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Plans For Your Business

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Whatever the health and condition of your Freelance business venture, you will at some point benefit from planning.  Business planning of any type provides a roadmap that will help you to successfully achieve your business goals.  Business planning can be instituted when sales are tanking and you need to find a way to improve billable hours.  Or you may have decided to aim for larger assignments  or roll out new services and need to figure out how to make it happen.

I’ve taught business plan writing for 7 or more years and I’ve also developed a one-day business plan writing workshop. As I see it,  the process of writing a business plan gives the writer (or the team) many opportunities to think things through and  get the magical thinking out of one’s head. The business plan shows us first,  if the dream is potentially viable and second,  how to make the dream a reality.

The plan you write will depend on what you set out to achieve.  If you’re launching a start-up that will involve significant outside investment,  then you’ll need a very detailed plan that focuses on financial projections;  marketing plans that delve into customer acquisition, the competitive landscape, the product or service launch, messaging,  sales distribution; and operational aspects such as manufacturing,  staffing and quality control.  Freelance consultants will mostly focus on marketing, in particular defining the target clients,  client acquisition; providing the right services; appropriate pricing; and the budget to pay for their marketing strategies.

Whether your plan will be used to launch a big venture and attract outside money,  or is a boutique style service provider, include the following elements in your plan.  Even if you’ll be writing what amounts to an extended marketing plan used for a one-person shop,  it will be a good exercise to include these elements, because you’ll be encouraged to think seriously and strategically about your mini-enterprise.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Present the business mission statement. Include as well the date when the business was formed; key management personnel; your unique credentials or experience that make you especially suited to start and successfully run the venture; the business legal structure (LLC, Sole Proprietor, or Corporation); the products and services; one or two key competitive advantages (maybe you have a patent?); sales projections; and the amount of capital needed (if you’re looking for investors).

BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

It’s traditional to present a brief description of your industry and its outlook,  nationally and regionally. give the details of your products and services and competitive advantages. Identify whether your venture is B2B, B2C, or B2G. If you hold a patent,  detail the competitive advantages that it will convey. Have there been any technological advances that will help or hinder your business?  Divulge here.

MARKETING

The category is a big tent that encompasses sales, product or service distribution,  competitors, advertising,  social media, PR,  networking,  branding, customer acquisition and pricing. The plan written for a mall organization will essentially consist of an extended marketing plan, because for Freelance consultants,  success hinges on identifying and reaching clients who will pay as well as pricing the services advantageously.

FINANCING

Whether you’ll self-finance because you’re wealthy enough,  or the venture is small and  not especially demanding of capital investment,  you nevertheless need to know with a reasonable degree of certainty how much you’ll need to spend to carry out the plan ( that could be a new product, or the purchase of something big, or a marketing plan, for example).  If your strategy is to attract investors,  they’ll need to be convinced by your projected sales revenue figures,  because they’ll want to know when they’ll be paid back or know when to expect profits if they are made co-owners of the business.  A break-even analysis, projected income statement, projected cash-flow statement and projected balance sheet are required by those who will need significant money.

OPERATIONS

How will day-to-day business processes function?  Tell it here,  along with providing the organizational chart,  the business location,  the method of producing that which you sell (if you are,  say,  a Freelance book editor or  graphics specialist,  you produce the service yourself),  your sub-contractors (if you are a special events organizer,  who is your usual caterer, florist,  limo service, etc.?) and quality control methods.  This element is about logistics.

For more information on writing a business plan,  visit the Small Business Association website https://www.sba.gov/tools/sba-learning-center/training/how-write-business-plan

Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Survival Strategies , , , , Leave a comment

Online Reputation Management

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Shakespeare, in Act 2 of his circa 1603 play Othello, said it best: Reputation, reputation, reputation.  It is the original personal brand and one of the defining realities of our lives.  As a Freelance consultant, reputation governs the projects offered to us and therefore, our income and the kind of life we’re able to live.  It pays,  in more ways than one, to cultivate a peerless reputation and guard it vigorously.

In the internet age  that is especially so, in both the personal and professional spheres.  Mistakes and mischaracterizations made in digital formats are extremely difficult to dodge, ignore, deny, or correct.  One’s online reputation is the ultimate flypaper.  Take steps to ensure that what sticks to your name is all good.

Images

Along with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest are the sites where images of you are most likely to be posted,  by yourself and others.  When cameras are around,  meaning whenever anyone has a cell phone,  which is about 24/7,  make sure that your behavior represents you and your brand well.

There’s nothing wrong with being photographed in an obviously casual gathering—just make sure that you (or others) are not in the midst of activities that could be misconstrued and reflect poorly on you sometime in the future.  If you regularly appear in photos that you know or suspect will be posted to social media sites, counteract with a photo of your own that shows you at work, paid or volunteer. Balance your accounts, so to speak,  and show that there is more to you than non-stop partying.

Content

Create and regularly post original content that makes you look smart, professional and successful.  On your LinkedIn account, announce when you will attend a symposium,  serve on a panel,  teach a course or workshop,  or have recently earned a professional certification or advanced degree.  If you’ve presented a webinar,  request the replay and turn it into a podcast for your website and YouTube.  If you write a newsletter or blog,  link to your website and LinkedIn.  If you’re on Twitter or Instagram,  produce streams of high-quality feed and images that convey the competencies and values that you want to be known for.

Twitter, Instagram and Facebook can feature glimpses into your personal life as well and it could all be for the good,  as long as you are strategic about what is revealed. Your volunteer work is always a safe bet.  Training for a marathon or even a fun and casual volleyball or softball league would be excellent.  Your parent’s wedding anniversary party would make another good personal aspect to include in your online narrative.  Be aware that narrative is the operative word.  Create the story that you want to be told, in a manner that makes you look wonderful.

Search

About every three months,  search your name and your company name in engines such as Bing,  Google and Yahoo and see what comes up in the first 50 listings.  Are you happy with what you see?  Try keywords related to your business along with your city and check your professional reach in a more profound way.

If you find that your business has been reviewed in an excessively negative and inaccurate way,  contact the reviewing site and request that the offending post be removed.  If customers have offered criticism that just may be constructive, address the matter.  Apologize and offer your side of the story.  Make amends if possible.  By doing so,  you’ll add to your credibility and customer service reputation.

It’s been reported that 70% of US employment recruiters have rejected potential job candidates when something about them that was considered unsavory appeared on social media.  Freelancers should assume that prospective clients will do the same.  Maintaining and monitoring your online reputation has never been more important.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The Elements of Your Brand Story

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A perennially engaging way to tell clients and prospects about you and your business venture is to spin a good story, ideally one that contains a compelling case study that spotlights your problem-solving ability, creativity and expertise. Everyone enjoys and remembers a good story; they usually feel connected in a positive way to people who tell them well. Expert storytellers have the ability to captivate an audience and gain their trust.

You may never become a TED Talk-worthy storyteller, but it’s still possible for you to devise a more than adequate brand narrative that effectively illustrates what you do; describes your typical clients; and gives an overview of the positive solutions that you create for clients. Your ability to tell the story will improve along the way.

Consider storytelling to be an element of your leadership development process; the most highly respected and popular leaders are excellent communicators and good stories are often included. Those leaders are persuasive. They are likable.  They generate trust and respect and there is great confidence in their abilities. As you brainstorm the elements of your brand story, try organizing your thoughts around the following:

  1. Who you are and what you do

Share a sliver of your personal details, to help your audience understand who you are and what matters to you. Don’t be afraid to break out of the expected corporate mode (while maintaining your comfort level boundaries). Segue into the services that you provide and/or products that you sell. Be succinct, clear and thought-provoking as you describe the needs or problems that you and your team address and resolve.

There may be no distinguishing factors to your work philosophy, but do mention your commitment to excellence and exceeding expectations. Inserting a paragraph about your volunteer work could be helpful. Whether your volunteer work is with those who are trying to improve their professional skills or in some aspect of the arts, that knowledge gives prospects and clients a good sense of your values and portrays you as a community-oriented, well-rounded professional.

2. Why / For whom you work

Name the usual customers that you work with: Fortune 1000 life sciences companies, small not-for-profit arts organizations, or whatever in between.

3. How you do it

Insert case study. The challenge is how to describe what you do without betraying client confidentiality, your proprietary secret sauce,  or overloading your audience with confusing details.  On which projects did you (and your team) deliver the goods that made a difference? Write it down, edit well, rehearse out loud and perfect the telling.

4. Outcomes / Proof of success

Potential clients must feel confident that you and your team will meet, if not exceed, their expectations.  Sharing an example  of a compelling client success story paints a picture of you in action and at your best.  Start with a description of the challenge or difficulty that these clients faced when they came to you.

Next, in simple and concise language (and preserving client confidentiality), explain selected highlights of what you did to achieve the desired results and why you chose that particular course of action. Conclude with an overview of the key benefits that the clients have received now that they’ve worked with you.

Tell case study stories that encourage prospective clients to identify with the challenges or problems that you resolved, so that they will be inclined to feel that hiring you is a smart move, one that will make them look good in the eyes of their superiors, colleagues and staff.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

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Meeting Maestro

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The ability to run a good meeting is widely regarded as a hallmark of a competent leader.  Meetings are important forums for communication and the development of goals and strategies that will move an organization forward.  When designed and conducted correctly, they promote understanding, cooperation and bonding and lay the groundwork for productive and satisfying teamwork.  Yet unfortunately, many meetings are useless time-wasters that result less in action and more in frustration.

I facilitate meetings for a living (mostly strategy planning, at for-profit and not-for-profit organizations) and I think the reason I’ve chosen this path is because I’ve been forced to attend so many meetings that have been a complete insult, such a huge waste of time that years later, the bad memories continue to haunt me.

Respectfully, I offer readers suggestions on how to run a meeting that will make you look good, from pre-meeting preparation, to your opening remarks and the conclusion.

I.      Create an agenda

People want to know what to expect and understand why they’ve been asked to attend.

II.     Invite stakeholders only

People want to feel that their presence at the meeting is crucial to the development of a resolution.  Be selective in who you include; most meetings should not be open forums.  Invite those who care about the outcome of the subject under discussion and are willing and able to contribute to its resolution.

III.    Arrange a convenient date, place and time

Send an email and propose two or three possible meeting dates and times.  If there are any on your invite list who must be in attendance, clear the dates with them first, then invite a wider circle.

IV.     Send a meeting reminder, attach the agenda and hand-outs

Two or three days before the meeting, send out a reminder and attach the agenda and meeting hand-outs.

V.      Confirm the meeting room and A/V equipment

It is advisable to first check the availability of the preferred meeting location and once specifics are confirmed, quickly reserve the room and audiovisual equipment that you will use (sreen, microphone, podium, LCD for Power Point, etc.). Just before you send out your meeting reminder, confirm that what you’ll need will be in the room.

VI.     Verify that A/V equipment works

Audiovisual equipment loves to malfunction.  Do a test run and de-bug the system if necessary.  Your mission is to make the transition from participant arrival to the meeting’s start seamless.

VII.    Bring hard copies of the agenda and hand-outs

Precious few people will print out the meeting materials and bring them along.

VIII.   Start on time

Be respectful of participant’s time.  Starting 5 minutes late is OK, start sooner if all have arrived.

IX.     Welcome and purpose statement

Thank everyone for making the time to attend and then state what the meeting will help to achieve.  Keep the purpose statement simple, ideally something that can be stated in two or three sentences, tops.

X.      Encourage participation

Bringing out good ideas is what meetings are all about: capitalizing on the creativity, resourcefulness and ingenuity that group synergy can produce.

XI.     De-fuse agitators and hijackers

Meeting hogs are to be discouraged. There may be someone in the room (alas, perhaps an ally) who is genius at pulling the meeting off-agenda and dragging it into the weeds on subjects that may be worthwhile, but would be best discussed in another venue.  Should such a statement be made, thank the person for bringing it up, since it’s probably related to the topic, but simply state that time must be devoted to the agenda and other off-shoots will benefit from discussion at another time and forum.

XII.   Sum up and end on time

Whenever possible, end the meeting on time and early is even better.  Most of all, achieve the meeting objectives.  Review and confirm all action items and individual or team responsibilities.  Within a week, send the meeting minutes to all who attended (and maybe a higher-up who should be kept in the loop), taking care to put all agreements and time tables in writing.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

 

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Stepping Up Your Game: Office Space

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Working space matters.  We spend many hours at work and the place where we do our job can impact the quantity and quality of the work produced therein.  Freelancers often brag about our ability to work from home,  or the coffee shop,  library,  vacation house,  or wherever,  but these environments may bring many distractions that have the potential to de-rail concentration or creativity.  Furthermore,  none are a suitable location into which an A-list prospective client can be invited for a serious meeting.

If you find that you need an office outside of your home,  perhaps it’s because you’ve hired others to work with you and a home office is no longer practical and appropriate?  Your office,  regardless of the configuration that you can afford,  is an extension of your brand.  It must represent you well.

If your goal is to attract bigger budget clients,  then you must demonstrate in many ways that your operation is capable of delivering more complex products or services.  You must instill confidence in those who you ask to hire you. That will almost certainly entail contracting for good office space.  At last,  it’s time to move out of the house.

Co-working space

This is often the first place that Freelancers and entrepreneurs consider when it’s time to move from a home to a formal office.  Think of co-working as moving in with roommates.  Lay-outs vary,  but you’ll have dedicated work space that will feature a greater or lesser degree of privacy.

Besides your discrete work area,  all other spaces are common and amenities are shared. You’ll gain the use of resources such as a photocopy machine,  scanner,  conference room with basic audiovisual equipment like LCD for Power Point presentations and a screen.  There will probably be a kitchen,  or at least a coffee and tea maker, microwave and a refrigerator.

Many co-working spaces are exclusive to a particular industry (tech, usually).  They’re designed to encourage networking and referral building,  because they are populated by small operators who tend to outsource functions such as website building,  graphic arts,  accounting,  HR,  or bookkeeping, for example.

But like living with roommates,  privacy can be a challenge because so much is out in the open,  including perhaps the desk space.  Book the conference room for important meetings.  Or maybe confidential meetings could be held in a local coffee shop, ironically,  where anonymity could work in your favor.

Shared prestige

Some co-working spaces are in luxury commercial buildings that have lost a big client and the owners make up the lost revenue by renting out to those who seek the prestige of a great office,  but only for a fixed amount of time each month,  when they need to impress a client or prospect.  An office share is probably a more accurate term.

Typically,  there is a receptionist who calls when an appointment arrives and you come out to the desk and greet your VIP,  pretending that you can afford an elegant office on a full-time basis.  You’ll most likely have the use of a lovely conference room or maybe two.  You will have a proper office with a door that closes,  giving privacy.  You’ll have a great kitchen,  high-end photocopy machine and other standard office amenities,  too.  The receptionist may also answer your office land line and then forward calls to you,  which you can return at your convenience.  If it’s set up correctly,  no one will know that you’re in a share.

Private office

An office suite,  even a small space,  is a big financial commitment; commercial leases are often three years and difficult to break.  You must have a good handle on your projected revenues.

Think carefully about your staffing needs to determine the square feet that you’ll rent.  Do you anticipate hiring an administrative assistant and others to work with you in some capacity? There must be space to accommodate these workers,  even if they are not in-house 52 weeks/year.  Whether or not they are likely to all be in the office simultaneously is another consideration.

The types of work stations that different workers will require is another important consideration (as are the computer software programs they’ll need to do their jobs).  The size of the desks and the type of chairs matters,  as well. Ergonomics count,  as its use decreases the risk of developing back and neck aches and promotes productivity.

Finally,  there is the issue of the floor plan.  Open plans are popular,  but the office cubby gives more privacy.  Will you,  the boss,  have a private office,  or will the open plan work for you as well,  communicating that you are a team player?  Will you need a conference room?  Speaking with an office planning specialist could be money well spent.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

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Going Forward: Employee to Freelancer

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The Freelancers Union  http://freelancersunion.org estimated that in 2013,  there were more than 53 million self-employed workers (in many permutations and degrees of earning power,  from fashion photographers,  to technical writers,  to Uber cab drivers) in the U.S.  That represents an astounding one third of the American work force participating in Freelance employment at some point during the year and it’s predicted that the number will only trend upward.

Plan to succeed  is the credo of every self-employed professional.  Effective planning requires one to first anticipate events and conditions that may be encountered and  then devise strategies that will overcome obstacles,  or at least lessen their likely impact,  and as well capitalize on expected opportunities.  Before you invest money and time on a mission to go it alone,  consider these realities.

No free tech help

Santa gave me an iPad Mini tablet for Christmas and the external key board that is part of its case quit functioning after three days.  The online advice that I hoped would help me to restart the thing was not useful.  I suppose a (time consuming) trip to the Apple Store must be made,  because I cannot ask a tech support colleague to rescue me.  At some point,  there will be a technology related glitch for every Freelancer: Power Point will embarrass you.  The printer will frustrate you.  You’ll be unable to install  your new software.

Taming home office distractions

Working from home requires real discipline and focus and potential distractions are everywhere.  Unless the call is from a client or business associate,  it may be advisable to refrain from answering calls (or emails/texts) from friends and family until lunch time or after hours.  If you have small children at home,  take them to day care or hire a nanny or other care taker to supervise their activities.

Ringing doorbells,  the television,  social media sites,  grocery shopping,  pet needs and house work can also undermine your work schedule.  If you foresee potential challenges to your ability to be productive In a home office,  then investigate co-working spaces.

Co-working arrangements can be very beneficial.  The office supplies,  meeting rooms,  A/V equipment,  coffee/tea and maybe even a co-working buddy who will provide some free tech advice will be available in the rental fee.  As an added bonus,  networking opportunities,  billable hours and camaraderie can arise from co-working colleagues.

No colleagues to commiserate with

Business owners and Freelance consultants work harder and must meet or exceed very high expectations,  every time.  It is easy to feel overwhelmed,  especially in the early days of running your venture.  At your job,  there was most likely someone who understood the nuances to talk you through things.  Now,  there is only you.

Joining a neighborhood business association,  professional association and/or your local chamber of commerce will give you numerous opportunities to meet self-employed professionals much like yourself.  Get to know a select few and create a support network for each other.

Moreover,   it is certain that you will have opportunities to receive and perhaps also lead  professional development programs that demonstrate  your expertise and leadership skills in the company of your peers.  You and your colleagues will be looking to make referrals for one another.  The time and money you invest in such organizations can pay real dividends and help you succeed as a Freelancer or business owner.

Needless to say there are other factors involved in the transition into the self-employed sector,  for example the requirement to find and purchase medical and dental insurance and set up a retirement account that works for you.  Launching even a solo freelance consultancy takes careful planning.  The more you can anticipate and prepare for,  the more successful your venture is likely to be.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Transition: Employee to Freelancer

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Happy New Year! Is your number one New Year’s resolution to establish your own entity and become a business owner or Freelance consultant? Are you planning to abandon the “safety” of a traditional job to directly market and sell your products or services to customers with money and motive to do business with you?

Going out on one’s own is a thrilling and sometimes frightening prospect. Those who take the plunge eventually discover that many resources that are casually taken for granted while working in an office are not readily available to those who step out on their own.  As you weigh your options and prepare to write your business plan,  be aware of a few changes and expenses to expect should you join the self-employed sector:

No paid days off

It is now Winter and there will be days when extreme snow fall could make it impossible to meet with a client or otherwise work.  Further,  regardless of the season,  there will be no more paid sick days,  vacation days or personal days.  In particular for those who own a small B2B or B2C venture where the business model requires you or your employees to visit a customer location (e.g., cleaning services),  or customers to visit your location (e.g., a laundromat),  snow days = no revenue days.

Establish business credit

For tax purposes,  it will be useful to open a separate business bank account and also apply for a business credit card or two.  There will be business expenses to write off and you want to make it easy to monitor spending.  Do yourself a favor and check your personal credit ASAP and correct any errors.

Financial management

Financial management will assume more than one form.  As noted above,  you’ll need to establish credit for the business,  so that you can order inventory and supplies without immediately impacting business cash flow,  for example.  Those are Accounts Payable items.  You will also need to ensure that clients pay on time,  or at all,  and that is an Accounts Receivable function.

Maintaining sufficient cash flow is crucial to the business’ survival and your own ability to keep a roof over your head,  food on the table and your car on the road. You must develop a business budget and plan for the purchase of equipment,  licensing costs (if applicable),  insurance (if applicable),  professional certifications (if applicable),  or space rental (if needed).

In addition,  you may consult with a business attorney or accountant to discuss the legal structure of your venture: Sole Proprietor,  Corporation (chapter S or C),  or Limited Liability Company.  The type of business that you’re in and your exit strategy will play a role in choosing the legal entity.

Paying for office supplies

Free scanning and photocopying will be over.  When you need to staple a few pieces of paper together,  you must buy the stapler and the staples and you’ll buy paper clips,  photocopy paper and envelopes,  too.

There will likewise be no meeting space or audiovisual equipment for you to reserve.  You’ll have to meet at the (prospective) client’s office,  or at a coffee shop or other restaurant.  Privacy might be an issue and arranging a Power Point or other visual presentation can be awkward as well.  A lap top computer or tablet are must-haves.  It will be imperative to possess the tools of your trade and to always appear as a competent and prepared professional as you develop your reputation and build your brand.

Next week,  we’ll look at more unexpected challenges that await those who choose to launch a business venture.

 Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

 

Professional Development , , 2 Comments

Before You Make New Year’s Resolutions…

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This week,  we’ll  continue the quest of getting you ready for the New Year. Regular readers will recall that last week’s post gave an overview of the benefits of physical exercise.  Those readers are now completely convinced that working out on a regular basis will not only improve their health, strength and endurance,  but will also make them smarter,  more disciplined,  more resourceful and creative and  (most importantly!) better looking.  You’ll perhaps need to know how to kick-start your work out routine and so we will take a look at that old cliche, New Year’s resolutions.

In a study by John Norcross, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Scranton (PA) and author of Changeology: 5 Steps to Realizing Your Goals and Resolutions  (2012),  45 % of Americans usually make resolutions to put themselves on the right track in the New Year and 38 % never make such resolutions.

Norcross discovered that of those who make at least one New Year’s resolution,  8 % achieve their goal and 46 % continue with their resolution for six months or more.  He concluded that people who make New Year’s resolutions (or other types) are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than those who do not explicitly make resolutions.

So how do you get yourself into the victorious 8 %? Basically,  you need to pick the right resolutions to pursue and give yourself the tools to achieve them.  The question to ask yourself is,  why do I want to do this?

Change brings one outside of the comfort zone,  so strive to make only those changes that seem to be right for you and do not aim to make changes based on what others feel you should do.  Unless you’ve been failing to meet obligations,  the expectations of others cannot rule your resolutions.  They must be meaningful to you and that will motivate you to work hard and attain them.

Second,  put yourself on the road to success by making SMART resolutions: Specific,  Measurable,  Attainable,  Relevant and Time-bound.  SMART resolutions will be easy and gratifying to track.  Establish target date milestones,  that is interim victories,  and give yourself a small yet meaningful reward each time you reach one.  Milestones are motivators.

Before you jump into taking on your resolutions,  it will be useful to devise an action plan.  How will you bring about these changes? What will be the processes and steps involved?  Map it out and include projected interim victory dates and decide the rewards that you’ll attach to each.

To enact an especially ambitious resolution,  or series of resolutions,  may require a support system,  if for no other reason than to make  you accountable for achieving them.  You may want to enlist a mentor or friend to act as a coach and motivator to give you encouragement and/or advice along the way.

If working out is your resolution and you can afford to hire a personal trainer for individual or (less expensive) small group training,  that will effectively keep you on track,  provide an exercise regimen that will serve as the heart of your action plan and make it easy to identify reasonable milestones.

Whatever you decide to do,  or not do,  about potential New Year’s resolutions,  the upcoming New Year is the traditional time (along with your birthday) to hit the re-set button on life by making some beneficial changes.  Why not review the past year and decide what could be better and what is within your ability to improve? Your resolutions need not be earth-shattering.  The chance of joining the 8% winner’s circle will be greatly improved when you resolve to make small-scale changes that will nevertheless have a noticeable positive impact on your life.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Exercise Leadership in the New Year

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Physically fit people are in general healthier, smarter,  physically and psychologically stronger,  younger looking, less stressed,  more disciplined and more focused than their sedentary peers,  according to medical researchers and exercise physiologists. These attributes benefit all of us and they in particular serve Freelance consultants and business owners very well.

The tangible and intangible benefits of exercise are directly transferrable to our business lives,  for what a successful Freelance consultant must be is calm,  disciplined, focused, resourceful and prepared to overcome challenges, seize opportunities and deliver excellent results every time.

Because the self-employed typically have more control over our schedules that should make it easier to begin and maintain a regular exercise regimen.  Researchers recommend that to achieve the  best results of an exercise regimen,  we should aim to get at least 45 minutes of weight lifting, cardio, core training and/or yoga at least four times per week.

Surfer and CEO of Manhead Merch, Chris Cornell, shared a few reasons for making the sport  (that is, physical fitness regimen) of surfing part of his life and business strategy.

Better perspective

As we go through life, we are eventually able to view challenges in a more balanced way.  What appeared to be a life-altering crisis at age 21 is all in a day’s work by the time we turn 35.  Because working out regularly makes us physically and psychologically stronger,  it prepares its practitioners to fight stress and fatigue.  “Working out serves as a life balance and centering point for me,” according to Cornell.

More creative

In Cornell’s experience he has observed that “Working out while being alone with your thoughts enhances creative awareness. You are more mentally sharp and physically settled at the same time”, he notes.

I’m not the most creative person that you’ll meet,  yet most of my clients , colleagues and friends I believe would consider me to be resourceful.  As a matter of fact,  during my work outs (and especially, in the post-work out shower) solutions to vexing problems have come to me.

Improved decision-making

Those who work out regularly learn to listen to their bodies and their intuition and they are able to figure out what is and is not good for them. They eventually  learn when to work through a problem, or when to walk away, for that is what is encountered in the gym.

Am I too tired to continue this workout? Am I injured and should I do a light work out, or take a few days off and make an appointment to see a chiropractor or an orthopedic surgeon? Decision fatigue and general indecision is diminished.

Perseverance

Formidable challenges await in the gym and in the business arena. In the gym,  one learns to dig deep and push through the challenges.  As you train to do this physically,  you also train to do it psychologically. Working out makes us stronger and more resilient. It is a confidence booster, as studies have shown. One develops the mental strength to face down onerous tasks and take them on with everything you’ve got.

If you regularly visit your local gym and/or participate in a sport,  you have experienced and appreciate the numerous benefits of exercise.  If you are among the 80% of Americans who is sedentary,  why not rethink your strategy and view your exercise regimen as an activity that confers competitive advantages?

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading,

Kim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Survival Strategies , , Leave a comment

Managing the Difficult Client

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In your Freelance consulting venture you will work with dozens, if not hundreds, of clients.  Your experiences  with different clients will eventually allow you to recognize certain recurring personality types or working styles.  In your mission to retain clients over the long-term,  you will find it useful to understand the perspectives of the various personality types and learn to create successful,  or at least less fraught,  working relationships with them.

The attention craver

The onslaught of before or after office hours calls and voice mails will be your first clue that you have signed on with a high-maintenance,  controlling,  attention-craving client.  If you’re on a high-priority deadline project,  then the calls and emails may be part of what it takes to get the job done and impress the client with your work ethic,  business acumen and ability to guide the project to a successful completion.  But when the calls do not address an urgent matter…. hhhmmmm.

As noted with several of the difficult clients discussed in this and last week’s posts,  setting boundaries is recommended.  Answer the attention-craver’s calls or emails in a timely fashion.  If by your standards calls have been made during your personal time  (7:00 PM or after,  for example,  or on a weekend)  and the matter is not urgent,  politely state that while you appreciate updates,  you will be happy to address project matters by 8:00 AM on the next business day.  If you reach the client’s voice mail,  send an email to confirm your reply.

The analysis-paralysis specialist

The analysis-paralysis specialist is methodical,  prone to taking his/her time when evaluating matters and will likely respond well to credible data.  Getting a fast answer or decision may be a challenge.   S/he is afraid of doing the wrong thing by failing to consider the inevitable plusses and minuses of the choices presented.  Spreadsheets are favored.

If you have a recommended course of action,  compile statistics and case studies to support your opinion and invite other team members into a meeting with you to lend support.  It will be important to help this individual feel confident and ready to move forward.  Solid evidence and a consensus of opinions will be required.

The busy business owner

This overwhelmed CEO is most likely very happy to have you on board to manage an important project,  but s/he is perhaps unable to take full advantage of your expertise because s/he is too busy to adequately integrate you into the process,  or take the time to sit down and apprise you of the organization’s challenges, needs,  or opportunities and the services you can provide to address what is presented.

You can help the busy business owner and yourself by creating short reports that focus on key performance indicators that allow the busy one to access necessary information.  Concise progress reports,  documentation that milestones have been reached on time and other demonstrations of the results of your work will be appreciated. Try to schedule meetings when progress discussions should take place,  but keep them short and focused.  Send a list of questions when you schedule the meeting,  so that your busy client will be more likely to take the time to share project critical information.

Thanks for reading,

Kim