Category Archives: Business Strategy

Long range, big picture, macro

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Corporation Subchapter S–Should Your Business Be an S Corp?

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You may operate your business as a Sole Proprietor,  like 70%  of US businesses do,  or maybe as an LLC.  However,  if business should become fabulous and you begin to rake in some serious cash,  then it could make sense to incorporate,  as a method to lower your taxes and protect profits.

You may be implementing a growth strategy that requires you to take on additional investors,  or maybe implementing your exit strategy,  with a plan to sell your business,  perhaps to employees through an Employee Stock Option Plan  (ESOP).  Either scenario may prompt your accountant or business attorney to recommend that you establish a separate legal entity for your venture and the preferred strategy could be to incorporate.

What does that mean in practical terms?  For a Freelance consultant or small business owner,  incorporating usually means setting up an S Corporation.  Last week’s post discussed Limited Liability Companies  (LLCs)  and there are similarities between the S Corporation and LLC.

The first similarity is that both LLC and S Corporation provide owners with a degree of protection from lawsuits and creditors.  However if negligence is involved,  the  “corporate veil”  will be pierced and the owner(s) will be liable for any damages.

Second,  there are certain similarities in how taxes are handled.  As with the LLC,  S Corporations  (unlike the more common C Corps)  allow a  “pass through”  of business profits or losses to the owner’s  (i.e., S Corp shareholders)  personal tax form 1040 in accordance with the share of business ownership.  There is no separate  (double)  taxation,  as occurs with C  Corporationss.  Both S Corp and LLC owners can deduct pre-tax business expenses such as advertising,  professional services,  travel, etc.  S Corporation owners will file form 1040 schedule E and form 1120S in addition to your usual tax forms.

Yet,  there are a couple of differences that impact the treatment of taxes.  Unlike the LLC and like the C Corporation,  S Corporation owners pay themselves a salary  (that must be deemed reasonable based on industry standards and business revenue)  and they receive dividends  (distributions)  from any additional profits earned.  Dividends are taxed at a lower rate than the salary pay-out and that is one reason that S Corporation tax rates may be lower.

Another difference involves self-employment taxes.  Says Diane Kennedy,  Phoenix, AZ based CPA and author of  “Loopholes of the Rich: How the Rich Legally Make More Money and Pay Less Tax”  (2001),  “If you have a Subchapter S Corporation and you put yourself on the payroll as a W-2 employee,  withholding taxes from each paycheck as you take money out of the corporation,  you can often save a significant amount of money in self-employment taxes”.  Sole proprietors and LLC owners must pay self-employment taxes.

Owners may sell,  transfer,  or gift their shares,  something that cannot be done by LLC owners.  There cannot be more than 100 S Corp shareholder/owners,  but family members who own shares are treated as one shareholder when counting.  Corporations,  regardless of the form,  continue on in perpetuity unless formally dissolved.  Death does not automatically dissolve a corporation,  while LLCs terminate if one owner retires,  resigns,  dies or goes bankrupt, but can be reformed if desired.

On the downside,  S Corporations have more stringent guidelines than do LLCs.  Owners must be US citizens or reside in the US.  There can be only one class of stock and depending on the state in which you’ve incorporated,  there may be additional state taxes.  Businesses that receive 25%  or more gross income from passive income  (think rental income)  and those that receive 95%  or more gross income from exports are prevented from forming an S Corporation.

S Corporation owners must also hold annual board of directors and shareholder meetings and take minutes.  Further,  the owners must strictly separate their personal and corporate bank accounts.  Failure to adhere to all requirements may result in forfeiture of S Corp status and the IRS is looking.

So which business organization strategy is best for your business?  Like I said in the beginning,  it depends on the circumstances.  Throughout the life of you and your consultancy,  it is wise to assess where you are presently and your plans for the future in terms of income,  growth,  exit strategy and taxes and institute the legal structure that will enhance your position.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Limited Liability Company — Should Your Business Be an LLC?

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Going into business invariably entails lots of decision-making,  one of which will be to choose the legal structure of the business entity.  As you know there are three choices: Sole Proprietorship,  Limited Liability Company and Corporation,  typically S Corporation for Freelance consultants and small business owners.  Most Freelancers begin as Sole Proprietors and many remain there.  If business-related liability is not an issue,  then that is a perfectly acceptable choice.  About 70% of  US businesses are Sole Proprietorships.  However at some point in the life of your business,  perhaps as revenue and reputation grow,  it may be preferable to move beyond Sole Proprietor status.

At any time,  you may decide to operate your Freelance consultancy through an entity that limits your personal liability as the owner  (alone or in partnership),  decide that it’s worth the  $500.00 or so filing fee  (payable each year on renewal),  plus maybe three hours of attorney or accountant fees to make sure everything is done the right way.  Or maybe it’s not liability you’re worried about.  Maybe you feel that you’ll appear to clients and prospects more  “real”  and the legal structure is more marketing tool than liability protection.  Whatever your motive,  the matter of selecting your consultancy’s legal entity will present itself.  Should you structure your business as a corporation, or as an LLC? The answer to the question is— it depends.

Most Freelancers and small business owners are directed by their accountants and attorneys to the LLC.  It’s flexible and easy to set up and file.  Your state’s Secretary of State’s office will have a form online for you to inspect.  There may be one or several owners of the LLC,  but there must be a registered agent  (to receive mailings associated with the LLC entity)  who resides within the state.

A big advantage of organizing your business as an LLC is that you will receive protection from creditors of the business.  If the business owes money,  those to whom it owes money will not be able to come after personal property and other assets.   Moreover,  limited liability means that business owner(s) may not be held liable for debts that exceed their investment in the business.  For example,  if your investment in your Freelance operation is $5000.00 and you manage to incur business debts of $8000.00,  you are potentially liable for only the $5000.00.

Furthermore,  there is no separate business tax on the LLC.  All business income and expenses  “pass through”  to the owner(s) of the business,  who pay personal taxes only on the net profit,  based on the share of business ownership.  The owner of a single-entity LLC does not have to file a separate tax return for the business—all financial information is reported on form 1040.  Schedule C Profit and Loss for a Business must also be filed  ( you file schedule C also as a Sole Proprietor),  where one may deduct all of the allowable pre-tax business expenses,  i.e. advertising expenses,  travel and entertainment,  office supplies, etc.  You must also pay self-employment tax,  as do Sole Proprietors.

I was surprised to learn that an LLC can own property.  In fact,  if the property owned increases in value  (and it probably will),  your LLC will avoid the capital gains double taxation that regular corporations  (C Corporations)  would incur should the property be sold or the business entity liquidated.  Like business expenses and profit,  the capital gains would  “pass through”  to the owner(s).

One must be careful when doing business as a separate legal entity,  though.  Your LLC cannot become entwined with personal finances.  Keep your grocery store charges,  shopping sprees and personal vacations out of your business affairs.  Failing to do so will cause LLC status to be forfeited.  Moreover,   an LLC terminates if one of the owners retires,  resigns, dies or goes bankrupt  (remaining owners can form a new LLC).

The LLC works best in relatively straightforward businesses,  single- or multi-owner.  If your goal is to raise money to vastly expand your business,  then the business is advised to incorporate,  so that investors will have the security of holding stock certificates as proof of ownership stake in the business.  Ditto if you plan to take your company public.  I’ll be back next week with a look at incorporating your Freelance consultancy.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Choose a Strategy to Make Your Strategy

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“Become Your Own Boss:  Effective Business Plan Writing”  will be presented by your loyal diarist on Wednesdays October 10, 17 & 24 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM at Boston Center for Adult Education.  Do you have a hobby that you’d like to turn into a profit-making business? Click and register to learn how  http://bit.ly/RnyIBP

 Responses from a recent Boston Consulting Group survey of 120 companies from around the world indicate that executives are well aware of the need to match their strategy making process to the specific demands of their competitive environments,  according to survey authors Claire Love,  Martin Reeves and Philipp Tillmanns of BCG.

But in practice,  many companies relied instead on approaches that are better suited to predictable and stable business conditions,  even when business conditions are known to be highly volatile.  Technological innovation,  social media and global uncertainty have conspired to make the business climate for nearly all industries less stable and predictable than in the past.  Business planning must reflect that reality and build strategies in response.

Love,  Reeves and Tillmanns identified four strategic styles:  Shaping,  Visionary,  Classic and Adaptive.  The first two styles are appropriate for major corporations that have the power to influence buying demands and habits on a massive scale.  Small business owners and Freelance consultants would choose between the latter two,  depending on the local business environment and practices in their industry.

Some industries are based on fast-moving,  changing market dynamics and furthermore,  uncertain economic times demand a more fluid and experimental approach.  In such environments,  long-term plans are essentially useless.  The Adaptive strategic style  is most appropriate under these conditions,  since it gives the business owner a roadmap to follow as goals and tactics are continually refined in response to shifting conditions.

Planning cycles may last only one year.  Initiatives are short-term,  quarter by quarter,  because making money is about what’s hot now.   Trendy hair stylists,  the hottest nightclubs and bars,  fashion forward retailers and entertainers from Lady GaGa to Nicki Minaj base their business planning on the Adaptive style of strategy setting.

Big data will not tell Adaptive style strategic planners what will be hot in six months.  On-the-ground brand representatives,  party promoters,  recognized style leaders and bloggers known to have credibility with the target customers give feedback on trends that might have significance,  that are ripe for a mini-marketing campaign that might bear fruit.  The Adaptive style planners then evaluate the trends and use the feedback to make informed decisions.

The Adaptive style encourages  companies to set up their organizations to test and roll out a variety of products and services as quickly and efficiently as possible,  constantly adapting in the light of sales figures and social media feedback.   Some strategies are bound to fail,  but numerous cost-conscious experiments made in quarterly or twice-yearly campaigns increase the likelihood of success and minimize losses when a trend is over-estimated.   Success is defined by carving out the best position in a volatile marketplace.

Setting strategy begins with an accurate assessment of your industry and local business environment.  Depending on the business conditions,  the Freelance consultant or small business owner would choose either the Classic or Adaptive strategy style when a planning session is in order.  From there,  it will be possible to find a path that will allow you to apply your unique expertise and resources to making the most of available money-making opportunities.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The Strategy for Your Strategy

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“Become Your Own Boss: Effective Business Plan Writing” will be presented at Boston Center for Adult Education on Wednesday evenings October 10, 17 & 24 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM.  Do you wonder what you’ll do after you retire?  Evaluate and prepare to launch the business idea that you’ve been thinking about for the past few years.  Register at  http://bit.ly/RnyIBP

We’re at the threshold of the fourth quarter and it’s time to set yourself up for not only a strong and profitable ending for this year,  but also an auspicious beginning for 2013.  To make that happen,  you may choose to tweak your business strategy or perhaps make more substantive changes to roll out.  Change makes us nervous,  because we  enter uncharted waters.  Business plans look good on paper,  but what will reality bring? The impact can be unpredictable.  Freelance consultants can test a strategy relatively quickly,  but mistakes cost time and time is money.  Yet,  there are ways to improve the odds of achieving success.

Competitive advantage is derived from recognizing and responding to developments in your marketplace faster and more accurately than your competitors.  Strategy experts in Fortune 500 companies know that the strategy setting process must reflect the conditions of the marketplace in which one operates,  as well as your company’s influence within.  In other words,  minnows have different options than sharks or whales and the minnow’s strategies must reflect that reality.

Claire Love,  Martin Reeves and Philipp Tillmanns of Boston Consulting Group say that to effectively plan to succeed,  the business needs a strategy for making a strategy.  The trio have identified four categories of strategy setting:  Classical,  Adaptive,  Shaping and Visionary.  Small businesses and Freelancers would use one of the first two.  Think of Sony and IBM as two companies that had Visionary ideas that Shaped the global marketplace and influenced the habits of a billion consumers.

Classical is the strategy setting style recommended when operating in an industry and business environment that while predictable,  is nevertheless beyond the businesses’ ability to control or significantly influence.  Strategy planners analyze the current business situation and use that information to set reasonable business goals and identify the most favorable competitive market position that can be expected by leveraging available resources and advantages:  client list,  experience,  expertise,  relationships,  reputation,  etc.,  plus identify and assess barriers to entry.

The strategy planners then refine and strengthen competitive positioning through standard strategy planning techniques such as the SWOT  (strengths,  weaknesses,  opportunities and threats)  matrix and project the likely results elicited by the new strategy forward into successive quarters.   Goals and the strategies developed to achieve them might be followed for maximum three years,  or until changes in the business environment or within the business itself encourage the planners to set new goals and strategies.

Next week,  we take a look at the Adaptive strategy setting style.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Your Big Client Bid Strategy

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Freelance consultants have to be nimble and resourceful in order to compete successfully and that is especially so when in pursuit of a big-league client.  Winning a big client is tremendous validation,  but when swimming with whales it is essential to take precautions and maintain as much control over the process as possible.   It would be disastrous to do what is second nature to many small business operators and Freelancers: whatever it takes to get the job in and whatever it takes to get the job done.   Pursuing important clients with big contracts out for bid takes a more sophisticated approach.

When assessing and pricing a big  contract,  the project fee attached to your proposal carries much weight,  in more ways than one.   Bid too high and you’re knocked out of contention.   Bid too low,  a common practice of Freelance consultants and small business owners,  and one of two impressions will be made:

1.   That you are perhaps unqualified to do the work because you’re selling your services for too little money,  or

2.   That you’re desperate for business and probably ripe for exploitation.

To both convey the image of a capable and experienced professional and ensure that you make money on the project,  be sure that you thoroughly understand what will be required to fulfill the contract and your ability to do so.   Job costing and cash flow projections will need special care.   Will you need extra expertise for some aspect of this job,  or perhaps an extra pair of hands in order to meet the timetable? 

Realize that big projects for big clients mean big accounts receivable and there can be a downside.   Be honest about how much money you can afford to have outstanding,  even if  payments are received on time.   Help yourself by requesting 20% – 35% of the project fee up-front and due within 15 days of the contract signing.   Set up a payment schedule in your proposal that ensures you’ll be able to pay any subcontractors and also yourself on time.

Freelancers and small business owners often compete on price,  but one is advised to avoid dangerously low bids in order to get work or add a marquis name to the client list,  only to receive very little profit from the project.   Michael MacMillan,  founder and CEO of MacMillan Communications of New York City,  focuses on selling personal attention and customized PR strategies to his clients and providing more bang for the buck.   “One of the advantages of being a smaller organization is that you’re more efficient because there are fewer overhead costs.  We are able to apply more of the project fee directly to account work”. 

According to Jeffrey Bolton,  managing partner at the accounting firm Daszkal Bolton LLP of Boca Raton, FL,  the key to evaluating whether to pursue a big client is to ask yourself  how important that account will be for future business growth and whether the project work fits into your strategic plan,  even if you don’t make money on it.  “If you’re trying to build a reputation,  that foot in the door is necessary,  but you must have an institutional mind-set when taking on a big client and not a mom-and-pop mind-set”.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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How Will Your Garden Grow?

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It is often useful to look backward before one moves forward.   We may be surprised to learn that our agrarian past holds valuable lessons that can be directly transferred to today’s fast-paced,  high-tech,  high-stakes and unsentimental business environment.   In Summer 2011  I read about a farmer in Georgia named Bobby Kirk,  who made national news when he wisely pointed out that it was too hot to fish.   Summers are hot in Georgia,   so I’m sure he was right.   Bobby Kirk’s folksy observation made me think about things I’ve read that compare farming and gardening to finding clients and creating more business.   Here’s a distillation of some Farmer’s Almanac-type wisdom that I’ve picked up along the way.  I hope you find it useful.

I. Plant seeds so that you will reap a harvest.
Whatever actions you take that will grow and nurture your business venture are the seeds.  Update your assumptions regarding client motivations for hiring your type of services or customer preferences in your product category.  Update your info on competitive activity.  Attend a workshop or take a course for professional development.  Read one business book per quarter,  to sharpen your skills and get some inspiration.

II. Tend your garden.
Plants,  prospects and colleagues all have their preferred form of follow-up actions.  They all want to hear from you! Plants like sunshine,  fertilizer and water.  Prospective clients who showed more than a passing interest in your services would appreciate a call or email from you,  inviting them to lunch so that you can get to know each other better and explore how your expertise can address their business needs.  The colleague who asked you to provide a reference or answer a question would like to hear from you also,  preferably within one week.  Research shows that it takes six contacts to establish the foundation of a meaningful relationship.  Follow-up,  follow-up,  follow-up in anticipation of your harvest.
III. Last year’s crop is history.
Weather,  predators and pestilence can wipe out a garden.  Shifting business priorities,  tight budgets and competitive activity can hurt your business.  Whether you have a farm,  a consultancy or an auto repair shop,  last year’s crop is just that.  Glean available lessons from your bumper crop or plague of locusts and use that knowledge to reconfigure your strategy and work smarter next time around.
IV. The more seeds planted,  the bigger the harvest.
If you expect to grow your business you must plant more seeds,  or the harvest will be meager.   Stay focused and discover and/or create money-making opportunities.

V. Plant what you want to harvest.
If you want basil and tomatoes in August,  then plant them in May.  Who do you want to be your clients?  Learn the best way to approach them and persuade them to meet with you.  Monitor which products/services are selling and to whom.  Is there a niche market you can develop? Which categories of clients will be most profitable to your business and how can you access them or increase your access? Analyze your financials,  brainstorm options,  formulate a strategy,  plant seeds,  follow-up and reap your harvest.

Thanks for reading,
Kim

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Your Brand: Remix and Refresh

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Freelance consultants represent and inhabit our brand completely.   We are what we do and it’s to our advantage to be known for what we do because it’s good for business.  It is most advantageous to be considered a known quantity,   the obvious choice when clients are in need of our service category.   At the same time,   it is wise to take a page from the Nicki Minaj playbook  (authored by Madonna,  as you know)  and do a remix every once in a while,  to remind the marketplace that what we bring is a little ahead of the curve: au courant, relevant and therefore,  worth a premium.

So maybe every three years or so,  one may want to shuffle the cards,  or play the hand a little differently.  Before making any major changes,  however,  you are advised to obtain a clear understanding of what would be useful to tweak and what to leave alone.   To do that effectively,  it’s important to— guess what?  Talk to your clients.  If possible,  speak also with those who use your category of services but haven’t hired you.   Until you determine what you and your brand represent to clients and moreover,  get a handle on why certain folks don’t hire you,  your rebranding strategy will be counterproductive.

Media titan Kenard Gibbs,  co-founder of Madvision Media and former president of VIBE Magazine,   recommends that like Stephen Covey,  author of  “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” (1989),   you begin with the end in mind.   “You need to have some idea as to what you are ultimately trying to achieve …..The end goal dictates how you proceed…..”

Gibbs advises that a SWOT  (Strengths,  Weaknesses,  Opportunities,  Threats)  analysis be done once the customer,  industry and other marketplace research have been performed.   The SWOT internal  (Strengths & Weaknesses,  e.g.  strategic relationships and expertise)  and external (Opportunities & Threats,  e.g. market trends,  the economy,  client needs)  analysis guide your rebranding strategy and identify new possibilities that expand the reach of your potential client base.   SWOT will also ensure that you maintain services that clients value and that your self-editing is perceived as both logical and authentic for you. 

Timing is also of the essence,  so be smart about the rebrand roll-out.  Set a realistic timetable.    Create a timetable for the entire process,   from the client and market research and SWOT analysis to rebranding conceptualization,   strategy formulation,   implementation and assessment phases.

Finally,   give consideration to how and when you will announce to clients and colleagues that you’ve refreshed your brand and what that means.   Gibbs says  “You need to develop an integrated media plan to show that you are available to clients in new and even more useful ways,  that there is a new way to interact with your brand.”   Social media and website updates are de rigueur,   but press releases and paid advertisements in selected media outlets are not to be ignored.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Niche Market Opps for Freelancers

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Developing new markets is essential for all Freelance consultants and business owners.  That means it’s necessary to be aware of major trends and even significant fads,  for there is money to be made over the long or short-term.   How does one learn about the existence of niche markets that may be promising for you?  Stay abreast of current events by reading good newspapers,  business articles,  blogs and magazines.   Talk to your friends,  family and colleagues.   Do volunteer work,   go to the gym,  out for a bike ride,  or drinking with your pals.   In other words,  be fully engaged in life and the information that you seek will either come to you or will be unearthed by you.   If you read the March 20 post on making your own luck,   you’ll know what to do.

Career Transition consultants

How to identify a second career and segue from one’s current line of work and  into what will be more personally and/or financially rewarding is on the must-do list of many professionals,  employed and unemployed.   Some folks are preparing for a possible lay-off,  some for retirement and still others want to make a career change while they’re still young enough to enjoy it.   Discovering the industry and job specs of work that resonates with you and formulating an effective career change recipe that leverages skills,   relationships and whatever additional training that will open the right doors drives the business of career transition coaches.   Also, companies that are in the midst of a major staff reduction often hire career transition consultants to soften the landing of employees who’ve been let go.

Generation Y Marketing consultants

Many businesses and large cultural institutions,   notably ballet,  opera and regional theater companies,   symphonies and museums,  are determined to add under 35 members to their aging family of donors and subscribers.   Generation Y is integral to an organization’s survival and to that end marketing and development departments have been offering discount subscriptions,   innovative social events designed with younger audiences in mind and other targeted marketing initiatives that might attact the Gen Y crowd.   Institutions cannot afford to slack off on these campaigns and consultants who specialize in marketing to the under 35 cohort are being hired to keep the audience-building strategies flowing.

Home Security consultants

Listen to your local television news report tonight and you’re guaranteed to be inundated with the horrific details of lurid crimes committed in both middle class and low-income neighborhoods.  Home invasions,  car jackings,  bullying,  identity theft and shoot-outs in Wal-Mart parking lots occur with shocking regularity these days.   As a result,  fear for one’s personal safety is on the rise and home security consultants have seen a significant uptick in billable hours as many individuals seek to protect their physical and online security.   Police officers and detectives are qualified to give advice on how to secure doors and windows and where to improve lighting,   as well as give useful advice regarding mail and newspaper deliveries when one will be out-of-town and pointing out the perils of announcing your vacation plans on your Facebook page  (why tip-off thieves?).   Electricians are qualified to install sophisticated home alarm systems and IT specialists will set up protocols for your computer.

Home Organizing consultants

When you decide it’s finally time to get your office,  closets,  basement and whatever else organized so that you can live and work at peak efficiency,   home organizing consultants will come to your rescue and help you purge the clutter and effectively organize,   store abnd label what you will keep.  The best will have training in Feng Shui.   Additionally,   most also give pointers on useful organizing accessories,  office furniture and other tips to make your home environment pleasant and conducive to attracting good energy.

Image consultants

We all want to look our best,   but many of us can use some pointers.   There is a critical mass of shoppers  (and not just the very affluent)  who are willing to pay a professional shopper or stylist to help them identify flattering styles and colors and devise a mode of attire that reflects their personality and fits with their professional and social lives.    Since the early 1990s,   high-end department stores have offered personal shoppers to work with customers and increase sales and loyalty to the store.   The notoriety of Hollywood stylists who dress the stars for award shows and other high-profile personal appearances has caused that service to trickle down to the middle class masses.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Top Niche Markets for Freelancers

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Every business is in search of promising niche markets that will bring additional dollars to the bottom line.   Some Freelance consultants successfully operate totally within a narrow yet lucrative niche,   but most of us choose to expand our focus to include a particular niche market.   Depending on your specialty,   it could make sense for you to weigh the possibility of entering one of these growing markets.   To position yourself  for successful entry,   it might be necessary to get some training and perhaps a certification.   No doubt you’ll also need to establish a couple of key new relationships to help you get a foot in the door.   But if your research and your gut tell you that there’s reason to believe you have a shot of picking up a client or two,  then by all means get the ball rolling and do what you have to do.

 Environmental sustainability consultants

Opportunities to incorporate environmentally smart and friendly measures into homes and offices continue to grow.   The sustainability / green movement has a tremendous amount of feel-good attached,  as people strive to become better stewards of our environment.   Businesses and individuals are jumping onto the green bandwagon.   Tax incentives to persuade businesses to go green  are in place.   At home,   investments in energy efficiency translate into lower utility bills.   If you have the qualifications to hang out a shingle and address eco-friendly sustainability,   clean-tech or other green business issues,   then green will also mean dollars earned.  MBAs with a sub-specialty in sustainability,  architects,  engineers,  urban planners,   building contractors and electricians are who I see reaping the benefits. 

Home office design consultants

If you were born with an eye for arranging furniture,  understand and can communicate the benefits of ergonomic furniture and are up-to-date on bleeding edge IT products and can help people sort out their business technology needs,  then becoming a home office consultant may be the niche for you.   Knowledge of Feng Shui is another big plus.   Many more people work from home either entirely or occasionally as compared to the 1990s and the ranks of the self-employed and telecommuters continue to grow.   Even the federal government is promoting telecommuting and funding requirements to support the process have been established.   Presumably,   government contracts to hire home office design consultants for federal employees who are able to telecommute are available.

Gardening consultants

Americans are spending more time at home and as a result citizens are investing more money there,   indoors and out.   Those with green thumb or brown are hiring consultants to show them gardening possibilities and present a menu of suitable plants that will help them identify and express their preferred gardening styles.  The consultants will also interface with landscapers to design the customized outdoor space.   Gardening consultants style window boxes for city folk and Christmas greenery in town and country,  too.  There are even vegetable garden consultants.

 Color consultants

A required course for my undergraduate degree in Psychology was called   “Physiological Bases of Behavior”  and in that course we examined the psychological perception of color.   Hospitals have for decades used certain colors in surgical suites and recovery rooms to promote a calming vibe for patients and surgeons.  Scientific research over the decades since I graduated from college has further defined the power of color to influence buying habits and stimulate appetite,  which has made big-budget retail establishments and restaurant chains important clients for the color specialists.

I’ll have more niche markets for you to ponder next week.  Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Be a First Class Freelancer

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What do clients want when they look to hire a Freelance contractor?  On a conscious level they know that a job must be done and that the time and/or expertise to do the job does not reside within the organization and so outside help must be brought in.  They know certain deliverables must be produced within a particular time frame and they know what can be spent to achieve their objectives.  But what makes a client hire one Freelancer over others who may be interviewed?  What is the secret sauce that can make you be The One?

Be creative,  perceptive and adaptable

During the first meeting,  First Class Freelancers can quickly and accurately assess client needs.  Failing that,  s/he will know the right questions to ask that draw out and clarify objectives and priorities.  The First Class Freelancer will know whether and how their own skill set will match with client needs and will be able to articulate that assessment in language that is readily understood.   As a result,  trust and confidence in your abilities are quickly established and the foundation for rapport-building and a productive working relationship is set.

An experienced pro

If you nail Step One,  the client will know that you have the goods to meet and very likely exceed expectations and that there is no doubt that you will get the job done and make him/her look good to both superiors and subordinates.  First Class Freelancers let it be known through their grasp of the client’s big picture needs that the ROI of bringing them in will be substantial.  Deadlines will be met and work will be of the highest quality.  This allows the first class crew to command  premium prices and the client doesn’t quibble,  because his/her reputation is about to be enhanced.  If necessary,  s/he’ll go to bat for you and get more money appropriated for the project to cover your fee.

Operate like a business

Be highly professional in client interactions and all forms of business communication.  Follow-up promptly,  invoice at the appropriate times and write good proposals  (that are really confirmations,  because you’ve impressed the decision-maker and pretty much know you’ll win the contract).  Present yourself as an equal and a peer,  but respect boundaries and remember that you have a green card but you’re not a citizen.  Radiate confidence and success  (but never smugness or arrogance).  Create the impression that although times are tough,  you have a viable client roster because you have credibility and competence.

After you’ve been out on your own for a while and identified the types of projects that you like and the types of clients that tend to hire you,  carve out a specialty niche where you can excel.  Resist the temptation to take any and every project that comes your way  (unless the cupboard is bare).  Develop the corresponding verbal packaging that will be your business introduction and elevator pitch,  as well as online and print collaterals that effectively represent and communicate your brand.

Smart negotiator

It’s during contract negotiation that your prospective client will know what you think your time and talent are worth,  how experienced you really are and the prestige level of the projects you’ve previously worked on.  If you accept the first offer that’s given and consequently sign for noticeably less than expected,  they’ll know you’re wet behind the ears or you’ve only done low-budget projects.  They’ll know you’re not in the big-time.  This information will also be telegraphed if you fail to discuss payment terms during contract negotiations and ask for some percentage of up-front money before you start work.

Get busy and write yourself a fist class ticket so you can get paid to travel in style!

Thanks for reading,

Kim