSumo, or SalesForce, to ensure accurate interpretations and beneficial integration of their social media marketing performance data to enhance the success of future marketing campaigns. Correctly interpreting and utilizing social media marketing performance data ensures that you’ll have a holistic understanding of customer behavior that’ ‘s inclined to positively impact the buyer’s journey your company provides.

Use social media to grow your customer list

The CMO Survey also found that nearly half of companies use social media platforms to sell their services and products. However, survey data reveals that fewer than 20% of those companies leverage their social media engagement to invite customer feedback that might improve aspects of the customer experience or even suggest new product or service opportunities that the company could explore and possibly launch. Companies that exploit this easily accessible customer feedback opportunity are able to develop a customer experience that responds to and retains customers, encourages referrals and increases sales revenues and profitability.

Improvise to stay timely and relevant

Finally, enhancing your ability to provide a timely response to breaking news that matters to your customers and prospects right now is just about guaranteed to enhance both the relevance and visibility of your brand—and using social media makes this possible. Still, marketing managers often neglect opportunities that are easy to address, as evidenced by the self-reported survey participant score of “average” when describing behavior associated with the statement “Responding quickly to opportunities and challenges when managing your most engaged customers.”

CMO Survey findings convincingly show that adopting a flexible, even improvised, approach to your social media engagement is the most effective aspect of your strategy and that your awareness of breaking news and developing events is most urgent and beneficial when providing a timely response is desirable. Communicating with your customers and prospects by acknowledging the unfolding event or unexpected (surprise) development, with a humorous or witty remark demonstrates your authenticity. In short, building in processes designed to make you ready for and prepared to quickly respond to various types of communication opportunities is able to improve the ROI of your company’s social media marketing and engagement.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Simon Smith. Bunhill for Getty Images