Category Archives: Business Strategy

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How Can Freelance B2B Service Providers Integrate Sustainability?

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A growing number of organizations are integrating sustainability into their business strategy—realizing they can do well by doing good. In a recent McKinsey survey, 70 % of respondents said their companies have official sustainability protocols in place. For B2B companies, sustainability is increasingly tied to winning clients and generating revenue. But what does it mean to operate a “sustainable” business?

Owners and leaders of sustainable businesses learn to understand the environmental and social conditions that matter to their customers, suppliers, employees, lenders and regulatory agencies and how the company’s sustainability strategies can effectively address those concerns. For Freelance solopreneur B2B companies, the starting point for introducing sustainability is to align sustainability goals and strategies with products and services it provides. That is, B2B sustainability strategies are typically determined by operations—awareness of how producing your company’s key services and products impacts the environment and society with which you interact, and sustainability encompasses doing business without negatively impacting those factors. The goal of developing and implementing sustainable business strategies is to make a positive impact on at least one of those areas and the goals and implementation tactics are unique to each organization and influenced by company values and business goals.

B2B sustainability is different from B2C sustainable business practices. Sustainability in the B2B sector is mostly related to business operations such as responsible sourcing of what your company sells and credible policies and procedures that are documented in a sustainability statement that can be viewed by clients or prospects who may give preference to vendors who have sustainability protocols in place. Your company’s sustainability statement will be used to demonstrate to decision-makers who manage the purchasing of B2B services or products that your company has rational and effective sustainability practices in place. Stakeholders such as Chief Financial Officers, Human Resources, legal departments and risk management and other stakeholders who promote sustainability may also implement Environmental, Social and Government (ESG) strategies.

Sustainability in business can mean a B2B Freelance service provider can integrate sustainability by optimizing digital operations, embedding environmentally friendly practices into the solutions they deliver and aligning and, ideally, aligning the sourcing and delivery of their solutions with a particular client’s ESG targets. A well-written sustainability statement can impact whether your company wins contracts, becomes or remains an approved supplier, receives renewals of product or service orders and/or satisfies due diligence requirements of potential lenders or investors. Another plus is that the global and national media attention surrounding the importance of sustainability will likely result in enhancement of your company’s brand reputation when sustainability practices are introduced.

Getting started

  • Understand your company’s current impact on the environment and the community. Start by assessing how your business activities affect the environment and society. This could be your supply chain, carbon footprint, waste management or community engagement. Where are your largest impact areas?
  •  Set realistic goals. Once you know your impact areas, set achievable sustainability goals and they will be influenced by what a Freelancer or small business owner is able to impact. Your goals might include reducing waste, sourcing materials responsibly, or supporting local communities by volunteering at not-for-profit organizations that have a social mission.
  •  Embrace transparency. Be open about your sustainability journey. Share your goals, progress and challenges with your stakeholders, including customers, employees and investors. As they say, perfection is the enemy of progress. Don’t think you have to have it all worked out before you start. However, remember that being genuine is different from being flawless—steer clear of greenwashing, as authenticity is key.
  • Embrace transparency. Be open about your sustainability journey. Share your goals, progress and challenges with your stakeholders, including customers, employees and investors. Sustainability in the 2020s is still a work in progress; don’t think you have to have it all worked out before you start. As long as you avoid “greenwashing” and remain true to your values, just get started.
  • Assess and adjust where necessary. Sustainability is a dynamic field. Stay informed about new technologies and practices that can be integrated into your business. Ideas are everywhere when we know who to ask and where to look. Finding a group of your peers with whom you could share ideas and other helpful info will inspire you. A sustainability leader at one of your client companies may also be willing to make suggestions and could even become a mentor. Do what is necessary to stay informed about new technologies and practices that can be integrated into your business.

Operational choices

  • Green digital habits: Clear unused cloud storage, optimize website energy efficiency and use low-carbon hosting providers.
  • Paperless workflows: Rely entirely on digital contracts, invoicing, and e-signatures.
  • Remote-first optimization: Minimize business travel and offset unavoidable carbon emissions.

Service and deliverable alignment

  • Sustainable positioning: If you provide writing, design, consulting, or tech services, offer specialized guidance, or content that explains and defends sustainable practices.
  • Conscious vendor choices: Collaborate with sub-contractors and suppliers who also prioritize ethical and environmental standards.
  • Value-added: Help clients track or present the reduced environmental footprint tied to the projects you oversee for them.

Going forward

Embracing sustainability is more than a trend; it’s a fundamental shift in how we do business. For Freelancers and small businesses owners, starting this journey can be daunting, but it’s essential for long-term success. Remember, sustainability is a continuous process of learning, observing, adapting and upgrading. By taking actionable steps early, you are not only contributing to a better world but also building a resilient and future-proof business.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Vecteezy

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Why Leaders Use EQ to Harness the Disruptive Power of AI

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The arrival of Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered software tools has dramatically changed how many businesses operate, revolutionizing the way we work, communicate, make decisions and solve problems. AI excels at analyzing and interpreting often complex information and recommending actions that can successfully guide business owners and leaders as they make decisions that will shape their organization’s future. As the integration of AI expands, however, it has become apparent that human oversight of the technology’s implementation is sometimes necessary, in particular when privacy and maintaining ethical business practices is a potential concern.

Will EQ make AI feel trustworthy?

AI delivers many tangible gifts via digital computers and robots, and the software systems they support, but regarding intangible qualities, not so much. One can only expect technology to be soulless, but it is possible to program your chatbot to display “empathy” to a frustrated customer who has a problem to solve, but your AI tools have no genuine understanding of emotions. AI-powered technology tools are unable to navigate complex human behaviors, such as developing trust, understanding the value of integrity, or building relationships. While AI has the capability to optimize the efficiency and performance of your business systems, it cannot simulate cognitive processes such as judgment, adaptability, or principled decision-making.

An awareness of those limitations points to a solid case for the need of human oversight to monitor AI implementation in your organization. It falls on business owners and leaders to put guardrails in place to direct and enhance AI outcomes. Incorporating Emotional Intelligence (EQ) behavioral principles can provide useful assistance to business owners and leaders as they attempt to harness AI-powered technology and produce benefits that are effective and also ethical.

What is EQ and why does AI need it?

As AI becomes more widely adopted, establishing ethical business practices, such as safeguarding the privacy of those with whom one does business, and decision-making that prioritizes not only the interests of business leaders but is also humane, is becoming standard operating procedure. Achieving mission-critical goals without compromising the trust of customers, employees and community is becoming recognized as a brand enhancement.

Behaviors and actions attributed to Emotional Intelligence, often called EQ (Emotional Quotient), refer to the ability to recognize, understand and manage emotions in oneself and others. The introduction of EQ-based perspectives is becoming more prominent as business owners and leaders become more accepting of AI technology and increasingly aware that AI cannot replicate cognitive processes, like empathy, creative problem-solving and effective communication.

AI and the value of EQ soft skills

AI has only a limited ability to mirror and respond in kind to human empathy. Yes, it can process natural language and recognize patterns that signal it is the appropriate time to respond with an empathetic reply such as, “Your problem sounds challenging and I’m here to assist you,” as the tool aims to resolve a customer service issue. But AI technology can only respond with empathy according to predefined algorithms; and those replies and conversations often lack emotional depth and nuance.

As AI becomes part of everyday work, soft skills such as communication, adaptability and relationship-building remind business leaders of their place at the table. EQ is recognized as a core leadership skill and it maintains that status in the AI era. Leaders who are competent in EQ are are better able to connect with customers or colleagues on a deeper level and understand their motivations or misgivings. The possession of soft skills can nurture trust and create a resilient, adaptive and ultimately productive work environment.

The ability to blend other standard hallmarks of leadership, such as good judgment, adaptability and resourcefulness—and are foundational to the agile business practices that are crucial to achieving success in rapidly shifting economic and political currents—while simultaneously navigating through an AI-powered workplace, presents an unambiguous case for the introduction of EQ associated business practices. AI can provide data-driven insights and predictions, but it takes a human leader to apply that information in the context of broader organizational goals, ethical considerations, and long-term strategies. Decisions often require that leaders use their judgment to weigh risks, navigate uncertainties, assess team dynamics and then make informed decisions that reflect the values of their organization.

Ethical leadership is a critical component in the AI era. As AI takes on more responsibility for decision-making processes, leaders must ensure that its use aligns with ethical standards and is not compromised by biases. Leaders must remain vigilant about how AI technology is applied, to ensure that it serves the best interests of people, and not just the bottom line. The most successful leaders will not be those who resist change but rather those eager to learn how AI can enhance business operations and the workplace, all the while providing new opportunities for collaboration and innovation. As organizations invest more heavily in AI tools, those who stand out will be able to combine AI capabilities with behaviors associated with EQ, such as empathy, communication, judgment, adaptability and agility and they will carry the day.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © MorphCast

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Spice It Up In September and Beyond

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Happy August! I hope you are enjoying summer, whether the season is a busy or slow one for your business entity. If taking a vacation is on your wish list, I hope that it has, or will, achieve its purpose, and allow you to see new sights or return to familiar places, have fun, recharge your energy, and lower your stress level. I also hope that you’re finding time to read at least one business book that’s helping you to sharpen your business acumen.

September and the fourth quarter will soon arrive and now is the time to consider how you can successfully position your organization to achieve a strong year-end finish. Selling a product or service is usually a challenge, especially for Freelance professionals and small business owners. B2B marketplaces are nearly always crowded, typically consisting of a handful of market leaders that are trailed by a passel of “me, too” offerings. Unless your company has a sizeable marketing budget, it can be a struggle to build and sustain marketing or branding campaigns that will heighten the perception of your value and make your product or service appear more appealing to prospects. In short, today you can begin thinking about how to identify for your business a new competitive advantage.

The time is now to assess potential strategies that can position your entity to generate higher sales revenue in the coming months and it’s entirely possible that your preferred strategy can be carried out at a comparatively modest expense. Listed below are strategy possibilities that are accessible to Freelancers and SMB owners. Keep in mind that your promotional messaging must address urgent buyer pain points. You must do more than merely being clever as a way to get attention. The purpose of whatever new strategy you implement now is to leverage the competitive advantages you plan to highlight will result in customer roster that has a higher value, increased sales revenue and an enhanced customer lifetime value.

Read on and consider what you might have the means to do to fulfill the important goal of optimizing your brand visibility and image and maximizing sales revenue and profit as we look forward to the waning days of 2026.

I. Dare to be different

How can you clearly communicate to current and potential customers that your product or service will effectively address worrisome pain points and solve problems, enable them to achieve mission-critical goals without expressing those very important strengths in boring and predictable text? Useful information should not be ignored but…brands that are competing for the same target customer group can all sound alike. Target eyeballs cannot help but glaze over. The curse of commodification can creep in as prospects wade through sound-alike sales funnels that echo chamber repeat the same sales pitch. Isn’t it time for you to dare to be different and take a brave step forward?

Caution must be exercised and controversy is to be avoided for sure. You cannot afford to turn off the potential or current customers. But by choosing the right product attribute to showcase and then creating a cheeky tagline—or short video, or catchy image—that cleverly and succinctly describes your lead attribute, you can steal the thunder of competitors and propel your brand to the head of the class. If the Boston Red Sox can win 15 games in a row during July and escape an early death that had fans and sports announcers talking about “next year” sometime around Memorial Day, you can claim the spotlight for your brand and leap to the front of the pack. The suggestions below can stir up your creativity. Just do it.

  • Use humor to reframe the perception of your offering and your entity and escape the constraints of commodification
  • Align with a cause, such as climate change or animal rights (but avoid getting preach-y)  
  • Choose a unique visual branding style. Think 1950s retro, or find inspiration in the work of well-known artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Peter Max, or Yayoi Kusama.

II. B2B influencer marketing

Another strategy that has the potential to help you separate your entity from the congested marketplace is to align with a B2B Influencer. While originally a strategy used by your B2C counterparts, competition for billable hours in the B2B sector has stimulated the acceptance of influencer marketing by those in the B2B sector, including Freelancers.

B2B influencer marketing is not a means to showcase your services or products—that’s a B2C strategy. Freelancers and SMB owners work with B2B influencer marketing specialists to increase the stature of their brand and use that professional capital to build credibility that facilitates trust and relationship-building with potential customers who, if all goes according to plan, will become paying customers. The goal of B2B influencer marketing strategies is to align your organization with recognized and respected industry thought leaders—the influencers— whose industry knowledge, reputation and loyal followers can be leveraged in your target market sectors.

The most effective B2B influencers are well-known and respected experts and regarded as thought leaders in their field. B2B influencers aren’t celebrities, but they are trusted members of influential online communities. They are also respected speakers who are regularly on podiums at industry conferences and other business events. The knowledge and experience they’ve acquired gives the influencers great authority and credibility that’s enabled them to build a sizeable, loyal and often activist following.

Based on that authority and credibility, the best B2B influencers are able to build trust and enthusiasm for brands within their community of followers. They are also known to make endorsements that can stimulate purchases made by decision-makers within the community. A brand endorsement can result in a significant number of positive reviews posted on social media platforms that are capable of creating a word-of-mouth campaign that can spread to the general public and stimulate still more purchases of your brand’s services or products.

The influencer phenomenon is a growing trend in B2B marketing. Apparently fueled by the entry of Millennial and Generation Z into stakeholder and decision-making positions, prospective buyers are increasingly more trusting of the recommendations of independent thought leaders, that is, influencers, than in the marketing content you provide. Millennials and Gen-Z are comfortable with influencers and that preference is starting to impact purchasing.

  • Increase brand awareness. By aligning with a B2B influencer with a large following in your target market, your brand will have access to a new audience of highly-engaged prospects.
  • Enhance credibility. B2B decision-makers increasingly trust industry thought leaders, sometimes more than marketing content. This trend is becoming more common as Millennial and Gen Z buyers move into stakeholder and decision-maker positions that impact purchases. Millennial and Gen-Z stakeholders and decision committee members are comfortable with influencers
  • Increase leadgen and sales. Selecting an influencer who is closely aligned with your brand values can help you reach specific groups of prospects who are highly likely to become your customers.

III. Get strategic about social media

You may not have the bandwidth to undertake a major overhaul of your presence on social media platforms, but if you take just three steps, your social media ROI will become more significant for your business.

  •  Define prospects: Successful B2B social media speaks to specific customer personae and post content that addresses their specific pain points and how your service or product will solve the problem or help achieve the goals. Enhance your leadgen and site engagement by posting content that helps decision-makers for your service or product. Make your marketing content speak to their pain points, goals
  • Meaningful messages: Create content that speaks to the value that prospective customers are looking for. Clarify your understanding of why prospects feel they need your product or service? How does your offering make their life easier?
  • .Create a content calendar. This will solve two problems for you: 1.) If there are specific times of the year that you want to post, you’ll remember to do so; and 2.) You will post consistently and give your audience fresh content that drives engagement.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Stock AI image

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Predictions: Which Freelance Skills Will Be Most Valued In 2027?

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As we enter Fiscal Year 2027, demand for the expertise, experience, energy and enthusiasm that Freelance professionals bring to for-profit and not-for-profit organizations around the world continues on an upward trend. Hiring rates of Freelance professionals climbed 44% above the average demand predicted by leading Freelance labor platforms. The market is projected to grow from $8.9 billion in 2026 to $21.97 billion by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.32%.

To state the obvious, the steady growth of Freelance labor has largely been fueled by the digital revolution, that has touched all aspects of how we live and work. Artificial Intelligence is the center of the universe now, generating a big demand for Freelance talent. In fact, there is a shortage of talent that possesses the necessary capability to evaluate AI readiness assessment, has a command of AI development expertise or machine learning engineering, or owns the desired fluency in prompt engineering. Other technology sectors that remain a magnet for Freelance talent are programming, from mobile app to software and web development, plus user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) specialists, cybersecurity and sustainability experts. These lucrative niches are predicted by leading Freelance labor sources to reach a CAGR of 16.32% during 2026 – 2031.

Niche to watch: supply chain and logistics

Another industry that has the potential to provide a strong demand for Freelance talent is the supply chain sector, which is expected to play a prominent role in hiring rates of independent labor in FY 2027. The global supply chain industry is entering a period of growth in FY 2027. After several years of sluggish hiring, companies are again expanding their capabilities across logistics, procurement, planning and manufacturing. Hiring managers are especially interested in Freelance professionals who have strong data analytics proficiency and environmental sustainability skills, along with sustainability and logistics experience that includes cross-functional expertise.45% of supply chain and logistics companies currently work with Freelance talent.

The quick acceptance and implementation of AI powered digital tools have enabled the use of robotics and workflow streamlining, for example, but there is an AI talent gap in the supply chain work force. These urgencies have compelled industry decision-makers to take advantage of the global, scalable, agile workforce available by way of the Freelance talent pool, which also delivers a cost-savings of 30% – 40% vs. full-time employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 11% growth in supply chain management jobs through 2030 .

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © The New York Times/ Federico Rios Escobar. The container ship ZIM Newark (Germany) sails through the Panama Canal in July 2024

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Let Your Data Do Its Job

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It is likely that most business owners and other company leaders in America today often describe themselves as “data-driven” decision-makers and strategy builders; data driven is such a self-affirming and empowering term. In Real Time, though, it’s more than likely that rather few business owners and leaders are living the dream. Oh, many, if not most, subscribe to software-as-a-service financial tools, like NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics 365. They’re also hooked up for customer relations management, thanks to HubSpot and Zoho. It’s almost a given that a growing number of them have waded into Artificial Intelligence, probably starting with an AI-powered chatbot, maybe provided by Ada. Some may have already advanced to an AI digital assistant that will, by human command, expertly perform a variety of routine administrative tasks, such as scheduling meetings, sending standard emails (like vendor onboarding correspondence), or conducting research.

So business owners and leaders are mostly all-in with tech advances—I guess it makes them feel in control and secure. But the real question is, do business owners and leaders—you—understand and trust the data? Are you able to rely on the story your data tells you, the scenario it reveals? If your key performance index (KPI) metrics indicate that all is bubbling along as intended, I’m sure it’s safe to say that you understand which numbers indicate good news. But if one or more KPIs signal an anomaly that could be a warning of developing trouble ahead, would the message communicated by your data push you to take an action of some sort? When a red light is flashing, what will you do and when will you do it?

Do you take advantage of the precious resource of time that your data can give you and use it to take a second look at what may be an unexpected bump in the road? Maybe a KPI metric that’s tracking in the wrong direction will inspire you to check out another KPI to get another perspective on the number that you find rather worrisome? A truly data-driven leader strategy has faith in the scenario that the numbers reveal; those who understand and trust their information have confidence in the story that the info tells them, whether the description is a random shiver, or an obstacle that calls for a strategy and a plan to implement it. In other words, what separates winners from also-rans often comes down to one fact—when its time to make an impactful decision, what’s your usual response? Does your data play a starring role, or does it make only a cameo appearance?

Being data-driven means much more than access to reliable information. How and when you typically engage your info when there’s a potential problem to resolve, or a decision on the table—and even when good fortune allows you to enjoy smooth sailing for a while? So, if your relationship with your data resembles a standing appointment, a special occasion meeting that you faithfully keep once a month, it’s time to join the 21st century? Business owners and leaders who are data-driven IRT know that consistent attention to the data is how you leverage the resource. Identify a small set of meaningful “go-to” metrics—KPIs— to consult because you know they reveal pivotal aspects of company performance. You might choose to follow certain CRM marketing metrics; you’ll definitely refer to your monthly financial statements—Balance Sheet, Cash-flow, P & L—and take a once-a-week peek at, business vital signs that shine a light on basic functioning, such as top line revenue, operating margin, operating cash-flow and the quick ratio calculation. The goal when reviewing your numbers is not to sweat every small fluctuation, but to notice and investigate repeating patterns that could signal the need for a response.

Business owners and leaders who know that the best results are achieved by those who pay attention and act when necessary, avoiding the trap of analysis-paralysis. Verification is a good thing, but refusing to heed the story your KPIs tell you is a waste of your investment in data. It is sometimes wise to wait and see, to confirm the context and avoid a hasty response. But many owners and leaders of also-ran companies tend to hesitate when the picture the data reveals is clear, but perhaps unexpected. Being data-driven is about knowing not only which metrics matter, but also having the discipline and confidence to take action before competitors or other marketplace factors get there first. Winners are able to both interpret the data outcomes and trust the evidence, even when it challenges assumptions. That discipline is what ultimately turns data into a long-term advantage. Companies that consistently outperform others tend to:

  • Monitor KPIs—identify a small set of meaningful metrics to track
  • Look for pattern verification—do two or more metrics indicate that something needs your attention?
  • Make a course correction when necessary
  • Learn quickly from results

Make reviewing reports a weekly activity

The many demands and uncertainties of the 21st century marketplace have expanded the responsibilities required to effectively manage a business. Being data-driven means much more than access to reliable information. How and when you typically engage your info when there’s a potential problem to resolve, or a decision on the table—and even when good fortune allows you to enjoy smooth sailing for a while? So, if your relationship with your data resembles a standing appointment, a special occasion meeting that you faithfully keep once a month, it’s time to join the 21st century. Business owners and leaders who are data-driven IRT know that consistent attention to the data is how you leverage the resource.

Monthly, or even quarterly, reviews of certain reports were once standard—but if you aim to be responsible steward, it will be necessary to be more vigilant. By the time a quarterly report suggests that a certain development could be a problem, the trouble may have been brewing for weeks. Even a monthly review of KPIs can give too much of a head start to a matter that’s about to become urgent. One of the ways that stronger organizations maintain an advantage is to proactively pay close attention to business activity. Smart owners and leaders check their guiding KPIs frequently and, depending on your business, that could be weekly, or even daily (especially if you operate a restaurant). Looking to see whether things are moving in the right direction and thinking about an intervention you can put into motion if they’re not, is standard stuff these days. You want trustworthy forecasting that helps you avoid unfortunate surprises. Hot points might include:

  • Change in customer demand patterns—are certain customers not reordering as often as they once did?
  • Weakening customer engagement—are your usual social media groupies responding to posts less frequently?
  • Early signs of margin pressure—are prospects hesitating and pushing back against your pricing?
  • Is a supply chain obstacle increasing the amount you pay to acquire what you sell, or are you waiting longer to receive orders?

Understand which customers deliver the most growth

Business growth can be misleading and make you surprised to find that what appears to be growth has a shadow side. Meaning, your Profit & Loss Statement can reward you with an increase in quarterly revenue and simultaneously punish you with a shrinking profit margin that’s occurring because the cost of producing or acquiring the products or services you sell have increased. If you decide against raising prices because you fear that customers will not accept an increase— A savvy data-driven leader will turn to the metrics to research questions like:

  • What factors have caused production or acquisition costs to increase?
  • How can your company more efficiently produce the product or service that is sold? If you can make better use of your time, what you gain can be applied to another task and that may save you money. If you acquire what you sell, research the availability of vendors who may offer a lower acquisition cost and attempt a supply chain remedy.
  • Consult your CRM data and learn which customer segments or acquisition channels have a positive impact on growth—bring in the most revenue, profit and your highest Customer Lifetime Value. Also, are there certain customers who generate the most repeat business and referrals?

Treat pricing as an experiment

Pricing strategy is one of the most powerful factors in any business and yet many organizations treat it like a permanent decision — something set once and revisit occasionally. You may find, however, that once you’ve decided whether your company’s market position— high end, mid-market, or economy and identified the optimum profit margin range needed to make the entity viable, you can be more flexible about the prices you set than you may have imagined. Why not approach pricing as a learning process that’s supported by your CRM data? They analyze how different segments respond to price changes or special discounts. It may surprise you to learn that what appears to be business growth has a shadow side.

Your P&L is showing you a nice increase in quarterly revenue but disappointing you with a shrinking profit margin—maybe because of a supply chain issue—you may not be boxed in by a competitor who can afford to price more conservatively. Maybe you can make a modest price increase and make it work?

  • Are certain customer segments more sensitive to price increases while others are resilient?
  • Is there a good strategy to help “sell” customers on your price increase?
  • Will a small price increase change customer behavior?

Experimentation doesn’t need to be complicated. Small controlled tests can reveal a lot about what customers can truly value. Price increases can be passed to new customers only. Long-term customers may be more likely to accept the increase when you contact them personally and explain your now higher production, acquisition costs, or other operating expenses. They will get it. Extending the payment terms to customers who may have difficulty adjusting to an increased price might also be a good solution. Over time, these insights and experiences may lead to smarter pricing decisions and healthier margins.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © The Corporate Finance Institute

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Make 2026 Your Gold Medal Year

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Independently employed Freelance professionals remain one of the most robust segments of the global labor market, powered by a still growing number of U.S. workers. The San Francisco, CA based Grandview Market Research projects the 2030 Freelance economy market size will reach $14.39 Billion (USD), up from $7.65 billion in 2025. According to the Upwork Research Institute, currently 28% of skilled knowledge workers operate as Freelancers or independent professionals here in America. In 2024, those Freelance workers generated $1.5 Trillion in earnings.

Freelancers recognize that the outcome of a growing number of talented and ambitious colleagues leads to the inevitable presence of increased competition for work assignments. As a result, Freelance professionals are aware that you’ve gotta hustle on many levels, from consistent marketing that demonstrates thought leadership in tandem with other inbound marketing formats designed to appeal to your most promising prospects. Continual upskilling of your core knowledge base is yet another tactic that can help to strategically position a one-person empire in ways that are sustainable and push you ahead of hungry competitors.

If that’s not enough, savvy Freelancers must always keep eyes and ears open to consider how you might improve the quality or delivery of your services. The five SMART business development goals listed below—-Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely—should be on every Freelancer’s business strategy list, for they constitute a reliable roadmap that’s capable of taking you to the top and helping you grab your gold medal in 2026.

To further enhance the impact of the goals, think of them collectively as potential focus points in the storytelling narrative you’ll present when in discussion with prospects. Incorporating into those conversations benefits derived from implementing the goals that you know or surmise would be of interest to them bolsters your ability to structure a more compelling in the conversation. You can weave into the story narrative that frames the conversation why and how your capabilities, experience, ability to collaborate and education make you especially well-suited for the role you seek, whether it’s an exciting client project or new W-2 job. Your mastery of the goals presented here will enable you to “paint a picture” that helps search committee members, hiring manager and other influential parties on the prospect’s team to clearly envision how you and the competencies you bring to the table will get the job done, meet or exceed expectations and (best of all!) make them look good to superiors, direct reports and colleagues.

  1. Update your online presence and portfolio

Type your business entity name and your own name into two or three prominent search engines to conduct a review of your online presence. What does the internet reveal about you? Is the information accurate? Does it portray you in ways that highlight your strengths? According to MBO Partners, 42% of Freelance professionals rely on digital platforms for finding clients; that means the sum total of your digital presence, from your website, to your social media presence, to postings of your appearances on podcasts, webinars, magazine articles and notices for your speaking engagements or other public appearances constitute what you might call your digital “storefront.”

Your collective online presence informs interested parties, that is, prospective clients, that your entity is open for business and ready to deliver valuable services. The vault for your professional credentials and capabilities is online in the cloud, so it’s imperative that your bona fides up-to-date and presented in visual and text language that inspires confidence and interest, so that the online story of you, the Freelance professional, works hard and smart to generate leads for your business. Update your portfolio with descriptions or examples of recent project work that makes you proud and will convince clients that you can be trusted to produce the outcomes they need. Convincing client testimonials and case studies will further help you make your case. Don’t forget to review your profiles that appear in Freelancer directories and third-party websites that are viewed and trusted by prospects, as well.

2. Consistent engagement on the right social media platforms

A persuasive LinkedIn profile is a powerful communication channel that will communicate the capabilities of your Freelance business entity to potential prospects; 40% of B2B marketers say LinkedIn is the most effective channel for driving high-quality leads. You now have significant motivation to regularly share your unique thought leadership, valuable insights and opinions on industry news and updates that will heighten your professional visible and enhance your status as a go-to expert in your niche.

In 2026, make a point is to become a consistent LinkedIn participant and more than someone who just gives “likes.” When you feel able to make a relevant contribution to a conversation thread be brave and speak up! Even if your opinion or advice is expressed in a mere sentence or two, remember that succinctly delivered info is always appreciated. Moreover, your participation helps to build a respected reputation on the platform and will increase your LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI)— a metric that LinkedIn says pays demonstrable professional benefits on the platform.

Along with LinkedIn, research and follow-up may lead you to discover that Facebook, Instagram and/or TikTok also have significant marketing potential for your venture. What are the norms for your industry? If those who hire for your service or product categories consider certain social media platforms are good hunting grounds for talented professionals, that’s where you hang out your digital shingle.

 3. Increase PR activity

Public relations and media mentions help build name recognition and credibility for your brand and make you and your business entity a known and trusted quantity. Moreover, PR features are posted online, so PR adds to your digital presence. Noteworthy media mentions should be uploaded to your website (you can add a “press” tab to your website and upload media mentions there) for review by interested parties. Freelance professionals should aim to earn valuable media opportunities (that is, unpaid media exposure) and leverage that exposure to grow trust and credibility.

Favorable PR is an important ingredient in a comprehensive inbound marketing strategy—-PR is soft sell leadgen and should not be overlooked. An effective and achievable PR strategy for Freelancers might include two or more of the activities listed below. Be sure to leverage your PR opportunities by sharing them on your website, email list and social media channels. Published articles that you’ve authored will be published online by the media outlets. Videos of your participation in podcasts and webinars will be posted online by the hosts. Sponsors of any awards you’ve received will be delighted when you share news of your victory with members of your email list, post to your online platforms and send a press release to local media outlets—because it also creates good PR for the sponsoring organization and encourages more candidates for the next round of awards (for which the sponsoring organization collects entry fees). Charity organizations will likewise be delighted when you distribute your participation to media outlets as well as your digital platforms and email list.

  • Be a guest on three or four industry-relevant podcasts or webinars
  • Write four or five industry-relevant posts (or guest posts) for blogs, newsletters, or other publications
  • Be a guest speaker, or introduce the guest speaker, at a business association meeting
  • Moderate an industry-relevant panel of experts, or be a panelist yourself
  • Campaign for a local business award and if you win so much as a bronze participation trophy, send a press release to announce your victory to local media and also post to your website, social media platforms and send to your email list (include a photo of you accepting the award with your press release)
  • Become a sponsor of a local charity event, for example, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Little League, or social services organizations. You might have an event-day volunteer presence and be able to take a few photos that document your participation. Feature your volunteerism on all of your digital platforms plus your email list with two or three photos plus information about the role the organization plays in the community and the impact of the event.

 4. Create meaningful client case studies

Use your storyteller’s perspective—a competency that you utilized while polishing your overall online presence and portfolio in the first goal and becoming more strategic and active in your use of PR initiatives in the third goal—to review and decide which of your most successful client projects could make compelling case studies that you can share on your website and social media channels? Case studies are powerful stories that provide irrefutable proof that you can deliver what clients need. They are the ultimate testimonial.

The marketing gurus at HubSpot report that businesses that publish case studies generate +45% more qualified leads than those that don’t. By illustrating a sampling of the real-world work and results you’ve created for clients, you’ll stimulate more trust in your brand and add positive influence to purchase decisions. This year, aim to create and strategically post data-driven case studies that showcase your expertise are housed in your portfolio or on your website.

Hubspot marketing experts go on to recommend that when writing your case study, whose purpose is to showcase your problem-solving expertise, ability to collaborate and the customer experience and support you offer, include the following information:

  • Define the problem you were hired to solve. Furthermore, succinctly explain its relevance to the client and the client’s definition of desirable benefits that will result from its resolution
  • Describe the solution you provided to resolve the problem. Explain why proposed that solution and also your process for delivering the solution and the results produced by implementing that solution.
  • Describe the beneficial collaboration between you and the client. Make clear how the trust and respect between you and the client enabled and supported the choice, implementation and favorable outcomes of the solution you provided.
  • Client testimonial. Invite one or more representatives of the client’s team to describe the problem and explain why an effective solution was a priority. A brief overview of ineffective attempts at resolution that produced unsatisfactory outcomes will shine a flattering light on you. Encourage the client to discuss how members of his/her team initially felt about your proposed solution and what gave them the confidence to hire you, instead of a competitor. Likewise, encourage the client to celebrate the benefits that were derived from the solution that you provided—saving money, saving time, simplifying workflow processes, for example.

5. Explore and implement AI tools to improve your annual earning potential

According to PwC’s 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer, workers with Artificial Intelligence skills command a +56% wage premium, meaning that Freelancers who add AI-related skills or services to their offerings may increase their earning power. Address this goal in 2026 to both learn new and in-demand AI tools and then use your valuable new competencies to both create operational efficiencies in your own business and offer and offer desirable premium services to clients.

LinkedIn career expert Catherine Fisher attests that candidates who demonstrate their fluency in artificial intelligence are much more likely to pique the interest of hiring managers and I’m sure it’s safe to assume that that her recommendation refers to both Freelance professionals and W-2 employees. Her top tip for job seekers is to emphasize their AI literacy and highlight how they use different AI tools in their day-to-day work. Specifically, Fisher urges job candidates to come to interviews prepared to discuss how AI makes them more productive in completing their work responsibilities. “Make sure you have some examples, because you know you’re probably going to get asked, ‘How have you used AI in your work?'” she said,” but keep in mind that you don’t have to be a computer programmer to demonstrate your competence with AI tools.”

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Getty Images 2022. Chinese skater Wu Dajing wins the short track speed skating gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

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Implementing AI Is All About Strategy

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Despite the frequent pessimistic opinions that dominate the news media, the early 21st century business climate does not appear to be substantially different from the prevailing business climate in the mid to late 20th century. Moreover, numerous global wars caused incalculable economic impact and population disruption in previous centuries, during the 1600s – 1800s (Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Caribbean, South Pacific) and the 1910s – 1970s (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South Pacific). History indicates that business conditions have never seen some rational, golden period anywhere on earth for a sustained period of documented human history.

So, figuring out how to access whatever resources that can adequately sustain life in one’s society became a hallmark of life in every century that’s hosted all forms of human life and animals as well. That drive caused men to sometimes travel hundreds of miles to prominent cities that launched what we now call major public works projects, such as the ziggurats in Mesopotamia, the Great Wall in China, the Panama Canal in Central America, the Suez Canal in Egypt and the hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile that was completed by Ethiopia in 2025 (and has more than twice the electrical capacity of the Hoover Dam in Utah).

Economic volatility, a turbulent political landscape, populations on the move, whether motivated by money or war, are an ongoing theme in history. Technological developments, from the invention of the wheel to the invention of the telephone, the invention of the computer (the room-size originals and the personal computer) and now the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence powered technology tools are disrupting and reshaping how business operations are carried out, in ways we may simultaneously abhor and appreciate.

Many company leaders are said to be rethinking their staffing needs and betting that AI tools can get the work done more efficiently and less expensively than their employees. The advent of online shopping, most notably since the 2020 pandemic shutdown, has resulted in store closings and sizeable lay-offs at CVS, bankruptcy filings at the august Saks Fifth Avenue and the outright closure of Forever 21, JoAnn Fabrics and Rite Aid. Bed, Bath and Beyond, which has closed nearly all of its retail locations, is attempting a come-back. The number of business leaders willing to embrace AI tools, viewing them as innovative solutions capable of performing core operational tasks more accurately, quickly and considerably less expensively than human labor, is on a steady upward trend.

Yet reality shows a different result produced by the typical outcomes associated with AI-powered tech tools. Recent research has shown that when AI-associated operational outcomes are evaluated, achieving a meaningful positive impact resulting from AI technology use is elusive. For example, research shows that 95% of generative AI pilots fail to produce measurable returns. Furthermore, while most U.S. companies are reported to be using AI, only 39% see any impact on company earnings—and the revenue increases are underwhelming. Just 4% of companies have implemented AI capabilities that consistently create the desired value. According to Gartner, fewer than half of AI-powered digital initiatives meet their business objectives.

AI implementation requires the right strategy

Business analysts say there are a number of obstacles that can undermine the plans of company leaders when they attempt to determine where and how to implement AI. A close look at outcomes data typically reveals that most organizations approach AI tools as technical upgrade solutions—they see AI as a tactical solution to a tactical objective. However, they would be much better served to recognize that AI technology is best optimized when you back up and look at the big-picture view, that is strategic, of what the process means to your company and how an AI-powered tool might enhance that process.

In other words, thinking that merely adding one or more AI tools to your existing business processes is probably not going to work. Reexamining your workflows is your best first step. Proposing ambitious transformation initiatives while critical data is locked in outdated and perhaps unusable formats will result in frustration.

Successful strategy, whether its purpose is to launch a new product line or introduce AI technology to your business operations, depends on four elements working harmoniously together—the right tools, the right internal partnerships and relevant data plus insightful interpretation of the information. Good strategy has always been a process that invites study and learning, decision-making and adjusting in response to changing conditions. Problems you encounter with AI implementation might not indicate a problem with your AI-powered tool, but the lack of a good strategy.

AI tools that create value

So how can you figure out where AI-powered technology can do the most good for your business? That is among the most decisive questions you can address this year. Just always keep at top of mind that any AI tools you plan to introduce must deliver measurable positive impact to core business processes and improve decision-making and long-range planning.

  • Marketing and sales (Lead generation, marketing content creation, audience segmentation, targeted advertising)
  • Customer service (chatbot and virtual assistant-handled queries, service personalization)
  • Data analysis and operations (predictive analysis, inventory management)
  • Finance and accounting (faster closing of monthly books, risk management, budgeting and financial planning)
  • Cybersecurity and fraud detection/prevention

Data that is AI-ready

finally, the accessibility, usability and relevance of your company data is essential to the successful implementation of AI-powered tech tools. Remember that AI is trained by the data you feed it—that’s how it models, reveals insights and drives automation. Good data ensures integrity — the proof that what a company claims also aligns with what it reports and does. Garbage in, garbage out, as you already know.

Frequently, critical data might be housed—trapped—in floppy disks or hard-copy documents that, obviously, no AI-powered tool can access. Incorporating AI tools into your organization—and, really, even if you don’t choose an AI solution at this time—business leaders are advised that connecting financial, risk and sustainability data is vital in so many ways. You may have to do the grunt work of updating your data by formatting in 21st cloud century storage, in Excel or Google Docs. Both systems offer cloud-based storage solutions that allow you to upload and manage their documents and spreadsheets online.

With the right tools, partnerships and data infrastructure, strategy becomes dynamic. The decisions are yours to make, but your AI technology tools will show options and comparisons, warn of risks early on, point out emerging trends and recommend new directions based on real-time insights.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: ©U.S. Army (2024)

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2025 Year-End Business Report Card

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Reflecting on the waning year is the best way to give yourself an honest and very helpful big picture understanding of what occurred in your business. You will come face2face with planned initiatives, unexpected opportunities and risks that paid off, or at least broke even, and those that, unfortunately, failed to fulfill your hopes. , and what you might adjust to reach your 2026 goals. A year-end review suggests which strategies will likely build on successes, gives insight into what you should eliminate, as least for now, and what might come through for you in the new year, perhaps with some adjustment. A year-end review encourages productivity that brings good results by helping you move forward and build momentum—and ensuring that you avoid reinventing the wheel or repeatedly start from ground zero, which is sure to slow your progress. 

Review the year in business

When reviewing the past 12 months of your business, there are a few questions and metrics that will give you a good baseline of what you would be wise to pursue, adjust, or eliminate during the upcoming year.  After answering these questions, you can more effectively map out your goals for next year. Set attainable, data-driven targets that challenge, but are also within reach. This is also a great time to identify if you might want to outsource certain functions in the next year to help you reach your 2026 goals.

  • How many projects did I work on?
  • What was my total sales revenue?
  • What were the sources for these deals? (e.g., referrals, networking, social media, website marketing funnel)
  • On a scale of 1-10, how would I rate my new client prospecting efforts?
  • How consistent was I with marketing—blogs, newsletters, webinar appearances, social media? Did I create and follow outreach strategies or was it intermittent?
  • What could I have done better in terms of marketing?
  • What did I do exceptionally well that contributed to my success?
  • What area did I struggle with the most? (Hint: this may be an area to either get help with or improve in 2025).

Evaluate performance of lead generation strategies

  • Inbound marketing continues to be an absolute requirement for B2B growth. Creating a consistent stream of leads is very important if you want to build a business that is sustainable and that you can scale and grow. The goal is to invite a steady flow of leads from different sources. Inbound marketing is considered the most practical and method for keeping your pipeline filled with prospects who are curious about your services or products. Inbound marketing is also efficient, with numerous marketing studies confirming that inbound marketing campaigns and activities generate about 54% more leads than outbound marketing. Furthermore, inbound marketing costs up to 62% less per lead than traditional outbound marketing. In 2026, inbound marketing appeals are predicted to remain the primary source of how B2B buyers themselves expect to discover, evaluate and shortlist vendors, as 80 % of all B2B sales interactions will take place across a spectrum of digital channels, from company websites to social media platforms. Think of inbound marketing content and activities as a magnet that pulls in already-curious prospective buyers. The purpose of inbound marketing is to educate, build trust and generate qualified leads by providing valuable, problem-solving, content. Be advised that most of the buyer’s journey unfolds long before a prospect reaches out to a select group of potential vendors to obtain deal-sealing (or deal breaking) information. Those on a serious buyer’s journey already have a list of key questions to ask, to discuss and learn about the particulars of a service, or would like to see a product demonstration. Note that inbound marketing leadgen results in the prospect initiating contact with companies that look promising as they define it. The content you create (or fail to create)—stories, education, testimonials, case studies, conversations—determine whether you’ll be chosen to make the prospective buyer’s vendor shortlist. Review and assess your inbound marketing activity and confirm which campaigns were the most successful and which may benefit from a reworking. Your inbound marketing activity most likely includes some of the following activities.
    • Thought leadership (producing relevant and valuable information—e-book, case study, webinar or podcast appearance, blog, newsletter)
    • Sales/marketing funnel (company website)
    • Social media posts (text or audio/visual formats)
    • Referrals
    • SEO search (company website)

  • Outbound marketing content and activities enable you to broadcast your pitch to everyone in your chosen target demographics. The style is push: you/your brand initiates the contact with prospects whether or not they’re hyper-local in-market as you disseminate your message (“This is who we are and why you want to know us”). Outbound marketing methods are typically promotional—attention-grabbers, such as cold emails and direct mailings (recipients are often taken from membership or other lists), conference or event sponsorships, paid display advertisements/ paid social media ads.
    • Public speaking (guest speaking, teaching, panel/moderator) 
    • Face2face networking events (business groups or social gatherings)
    • Email updates
    • Participating in community charity events 
    • Paid online leadgen (pay-per-click)

Create a content calendar and map out marketing campaigns

Planning and scheduling your content is one of the best things you can do for your business—and your time and creativity. There are a few ways you can look at the year and decide the message of your content. Readers who have been with me for a couple of years or more will, for example, recognize that in late June – early July, I publish an annual Summer Reading List, which consists of 10 business and leadership-themed books that should appeal to those who are independently employed, whether as Freelance consultants or small business owners. Certain books might also appeal to traditionally employed executives in either the for-profit or not-for-profit sectors. In late November, I publish a December holiday client gift suggestions list.

Which events that occur in your industry might serve as focal points for your content? Could it be “back to school,” which could prompt you to present related content in August, or the arrival of a season—wintertime skiing and ice skating, an early spring marathon, an annual national conference that is regularly attended by members of your core target market, or Small Business Saturday in November?

When you develop a plan now, you can expect to emerge with a draft that you can finalize as you get closer to scheduled target dates for your content. Your content calendar draft will support and encourage you to publish relevant marketing content that’s timed to maximize its impact. Planning is so much better than flying by the seat of your pants!

Budgeting

In sum, the year-end review of your business entity can be a catalyst for growth and success. It encourages continuous learning and improvement and inspires you to think and act proactively. Your year-end review is among the most effective processes you have to evaluate the overall performance of your venture and by so doing, give yourself an opportunity to learn from successes and failures, make informed decisions and set challenging, yet realistic, strategic goals for the new year. In your review, you can analyze your 2025 actual spend against your budgeted expenses. You’ll be able to identify spending variances and learn why budget targets were exceeded. Insights from your 2025 budget review will assist in building realistic budget forecasts for 2026.

Keep in mind that forecasting is about anticipating the funding you’ll need to implement marketing campaigns, as well as paying for business operating expenses, from bookkeeping expenses to business association member dues to purchasing customer relations software to enhance your marketing functions. One hand washes the other when your leadgen marketing funnel brings in the revenue that enables you to operate at peak performance (as you define it)!

So—how did your budget and business expenses line up in 2025? Consult your financial statements— Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss (Income) Statement and Cash Flow Statement and conduct a financial health assessment of your entity. These documents provide a snapshot of your company’s assets, liabilities, equity, revenues, expenses and profits throughout the year. It would be a great idea to discuss company financials with your business accountant, to get his/her perspective on how to enhance your company’s sustainability and financial possibilities. Why not send an email now and get a meeting on your January calendar?

Happy New Year and thanks for reading! I look forward to greeting you in 2026.

Kim

Image: © Freepik

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Back to Basics: Best Bets for a Robust Year End

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When B2B marketing decision-makers were asked to name their most effective B2B marketing best practices, it was discovered that those who followed best practices recommended by their industry peers produced revenue and profit results for their organizations that showcased them and the companies for whom they work as leaders. By contrast, B2B marketers who did not consistently adhere to those highly recommended best practices finished the study period as laggards, who did not achieve desirable revenue and profit targets. B2B marketers who apparently had little faith in the power of those highly recommended marketing best practices produced lackluster revenue and profit results for their companies. B2B marketers whose organizations emerged as revenue and profit leaders not only produced higher revenue and profit growth but also achieved better client retention and growth of the company’s client roster.

Forrester, the global research and advisory company headquartered next door to Boston in Cambridge, MA, revealed in a 2025 marketing survey a sharp divide between B2B leaders and laggards based on responses from 1,060 marketing decision-makers. Forrester researchers compared a cohort of leading marketers, who consistently applied recommended marketing best practices, which ranged from cross-functional in-house collaborations to client-based personalized marketing strategies. Forrester researchers also identified a cohort of lagging marketers, who fell short where leading marketers and their companies excelled. The business outcomes were clear—leading marketers, who closely followed recognized marketing best practices, rewarded their organizations with significantly stronger revenue and profit metrics, plus a robust client list that was augmented by improved client retention.

As marketers and all business leaders and owners struggle to adapt to seismic changes that have rocked the global economy for 20+ years, and especially since the 2020-2022 pandemic era, the necessity of future-proofing their business entities has become obvious. The Forrester survey indicates that applying well-known marketing best practices requires is an essential component of a resilient business entity. Additional marketing best practices that nurture high-growth companies include the use of AI-powered tech solutions that among other key functions can be used to design personalized marketing campaigns and tactics and also facilitate alignment between marketing, sales and operations.

Maximize marketing

Marketing teams will do well to reacquaint themselves with marketing fundamentals to navigate this era of lengthened B2B sales cycles, economic instability marked by cautious spending habits, lay-offs at leading multinationals (e.g. Amazon and Starbucks) and rising B2B buyer expectations. Develop marketing campaigns that emphasize the unique sales proposition of your service or product. Provide opportunities for buyer engagement that answer questions, educate, build community and inspire brand loyalty. Furthermore, synchronize strategic and operational alignment with your sales and marketing activities—not an easy task since prospects are quite comfortable conducting digital research of your services or products (and also your competitors’) before seeking info from your team. The change in power dynamics has caused a disruption in the usual alignment between marketing and sales functions—and for 61% of B2B prospects, that’s how they like it, according to a 2024 survey conducted by Gartner Research.

  • Develop a buyer’s journey that provides appealing responses to the typical prospect’s initial curiosity and questions about your products and services by building a marketing/ sales funnel that anticipates needs. The number of touchpoints in a B2B buyer’s journey that results in a sale varies according to industry; as you build your company’s sales/marketing funnel, information generated by AI-powered client research is your best way to learn the information that prospects desire most, end-to-end.
  • Use AI-powered customer relations management to identify client groups that have a preference for certain of your services and/or products and use the intel to devise marketing campaigns and strategies to purposed to increase your market share.
  • Keep it simple by creating marketing messages that focus on user outcomes; include AI-identified personalization data at every client touchpoint to enhance the customer experience and encourage purchases.

Productivity over market expansion

Discovering a niche market that’s worth a gamble—that is, worth the resources you’d invest to develop it—is no doubt high on the wish-list of nearly all Freelance consultants and business owners. However, Forrester survey marketing leaders did not necessarily think the “grass is greener” and chose not to chase what might be a mirage.

Marketing leaders kept their feet firmly planted on the ground and instead maximized resources and advantages already in hand to deliver their revenue and profit targets. A big plus was that leaders worked for companies that invested in AI-powered tools and applied that resource to strategies they could expect to maximize productivity and drive business growth. Marketing leaders incorporated client insights, never lost sight of brand promises and used those benchmarks to strengthen their marketing messages. Those messages described and emphasized product and service solution outcomes, and went beyond merely listing product or service features, to help prospects envision precisely how the products or services would achieve important objectives (and make purchasing committee members look good).

This strategy can be depended on to encourage buyer engagement and trust, which boosts the likelihood of a purchase and, post-purchase, promotes client retention that grows revenue, profit and client lists. In fact, Forrester data showed that revenue generated by leading companies consisted mostly of existing, rather than new, clients. Market penetration means how well your product or service sells; increasing sales within the existing marketplace is much easier for Freelancers and small business owners than either creating new services or products or entering new markets.

  • Agile business strategies are a competitive advantage that help you adapt to changing business circumstances and maintain, or even grow, your client base, revenue and profit
  • Accurately identify your strongest competitors to learn how to more advantageously position your service or product in the marketplace—confirm your best customers and also refine your messages to obtain more selling opportunities and close gaps that inhibit sales
  • Muti-channel marketing optimizes communication with prospects. Create a presence on platforms that clients and prospects visit and trust to maximize engagement activities, broadcast marketing messages, build brand loyalty and create more purchasing opportunities
  • Collect and utilize first-party data to enhance personalization, engagement, loyalty and sales

AI-powered tech tools to enhance efficiency and outcomes

Employing AI-powered marketing automation can provide numerous operational efficiencies that enable deep-dive research that supports insightful data-driven decision-making that delivers the results you need. AI-powered software is the ticket to obtaining client insights that are timely and trustworthy.

  • AI-powered predictive analysis gives reliable feedback re: client behavior, helping you to devise personalized and effective marketing strategies and campaigns
  • Marketing campaign personalization is maximized and might include, e.g., dynamic email marketing that auto-adjusts in response to real-time client engagement metrics
  • Client segmentation supported by AI marketing allows you to consider an array of client characteristics—demographics, purchase history, industry, or content preferences, for example—to better understand purchase patterns and motivations
  • Chatbots, virtual assistants and/or autonomous AI agents that manage end-to-end client interactions, including problem resolution, order processing and appointment scheduling, can be made available to ensure that your company reliably provides 24/7 customer service that enhances the customer experience and boosts your brand reputation
  • Integrate AI marketing automation with customer relations management to synchronize marketing, sales and customer service functions

Maintain a client-centric focus

You’ve heard this before and apologies for repeating myself! It’s just that basic marketing best practices have demonstrated conclusively that they reliably produce the results B2B marketers need. The vast majority of best practices marketing strategies and tactics, while reconfigured to resonate with current technology and client priorities, concerns and habits, have not been made obsolete. Inbound marketing, outbound marketing, content marketing, guerilla marketing and social media marketing remain effective today, although integrating them with current advanced technology and maintaining a focus that keeps client goals, priorities and pain points at top of mind will yield the best outcomes.

  • Invite client feedback by inviting or initiating personal conversations, consistent and relevant social media posts created to encourage replies and/or creating a short survey that’s sent to clients you’ve worked with over the past four or five years, to learn what they perceive as your company’s strengths and weaknesses. It is instructive to obtain insight into how client needs and expectations evolve over time, so that you can use the info to improve your product-market fit, or also hear their thoughts on what competitors offer, or get the heads-up on shifting concerns or priorities
  • Identify your typical prospect’s most important goals, business drivers and pain points that trigger a need for your category of business solutions
  • Develop a client buyer persona, a profile that represents your ideal buyer. If you have more than one significant target client group, you are encouraged to develop a buyer persona for each. A detailed buyer persona helps you to objectively envision how to personalize your strategies and campaigns by developing timely, relevant and engaging content for each client segment.
  • Provide excellent end-to-end customer service, from onboading to after-sale support

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Omar/Salaam Times. Afghan women weave a carpet in Injil District, Herat Province, Afghanistan on September 28, 2022.

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Two To Tango: Freelance Strategic Partnerships

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Tango dancers in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Freelance professionals are survivors by nature—savvy, proactive and ambitious. You are forward-thinking and grasp the big-picture, characteristics that led you to be realistic about current business conditions and respond to the risk-averse spending habits of many B2B prospects. You recognize that a defensive strategy is needed to stabilize the ground beneath your feet and make it possible to at least maintain, and preferably increase, your client roster and bottom-line sales revenue. A perusal of articles in the business press and resourceful brainstorming have led you to consider pursuing a partnership with a Freelance colleague. Owners of business entities large and small have long recognized that a good partnership creates competitive advantages, whether the goal is to help the partners stimulate revenue during periods of marketplace fluctuation, or maximize revenue and profit during a booming economy. Bringing in partner is meant to bring additional value—clients, investment capital, business skills, brand recognition, for example— and strengthen the position of the partners.

Recent research suggests that successful business entities often rely on their relationships—de facto partnerships— with peers whose services or products are complementary to one’s own and whose target customers have data-supported potential to become a promising source of new leads for your entity. In fact, within the Software as a Service community, partnerships and event participation are described as among the highest impact growth channels for warm leads.

The Freelance economy holds numerous sources of potential partnership opportunities— vendors, co-working site colleagues, Freelancing colleagues you meet at conferences, business accountants and attorneys. Even your SCORE mentor could suggest that you meet with a fellow Freelancer who s/he also mentors and discuss the possibility of partnering on certain types of projects. If you find the possibility of introducing a partnership to your Freelance business entity intriguing, here are some things to consider.

1. View the partnership as a strategic asset, not as the cure for a problem.

First, why do you want to form a partnership? What do you hope to gain and what assets can you bring to the table that might persuade a Freelance colleague to engage in a partnership with you? In order for the partnership to be useful and produce the outcomes that you (and the partner) want, you must be honest about your motivations. So, what are you looking for in a partnership? Start the decision-making process by clarifying your partnership wish list. Next, make an inventory of the resources you can offer to a partner and use that list to articulate your Unique Selling Proposition to a Freelance colleague you hope will become your business partner. Keep in mind that a successful partnership is about sharing resources and is not a rescue mission to save a failing enterprise.

  • Do you want occasional collaborators—say, extra help on certain projects—or an ongoing partnership?
  • A partner whose clients are potential prospects for your services and your clients are potential prospects for the partner’s services? Ideally, you and the partner would see a growing client list.
  • A partner whose services are suitable for co-promotion opportunities, such as the McDonald’s and Coca-Cola #Better Together campaign and the Apple Watch Nike+? Co-promotion is meant to introduce your brand to a wider audience and result in enhanced brand awareness and recognition, with the expectation of increased lead generation, sales revenue growth and market share.
  • A partner whose services, when offered in tandem to your own, will result in the capacity to provide solutions that prospects will perceive as delivering more valuable than your current offering.
  • A partner who will share certain business expenses, such as co-promotion advertising costs and/or office space rental.

2. Goals that align and a cultural fit.

In a functioning and mutually beneficial partnership agreement, there are only winners and there are no losers. A partnership is never a zero sum game where only one person wins. Honest, respectfully expressed communication and transparency are demonstrations of respect and the foundation of authenticity. In a recent McKinsey report, alignment on objectives, effective communication and trust were most often present when partnerships and other joint ventures succeeded and most often absent when partnerships failed.

As well, a mutually accepted definition of good work ethic should be agreed-upon and include a shared understanding of how to handle relevant business practices, such as what constitutes timely and appropriate follow-up regarding client referrals, for example. In this way one develops a reputation as a good partner and the partnership can deliver on its intended purpose.

3. Clearly define roles, responsibilities and money.

Establish and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each partner and that includes money. Discussing payment protocols upfront will prevent ugly misunderstandings. Will the partner who handles the design work on a website project be paid at the same rate as the tech person who perfects SEO and the speed of page loading—or will you each bill at your usual rate? Put everything in writing to avoid conflicts later. Depending on the state in which you operate, your partnership may require a written agreement.

Regarding roles and responsibilities, will there be a quarterly or semi-annual performance quota for client referrals generated, networking events attended, or other work-related activities? A discussion of what constitutes good work ethic and productivity metrics will be helpful.

4. Start small and work out the kinks. 

Where possible, start small and avoid diving into a big project until the partners become familiar with one another’s working style. Instead, rehearse your partnership by taking on a small project. Creating a story board to describe how the partners together will collaborate successfully on a project can be very useful. Remember what Avatar creator James Cameron and others remind us: “A vision without a plan for execution is just an hallucination.”

5. Frequent, honest, feedback.

Misunderstandings and disagreements are best acknowledged and managed in an environment of regular, honest, feedback and discussion. partnership problems are potentially costly. Scheduling regular check-ins for the partners, even if there is little to discuss and the meeting ends quickly, is cheap and easy insurance for dealing with problems the right way and at the right time.

6. Move quickly and collaboratively when partnership problems arise. 

The land of lost partnerships is littered with avoidance, denial, broken promises, unresolved conflict and denial. Especially if the expectations of an important client have not been delivered, immediate action to correct the lapse and protect the relationship must be taken. Remember what Warren Buffett continually tells himself: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”

Thanks for reading,

Kim