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Street smart savvy moves you’ll use to keep your business alive

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Rev Up Resilience To Ramp Up Productivity and Reduce Stress

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Is it my imagination, or has life become increasingly stressful year after year? In my experience, it feels as if navigating normal life (is there still such a thing?) and being productive in one’s occupation requires more effort than was necessary just a few years ago. The bar for success seems higher and the level of productivity (and luck, I might add) required to win the race is consequently higher.

Productivity is a multi-faceted function and we’ve examined how to maximize its application from technology, marketing and sales perspectives. Today, we’ll examine the impact of health on productivity and get ideas on how to do what must be done without damaging one’s physical or psychological well-being.

BTW, the American Psychological Association agrees with my observations. According to its 2023 Work in America survey, 77% of U.S. workers experienced job-related stress during the previous month and 57% reported negative outcomes as a result, including emotional exhaustion and lack of motivation that undermined their ability to do their best work. Stress and its usual byproducts, burnout and anxiety are also linked to the often-celebrated hustle culture, whose supporters brag about their marathon workdays and insist that the sacrifice is the price of admission for attaining a thriving business or career.

In the beginning hustle culture can be helpful and that pedal-to-the-metal work ethic will propel you toward your goal. But in the long-term, being a workaholic (that’s the old-school term) can cost you your health—and it might even undo the success you’ve attained. Lengthy periods of intense stress carry significant downsides, physical and psychological, including loss of energy, concentration and creativity—the building blocks of productivity that hustle culture is supposed to enhance. When you’re constantly in overdrive, the brain’s capacity to focus, exercise good judgment and perform other “executive” functions deteriorates. Related cognitive assets, notably decision-making, problem-solving and strategic thinking, can also weaken. The inevitable outcome is that productivity craters.

So how can you improve your capacity to be productive and enhance your executive cognitive functions along the way? It may sound counterintuitive to some, but when you’re not just determined, but also realistic, about achieving important goals, the first step is to step away from the hustle culture fad.

You may be convinced that hard work is the partner of ambition and to a great extent that is true, but pushing yourself to exhaustion is almost guaranteed to result in an assault on your physical and psychological well-being. Instead, you will be wise to regularly nurture and replenish your energy stores to cultivate resilience, minimize stress and bring about strength, focus and calm control. Reserve those hustle culture 12+ hour workdays for extreme circumstances, such as responding to an emergency or meeting an important deadline. Prioritizing your health can be treated as a strategic imperative—is it not your greatest resource when all is said and done?

Organize and prioritize

Managing time is central to facilitating productivity. Strategic time management minimizes stress because it gives you a road map for your day and the road map enables a sense of calm control that makes productivity flow. When you have too much on your plate and you’re putting out fires and everything is an emergency, the secret to navigating the chaos is to create a road map that prioritizes your tasks from the top down—most important to least important. If you’re unsure about which tasks are most urgent, confirm the consequences for late completion by checking deadlines, investigating the potential of missed opportunities, or incurring fines. Another idea is to consider the reward or risk of the task’s completion. For example, will completing this task provide increased revenue? Asking yourself these questions can help narrow down the true priorities on your to-do list.

Maximizing productivity and minimizing stress requires that you take ownership of your schedule and plan your time so that you can manage your workflow. Time management is the secret sauce that will make you feel in control and less stressed, no matter what kind of workload you’re dealing with. A realistic to-do list can be very helpful as well as empowering. Even if events conspire against you and you don’t quite complete your daily itinerary, you’ll know what you must do the next day, or later in the week. Best of all, you’ll be confidently on your path to improved productivity as you become more realistic about scheduling and estimating time commitments.

Once you’ve determined your priorities, you can assess what you can handle and begin to identify tasks that might be handed over to an expert. Bringing in reinforcements is a crucial step in successfully navigating chaos. Today’s business reality is that there are not infrequently too many to-do’s for one person to handle. Business leaders must learn to delegate to a team member or outsource to an outside expert.

Delegate/ outsource

If you’ve come to the realization that there aren’t enough hours in the day to get through your typical to-do list, it’s time to behave like a real leader and off-load some of the work. If you have employees, evaluate the feasibility of delegating certain tasks. If you are a Freelance soloprenuer, examine your budget and evaluate the feasibility of outsourcing certain tasks.

Outsourcing is the practice of delegating certain business functions to an external individual or agency with the goal of enabling the business owner and/or employees to focus on primary tasks and responsibilities. Outsourcing enables Freelance consultants and other business owners to devote time and talent to the organization’s core functions by selectively delegating certain tasks to a highly skilled external expert. Removing certain tasks from your plate will enable you to focus on projects that are core to your business, as it factors in that you may not have either the inclination or expertise to optimally complete certain tasks. Accepting your limitations, something we all would be wise to do, should allow you to both improve your productivity and also lower your stress level.

  • Choose the right tasks    You, team leader, are responsible for understanding and communicating the strategic, big picture view of the work.  Subcontractors and part-time help are responsible for their area of specialized skills.  You coordinate all tasks and ensure that milestones are met and the deliverables are provided within the project deadline and budget.
  • Provide resources and authority Ensure that that employees or outsourced help will have the resources—information, time, budget, equipment— and the authority to do what you’ve asked of them.  Don’t make them run to you whenever they need to take action.  Rather, empower them and let them apply their intelligence and creativity to making you look good.
  • Establish expectations Especially if you delegate to an employee, explain the goals of the task(s) and how it supports short or long-term plans.  Explain also how results of the work will be measured. Confirm that those who work for or with you understand their individual responsibilities and the collective goal. Make sure that the goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.
  • Provide feedback and acknowledge success   Monitor performance and quickly correct any misunderstandings or problems. Find teachable moments and provide training or useful suggestions when needed.  Encourage and enable excellent work to keep people motivated and productivity high.  Employees or Freelance consultants you’ve hired will appreciate that you recognize and diplomatically call out superior work and will rectify weak performances with the proper coaching.
  • Relax and recharge The first ingredient in your productivity enhancement recipe is sleep. Inadequate sleep is epidemic these days and it is seriously detrimental to one’s health and ability to manage stress.  An unexpected outcome of sleep deprivation can be weight gain, which can be exacerbated by the release the stress hormone cortisol, which increases appetite.  When we are fatigued, our choice of foods is usually unhealthy and laden with sugar for an energy boost, or high fat, or salty.  The stage is then set for taking on unwanted pounds (and I’ve been there!). As you know, fatigue undermines creativity, judgment and decision-making, productivity and self-discipline.  Do what you can to get in those eight hours or so each night.  Getting enough sleep just might help you discover the energy to begin (or restart) a regimen of regular exercise. Exercise provides physical release and reduces tension and stress, calms and clears the mind, helps us to sleep better and even improves self-esteem. Exercise also improves the functioning of the immune system and in the process helps us to fight off certain diseases. You may play a sport, ride a bike, swim, walk, do aerobics, yoga, Pilates and/or lift weights. Experiment with different types of exercise to learn what you like and do it on a regular basis. 

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Ljupco for Getty Images

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Business Rescue Strategy—Push Through, Pull Out, or Pivot?

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If the fluctuating and unpredictable economic conditions that have impacted the U.S. economy since well before the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic have taken a toll on your Freelance enterprise, know that your struggle is not an isolated incident. The persistence of those fluctuating and unpredictable economic conditions have been so prevalent that they’ve given rise to a group of defensive business practices collectively known as agile. Agile business practices equip organizations to respond quickly and effectively to adapt to unstable economic circumstances and position the organization to survive and perhaps even thrive when encountering a challenging business landscape.

Business owners and leaders, including Freelance professionals, who typically operate as a single-person entity must, as they navigate unexpected shifts in marketplace conditions, identify viable trends and other potential opportunities that will cushion their organization from destabilizing economic conditions. In some circumstances, the business owner or leader may eventually realize that the best way to access more favorable marketplace conditions is to institute substantive change within the organization’s business model and/or its product or service line. it may become apparent that in order to guide the company toward sustainable profitability, it will be necessary to pivot.

What is a pivot?

You’ve no doubt heard the term dozens of times in the last 10 – 15 years, but do you understand what a pivot entails? A pivot means to change direction and often refers to dance, sports, or business. Referring to the business realm, a pivot requires the company owners and/or leaders to implement a course correction, a change of direction intended to alter the organization’s business model strategy and, in many cases, alter the product or service line and target customer segments. The pivot confirms that an organization’s owners and leaders recognize that its products and/or services are not, and may never become, viable performers in the marketplace. The pivot is intended to jump-start revenue and grow market share; the pivot is a relaunch into what is expected to be a more favorable competitive environment that will enable the company to grow and thrive.

A pivot that performs and produces the outcomes you need requires considerable preparation, skillful execution and good timing. Preparing to pivot begins with moving beyond merely entertaining the possibility of launching a pivot to rolling up your sleeves and doing the necessary work that will tell you whether or not a pivot will be a good choice for your company and which components of your business that should pivot. You’ll use relevant data to guide the strategies you’ll develop to implement a pivot that’s capable of saving your company.

Will the Key Performance Indicators you choose for the pivot recommend that you stay the course and push through—or pull out and close the company? Or, do your KPIs support your plan to pivot and take the company in a new direction? What elements of your business will it be beneficial to change—products or services, sales or distribution strategy, or the target customers? Whatever your data and organizational capabilities indicate as the best format and execution for your pivot, agility, flexibility, collaboration and communication will be central to achieving long-term success.

As I’m sure you’ve guessed, pivoting is a risk and only you can define what represents acceptable risk. Define your capacity to create and manage change by measuring the cost of implementing your pivot and then weighing that cost against the potential rewards. Knowledge is key—a data-driven decision has the best capacity to bring about the best outcomes and it is therefore essential that you access trustworthy sources of relevant data. You may also want to engage the services of an experienced business coach to advise you with the pivot. The Small Business Association SCORE program can be an excellent resource; it is free and available in all 50 states.

When should you consider a pivot?

From technological advancements to the evolving preferences of target customers, from economic upheavals in your local, regional, or national location to cratering company performance metrics or the appearance of an aggressive new competitor, either internal or external factors can force a company to consider pivoting in response to difficult changes. Business owners and leaders are advised to continually observe the environment in which they operate and that includes recognizing signs that indicate it’s time to respond to powerful changes in your marketplace that may indicate the need for radical response—that is, a pivot.

In contrast, not every pivot is a response to negative factors. Sometimes, an attractive opportunity presents itself, providing motivation to hop on board, perhaps by entering a new and potentially lucrative market niche. be advised that pivoting isn’t a magical solution for all business problems; a decision of this magnitude requires due diligence. You might consider a pivot when:

  • Substantial investments of focus and capital have not produced adequate progress
  • The ability to find new customers reaches a plateau and ceases to show a significant upward trajectory
  • Customer response to your products falls short of expectations
  • Intense competition in the market blocks growth

Decision process

1. Understand the business’s strengths (and weaknesses) If you recognize that there must be a pivot, then confirm which areas of your business will change and why. It is imperative to recognize the value of those elements of your strategy and operations that are still relevant. Have the wisdom to play to your strengths and maintain what works.

2. Check in with customers Talk to customers through surveys, feedback forms, or social media to confirm their needs and pain points. This exercise will either tell you that the core offering is not the problem, or it will tell you where, within the offering, change must occur. Additionally, consult the customer data produced by tools like Google Analytics and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms. Analyze all of your customer behavior, such as how they used the product or service, what pages they visited, and how long they spent there. Customer preferences will emerge. You can also monitor social sites to see what customers are saying about your brand. Figure out where the market is, what customers actually want, and go from there. Conducting extensive market research, data analysis and forecasting is essential before deciding whether or not to pivot.

It is well known that the cost of acquiring a new customer costs significantly more than that of retaining an existing one. During the pivot, do your best to keep existing customers. Whether you are a B2B or B2C business, a change in your operating model could mean significant disruption for customers; show customers that they matter by developing and communicating a transition plan as a way to make continuing to do business with you seamless and pleasant. It is in your interest to maintain customer trust and prevent an expensive post-pivot acquisition campaign. However, understand that the pivot will not appeal to everyone. As long as you have consulted customers beforehand and know how the majority feels, you can be confident that those expressing discontentment with new prices or useability, for example, do not represent your base. If you have done your homework, you will already know who these customers are, just as you will have identified those likely to benefit most from the pivot.

Timing

Recognizing the need to pivot and deciding to execute are two different things. Conducting extensive market research, data analysis and forecasting is essential before deciding next steps. Listening to what the market tells you to decide in regard to the pivot is most likely the right move. It is often said that too many people fall victim to over-analysis and miss market opportunity.

Realize that every business encounters change and owners must react if they want to stay current with their audiences and be competitive within their industry. The worst thing for a business is to become stagnant and irrelevant. The success of a new business model depends on the ability to adapt to fast-changing marketplace conditions. The window of opportunity opens only briefly, so the confidence in your team, resources and ability to execute are key measurements in evaluating a decision to pivot. Adapting to new market developments is the only way to ensure success, especially and timing is always a consideration.

Successful implementation

The next phase of the pivot is setting everything in motion. Implementation can be one of the most challenging aspects because your business will be vulnerable to push-back from customers and, if you have any, your employees. Change is often perceived as threatening.

This is the phase where clear, effective communication becomes critical. You will feel resistance from your employees who are uncomfortable with change. Stakeholders who weren’t involved in the decision will feel slighted. Your company’s messaging and resolve must be unwavering regardless of who says what. Communicating this shift from the point of empathy and care while respectfully sharing the need for a pivot and how it will work is essential to keeping the process steady. Pivoting your business is never easy, but planning and implementing the process effectively can be successful.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Bebe Neuwirth models a dancer’s pivot in the musical Chicago (written by John Kander and Fred Ebb, choreography by Bob Fosse, 1975). Photo by Dan Chavkin (1996), courtesy of Dance Magazine Archives.

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TikTok Countdown: Proceed to Pivot

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The Supreme Court announced on Friday January 17 that it voted 9-0 to uphold the Senate-approved “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act”, a ruling that defined TikTok and other apps owned by Chinese corporations that operate in the U.S. and have more than a million U.S. users as a national security risk for America and compelled ByteDance, owner of the popular TikTok social media platform, to either sell out to a U.S. company or cease operating in this country as of Sunday January 19, 2025. On Saturday night January 18, ByteDance shut down TikTok in the U.S., per the SCOTUS ruling. Site visitors were greeted with the message: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

Furthermore, the SCOTUS ruling prevents American companies from hosting or delivering content for the Beijing-based social media platform unless parent company ByteDance sells the platform to a U.S. buyer, or a U.S ally. A source close to TikTok reportedly said that “multiple critical service providers” indicated to TikTok that they would no longer carry the app or its data, which forced the app offline. Service providers cited fears that the ban would be applied starting Sunday January 19, despite Biden administration signals to the contrary. The app went dark on Saturday January 18 about two hours before the shutdown deadline and as of Sunday January 19, the TikTok app was not available at the Apple App Store or the Google Play store.

But in true soap opera cliff-hanger style, TikTok did not remain offline in the U.S. for any length of time and leave 170 million U.S.-based TikTok users in the lurch. In fact, it was evident that TikTok would quickly resume operating in the U.S., perhaps inspired by a growing awareness by lawmakers of both parties that the decision to force a TikTok closure is quite unpopular. Some congressional leaders who originally championed the TikTok law are now considering delaying enforcement. So, Washington is setting up to pass the buck—surprise!

  • A U.S. official has confirmed that the outgoing Biden administration would not force TikTok to cease operations in the U.S. on January 19 and will allow the incoming Trump administration to implement the law.
  • In a TikTok video, platform CEO Shou Zi Chew asked President-elect Donald Trump to find a solution that keeps the site available in the U.S. Trump said he would “be making the decision” about TikTok and confirmed that he discussed the platform with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a phone interview with NBC News on January 18, the President-elect confirmed that he would “most likely” delay the TikTok ban for 90 days after he takes office on January 20 but added that he had not yet made a final decision. Incidentally, Mr. Shou expects to be in attendance for Trump’s inauguration.

What would a TikTok ban look like?

OK, so what might the world look like for TikTok users if the unthinkable happens and the site really is banned in America for a significant length of time? Before going any further, let’s confirm that it will not be illegal to have TikTok on your phone. TikTok has been banned in the U.S. as of January 19, but it’s not illegal to keep the app on your phone or other devices.

  • No new downloads: TikTok was removed from app stores on January 19 and aspiring new users were unable to download the app. Current user accounts were blocked and shown the message detailed above.
  • No updates: Those who are somehow able to access the site would no longer receive updates and the site would eventually stop working properly. Functionality would diminish.

If you are one of the approximately 7 million U.S. residents who use TikTok one minute videos to promote a business, you are advised to act now to protect your entity. President Trump‘s vow to keep the app available notwithstanding, the clock really is ticking and this drama is your wake-up call. It’s imperative that you be proactive and prepare to pivot into Plan B and develop actionable strategies that enable the transfer of your business marketing functions out of an exclusively TikTok arrangement and into a safe, multichannel harbor. Whether or not there is a prolonged TikTok shutdown, keeping all your eggs in one basket has always been risky and is nearly always inadvisable. There is strength in diversity and that’s our mission today. Let’s discuss Plan B—your pivot and survival strategy.

“We have to save it”

As you’ve heard, the TikTok shutdown was in effect for just 14 hours and President Donald Trump pledged to issue an executive order following his inauguration and give TikTok a 75-day reprieve before the SCOTUS law goes into effect, saying that “We have to save it.” President Trump suggested that a 50% American ownership of TikTok is his preference at this time. If TikTok plays a vital role in your marketing campaigns, you can breathe again—-but this soap opera isn’t over yet and you would be wise to use the 75-days to get your house in order.

1. Build and optimize your own website

You relied on TikTok and don’t have a business website, you say? You should protect yourself and take control now, by way of a DIY site-building (and tutorial assisted) project or by outsourcing to a Freelance web developer colleague whose references you’ve checked, so that you can create a website solution that’s customized to fit the needs of your business venture. The only online platform that you completely control is your website. Social media platforms belong to the company that owns them, meaning that your TikTok content actually belongs to ByteDance and your Facebook posts belong to Zuckerberg. If that thought doesn’t motivate you to create a functional website for yourself, I don’t know what will.

On your website, you own and control your marketing content and can also sell your products and services, post customer surveys and calls-to-action and, maintain a sales/marketing funnel for inbound customer appeals and, best of all, you’ll own and control all customer data that you collect and maintain because the site is yours. Keep in mind that your website can and should be designed to function as the primary hub for all activities that drive customer engagement and transactions of any kind. Furthermore, be certain to enable site cybersecurity and configure https in your website address, which is the secure version of http, the primary protocol used to send data between a web browser and a website. The principal motivations for https are authentication of the accessed website and protection of the privacy and integrity of the exchanged data while it is in transit.

2. Develop a robust email list

Congratulations to you if your TikTok following is significant—but during the site shutdown, all of your customer contact info was Missing In Action, beyond your reach. Because email marketing remains a powerful resource, act now to find an alternative platform that gives you control of your most important piece of customer (and follower) data—email addresses. Investigate and compare email marketing platforms and get started ASAP. Once you’ve selected a provider, create opt-in forms to grow your list as you continue contacting and nurturing your relationship with your loyal base of customers. Your email list is how you own your audience and you must be able to support mutual communication between your audience and your company.

3. Diversify your online channels

Don’t be complacent and let yourself remain a one-trick pony. The TikTok drama reminds us all that social media platforms you rely on today might be gone tomorrow. A good defensive strategy is to spread the wealth and consider multiple channels for your content and customer outreach, guided by the platforms your target market follows. TikTok followers are obviously visual and gravitate to videos, so think Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Facebook for your Plan B pivot into multiple channels—plus your website, which will be the gatekeeper of everything. Pinterest, a visual imagery search engine, could be another useful marketing channel that your customers and prospects like. Diversifying will give you better control over customer engagement and monetization, so instead of betting the house on a single platform, spread your bets.

4. Create a viable sales/marketing funnel

Why not launch your pivot by creating landing pages that lead prospects and other followers to sales/marketing funnels you’ve established on different platforms and advertise your powerful new online presence? It will also be good for brand building to give prospects (followers) and customers a reason to connect with you outside of social media — whether it’s a free e-book, a special offer, or a chance to join a community of customers and followers. You could do well to check out Constant Contact to automate those funnels and turn prospects and followers into active customers.

5. Use SMS marketing to connect instantly

SMS marketing (text messages) can give a jolt to customer outreach. You can invite your email list members to opt-in for real-time updates (always request permission, even if you send the first message without asking first) and exclusive offers via text. This tool can be one of your most powerful ways to stay connected with your target market and reach them instantly. For example, a strong SMS list can boost sales conversion rates of limited time special offers and also lift attendance at your webinars and podcasts where you are a guest or the host.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: ©Shopee Mobile Malaysia Sdn.Bhd.

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What Freelancers Should Prioritize to Prevail in 2025

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Taking on 2025

Well, here we are! The trap door opened, we all fell in and like it or not, 2025 has us in its grip. When the inevitable obstacles and setbacks disrupt the flow you planned for your business venture, will you be caught in a whirling vortex of problems—or might you somehow regroup and win a skirmish or two? Better still, will Fortune smile and hand you a big victory this year? More than likely, however, 2025 will be a test of strength and strategy that feels like you’re in a triathlon (swim, bike, run); cross-training, so to speak, will be the best preparation to get your entity in shape to compete and win.

Political instability, compromised national borders, cybersecurity breaches, a metastasizing housing crisis, unrelenting armed conflicts boiling on three continents and wildfires burning in rural and metro areas of the U.S. are just a partial list of adversities troubling the global economy and working against your attempts to make an acceptable profit. The need to develop resilience—the ability to adapt and prevail over unexpected, often destabilizing, occurrences—will be a priority for Freelancers and other small business owners in 2025 (and probably beyond).

More than just surviving, resilience means developing the capability to respond well to unexpected, difficult, events. Resilience gives you the courage to accept sudden, radical change and realize that if it happens, you must take charge and quickly assess the new business conditions to figure out your next move and design a well-executed pivot that aligns your business with the new normal.

As we move into 2025, it’s clear that Freelancers and SMBs must be ready to adapt to a rapidly evolving landscape. By behaving proactively and building up resilience as a defense against economic uncertainty, you can position your entity to not only survive, but thrive, in the coming year.

Master the challenges

How will you prepare for the trends, challenges and opportunities that Freelancers could encounter in 2025? Your must-do list is unlikely to hold any surprises but nevertheless, the evolving economic and political circumstances, global and national, are bound to bring about a shift in the relevance and interpretation of What Matters Now. At the beginning of the year, Freelancers and SMBs will be wise to adopt a big-picture view of their entity and focus on how to remain viable over the next 12 months.

  • Review the pricing structure of products and services
  • Update marketing strategies
  • Identify potential new or niche markets
  • Analyze the company’s financial condition
  • Nurture client relationships
  • Revitalize networking, with goals of developing new relationships and finding new clients

Enhance your brand and be visible

A trusted brand is a valuable resource during times of uncertainty. Clients and prospects gravitate to Freelancers who inspire trust, based on their reputation (brand) and online presence. Beyond showcasing a well-presented portfolio, Freelancers should actively engage on platforms like LinkedIn, as well as join or host webinars, get invited to podcasts, teach workshops or classes related to your core professional expertise at local colleges, business associations, libraries, or other credible venues. It is also recommended that you author informative blog posts, as a guest blogger or on your own site, and share relevant industry insights on social media. In other words, establishing yourself as a thought leader will increase visibility, enhance your brand and attract high-value clients. Showcasing your most desirable skills and competencies can help attract potential clients more effectively.

Social media platforms, most notably LinkedIn, which was designed for professional networking, is an excellent tool for staying in touch with past clients, posting articles you’ve written and connecting with others in your industry. Staying active on the right platforms can increase your visibility and encourage client acquisition.

 Optimize workflow by investing in AI-powered tools

As you grow your client list, you may at times find yourself juggling multiple projects. It’s the realization of your goal, but feeling overwhelmed and stressed can result. You can more efficiently manage your projects, instead of the projects managing you, by using one (or more) online productivity tools to streamline your workflow. From video communication platforms like Microsoft Teams and Goto Meeting to project management platforms like Asana and ClickUp, the right online tools will help to expedite your workflow. Incidentally, familiarizing yourself with one or more popular software tools can make you appear more competent, and therefore more marketable, to those clients who, all things being equal, prefer working with Freelancers who are familiar with their company’s preferred in-house workflow platforms.

Moreover, Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing how Freelancers work in every industry—graphic designers can use AI to generate initial concepts for marketing materials they’ve been hired to create; copywriters can identify the most popular keywords to include. Marketers can discover copywriting ideas and conduct content analyses, accountants and bookkeepers can automate routine tasks and direct their focus to high-value work that clients appreciate, such as strategic financial decision-making. Staying updated on the latest AI advancements and incorporating them into your workflow will ensure that you deliver faster and smarter solutions for your clients. You will be wise to do some research and incorporate AI into your business.

Learn and grow by seeking client feedback

To achieve success, Freelance professionals must use all available opportunities to build a healthy client list; part of the process is to invite post-project follow-up, that is, client feedback. Understanding what is or isn’t working for clients helps you evaluate in real time your business processes and ensure that they reflect client preferences. Feedback can also lead you to make updates to your services and/or products, or introduce new features, add-ons, or upgrades that clients will value and buy. Demonstrating your attentiveness to feedback supports your goal of building a robust and loyal client base, which is another strategy that promotes stability during uncertain economic times—you’ll have a cushion. As you know, providing the best product or service and presenting a client experience that distinguishes your organization from competitors is a critical component of long-term success.

With your final project invoice, make it a practice to send a short survey and invite the client to share his/her thoughts about the experience of working with you. Some remarks may make you wince, but uncensored feedback is the best way to become aware of weaknesses and, on the bright side, discover opportunities for further growth. You could even discover a niche market, if several clients let you know that they’d appreciate it if you’d provide an additional product or service.

Finally, not only will post-project feedback help you learn a great deal very quickly, but it’s also a great way to show clients that their satisfaction matters. Routinely inviting client feedback can also enhance your brand and make you more marketable.

Routinely request referrals

Politely asking a satisfied customer to provide referrals of those who may be interested in your products and/or services is good business. Referrals can be requested in different forms, from asking a former client to write a reference letter for you to casually inquiring whether a client has any contacts who could use your services or products. However you pose the question, take care to use proper tact and time your request wisely. Additionally, be specific about what you’re asking for and include an opt-out to avoid any potential awkwardness.

If you don’t feel comfortable asking for a referral, asking for an online review can be a great alternative. Whether it’s posted on the profile page of a social media site like LinkedIn or appears on a business ranking site such as Yelp or Trip Advisor, reviews are just as important for Freelancer professionals as they are for SMB owners.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo. Since its debut in 1934, the Pioneer Days Rodeo has ranked as one of the top five large outdoor rodeos on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit. Shown here is an image from July 2021.

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Freelancers Do the Side Hustle

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When a local small business owner and acquaintance of mine opened her second venture, a tiny breakfast and lunch place with a retro cool vibe that I love, she soon started “moonlighting” as a dinner service waitress three nights a week at a small artisanal pizza restaurant nearby. She burned the candle at both ends, finishing the waitress shift at midnight and crawling into bed at 1:00 AM, only to wake up at 4:00 AM to make the 45 minute journey to the wholesale restaurant market six days a week, to help her contain food costs and offer menu prices that customers would accept. It was exhausting, but Nicky was determined to pay her share of the debts from the failed first business venture in which she was a partner and also maintain adequate cash-flow in the new one, where she is the principal owner.

About three miles away from Nicky’s restaurant is Anthony’s, another tiny breakfast and lunch place that I love. A few years ago, Anthony told me that his venture’s cash-flow foundation is real estate. Some years ago, Anthony was able to buy the building where his restaurant is housed; upstairs over the restaurant are four apartments that command premium rents for his harbor-facing location.

Cathy, a former client of mine (who, sadly, passed away about three years ago), worked for three or four years as a Lyft driver, to build cash-flow that safeguarded her ability to make the weekly payroll and cover other expenses in her medical billing business (which her children sold). My friend Jackie, a fitness instructor and trainer, launched a boutique gym 20+ years ago, yet she continues to teach classes at a large, prestigious gym where she receives training and certifications in new exercise techniques that she passes along to her gym’s fitness staff so that her team has updated skills. Jackie is also able to now and again observe smart business practices used by her mega-gym employer that she can apply at her operation to improve her performance as fitness center owner and manager. Then there’s my friend Paul who once co-owned four outlets of a popular skin care franchise. To provide health insurance for himself, his wife and their four children, for many years Paul worked 20 hours/week as a FedEx delivery driver.

I also created a side hustle strategy to protect my business cash-flow. Until about three years ago, I periodically taught noncredit skills development workshops to aspiring entrepreneurs—business plan writing, sales skills training, marketing and networking skills—at a local school and at a business incubator that serves aspiring female entreprenurs. Unfortunately, pandemic related shake-ups torpedoed my access to both teaching positions but if an invitation is made, I’ll gladly return—and money is not my only motivation—I enjoy teaching! On the plus side, since 2016, I’ve been a contributing writer at Lioness Magazine, a globally distributed publication that’s targeted to female entrepreneurs.

So where are we going with this? You noticed that the recurring theme of these stories is how Freelancers and small business owners take action to strengthen their business cash-flow. Freelancers and small business owners can be dangerously vulnerable when it comes to financial security. Keeping an entity healthy throughout the inevitable ups and downs of the local or national economy or, in the B2B sector, protecting yourself from cash-flow crunches that can result if a client is late paying your invoice or worse, doesn’t pay at all, is an essential function of your risk management strategy.

The phenomenon once known as “moonlighting,” that is, working in a second (or third, or even fourth) job, and now called a side hustle, burst into the public discourse during the pandemic, when the economy as we knew it suddenly turned upside down and most jobs tumbled into a confusing transition. The shutdown resulted in the swift closure of numerous restaurants and fitness centers and was soon followed by waves of lay-offs and bankruptcies that are ongoing, especially in the tech and retail industries.

Life gradually returned to what’s called “the new normal” and markets rebounded and stabilized, on paper anyway. Contrary to the many glowing reports of a low unemployment rate, subsiding inflation and millions of jobs that are unfilled (and, allegedly, looking to hire qualified candidates), many Americans are experiencing a different reality and the desirability of earning extra income has taken hold. The popularity of the side hustle economy has continued to grow, publicized by rideshare giants Lyft and Uber and fueled by financial pressures felt by both independently and traditionally employed workers.

Recent data confirms that side hustles are on the rise and here to stay, with CBS News reporting that nearly half of America’s workforce has a secondary source of income or their own side hustles. Surprisingly, according to Side Hustle Nation, side hustles aren’t exclusively for the financially challenged—the 2024 Side Hustle nation survey found that more than 40% of participants have household incomes that exceed $100,000 and 78.4% stated that they aren’t struggling to make ends meet.

The changing societal zeitgeist gives today’s Freelancers and SMBs the greenlight to radically reframe their feelings and expectations toward “moonlighting,” with its former connotations of operating in secrecy in order to rustle up money needed to supplement an insufficient income, to a potentially impactful revenue stream that could surpass mere cash-flow support and extend into financing new business ventures or other investment. For today’s Freelance professionals and SMB owners, a side hustle can translate into a unique growth opportunity but to make the strategy work, the side hustle must be managed with intention. Proper structure, planning and assessment are required. If you are Freelance professional or SMB owner considering the enhanced security that can be provided by a good side hustle, here are six steps to take to help make your side hustle worth your time and effort.

  1. What’s in it for you? As you’ve seen, the side hustle economy gets lots of publicity and the noise may get you thinking—is there an opportunity for you? Life continues to get more expensive and also, extra money is an essential resource when one has financial or entrepreneurial goals. You might see a side hustle as a vehicle to pay off debt, finance your retirement, or build capital to launch a start-up. Then again, you could be motivated by a basic need or desire to supplement your Freelance or other business revenue or your W-2 paycheck. There are also those who harbor the goal of building out a promising side hustle that will become a full-time business venture and replace their current employment. Before you focus on what might be your most promising side hustle, however, you would be wise to clearly define your motivation.

2. What are your marketable skills and are they expert-level? Once you’ve made an uncensored examination of your interest in launching a side hustle, make an accounting of your potentially marketable skills and evaluate what customers might be inclined to pay you to do. For example, might your knack for graphic design open doors to projects such as designing wedding invitations, or perhaps creating marketing and sales materials? Talented writers might parlay that competence into a Freelance editing side hustle. If you were born with a green thumb and can keep blooms popping, from crocuses in early spring to chrysanthemums in late autumn, then window box and garden management may be the side hustle for you. Be aware as well that it’s a valuable competitive advantage to invest in your side hustle skill with training that upgrades your expertise. Certifications, degrees and experience (communicated by customer reviews) can be posted on your website and social media accounts to increase the confidence that prospects have for you. Skills training helps you stand out against competitors and can increase customer demand, grow your client list, justify premium pricing for your services and ultimately, position your side hustle to earn more money, faster.

3. What will success look like? It’s important to align your side hustle’s driving purpose with your marketable skills that a critical mass of customers will pay to receive and also fit your definition of financial success. This is about managing expectations—will the side hustle you have the skill set to get paid for earn you enough money to make it worthwhile doing? For example, you may want to become a piano teacher but research of the most respected teaching qualifications, or your access to potential students, may not support either the price you’d like to charge for lessons or the billable hours you’re likely to get. You may be able to tap a new market and improve access to students—maybe retired adults who want to revisit their childhood piano lessons?—but since you can’t charge your preferred price for lessons because you lack a certain qualification, so you’ll have to work harder and give more lessons. Basically, you must be honest about how much time and focus you care to devote to your side hustle venture and define your picture of success.

4. How disciplined are you? The side hustle will not get off the ground and fulfill expectations if you can’t make yourself put in the time and effort to make it successful. This seems obvious, but for some it may not be as easy as it seems. Before you invest significant money into developing your side hustle consider likely the time commitment, along with the necessary tools, equipment, relationships, training and administrative duties (marketing and bookkeeping, for example) it will take to launch and operate your venture and guide it toward your definition of success. Estimate the number of hours per week, with a realistic hourly service rate, it will take to make the thing worthwhile. Be brutally honest about the number of hours per week or month you can (or will) allocate to working a side hustle. BTW, as you calculate your estimated time commitment, do not even think about infringing on the time and focus needed to effectively do your day job.

5. Create milestones with timeline and success metrics. Operating a side hustle means lengthening your to-do list and spreading yourself thin, making it essential to be organized. Keep yourself on track and also alert yourself to what is or isn’t working by creating a simple and revealing tool—a timeline. At periodic intervals—monthly or quarterly will be good—over a 12 month period, it will be very helpful to track and assess Key Performance Indicators that demonstrate side hustle growth, or lack thereof. Look at billable hours worked, number of customers seen, revenue generated and business expenses to get the story of side hustle performance. Pay attention to prospects who don’t work with you to learn of some element you may want to adjust. It’s important to use a timeline to project what you think is achievable so that, as an entrepreneur, you are setting yourself up for success.

6. Course correct when necessary. You’ll quickly know if something is not performing as you’d hoped (like revenue generated), but the above-mentioned timeline will confirm the diagnosis with metrics. Along with defining your KPI timeline is to recognize what’s working and what’s not, so you can make corrections where necessary. The big-picture view is a revealing perspective. Take the time to consider why those who tell you no are declining to work with you—are you falling short somewhere? On the plus side, are existing customers referring new customers and/or writing good online reviews? Once a month or so, hunt for time in your very busy schedule to think about your side hustle for a couple of hours, just as you think about your Freelance consultancy or SMB. Know that it’s okay to periodically reevaluate and change course if necessary.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Shutterstock. Working as a fitness instructor or trainer has been a popular side hustle since the 1980s.

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Freelancers and SMBs Find Flexible Funding

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The year is drawing to a close and signaling forward-thinking Freelancers and small business owners that it’s time to consider goals and strategies that have the potential to advance your entity in 2025 and beyond. Your business goals will be shaped by the plans implemented earlier this year, and previously, but topics that may capture your attention could include workflow automation tools to optimize operational efficiency and a Customer Relations Management platform, to upgrade the performance of your inbound marketing funnel and also improve the customer experience and relationship-building activities your company presents.

Face2Face networking may also become a renewed priority in 2025, prompting you to pay attention to notices of local business association meetings and industry conferences. Creating and nurturing relationships, obtaining actionable information and continually honing your skill set make all the difference for B2B professionals.

It won’t take long to realize that the business building actions you’d like to take come with a price tag; the prospect of financing your SMART goals may be worrisome. If your budget estimate indicates that you could come up short of cash, you’re certain to feel discouraged. You may feel too uncomfortable to ask family or friends to lend money that will allow you to proceed with plans you are so excited to carry out. You may likewise feel uncomfortable, maybe even frightened, by the prospect of using credit cards to finance your business upgrades. Applying for a business loan is an obvious possible solution to a cash-crunch, but you’ve read depressing articles in business publications during the year and the message was clear—banks have pulled back on business lending and tightened eligibility requirements. It takes money to make money and being stuck in financial quicksand is not a condition you care to accept. So, what can you do to move forward?

It takes money to make money

Freelance professionals, SMB owners and start-up entrepreneurs are susceptible to challenges when in need of business capital; unfortunately, many lack the credit rating and other requirements that lending institutions demand, or they cannot rely on family, friends, or personal savings to become their funding source. More than half of SMBs in the US do not have a readily available source of funding to survive a cash flow crisis. A shortage of cash, whether the problem is an unexpected cash-flow glitch or an insufficient financial reserve fund, is a serious impediment to building and sustaining a successful business venture. In fact, almost 62% of businesses with annual revenues below $150,000 lack ready access to financing; a UK study found that 31% of SMBs have had to stop or pause an area of their business due to lack of financing.

Banks, the traditional source of loans for several centuries, continue their control of business funding decisions, when ever they approve or decline a loan application. In 2023, Forbes Magazine Advisor confirmed that banks remain a go-to source of funding, with 27 % of entrepreneurs surveyed citing that business loans are their primary source of financing. Still, it will come as no surprise to even casual observers of the start-up world that financial privilege—affluence—is another enabler of funding access. The 2023 Forbes Magazine Advisor survey also found that 20% of new businesses are funded by borrowing from family and/or friends and 17% are backed by the founder’s personal savings.

So how can modestly funded aspiring entrepreneurs pull themselves up by their bootstraps, as is so often recommended in America, and finance their entrepreneurial plan? As it turns out, exciting new options have arrived by way of fintech start-ups whose mission is to provide business funding solutions. These fintech entities are called neobanks and they proclaim to have greater lending capacities than traditional banks; several have been set up specifically with SMB loans in mind.

Rise of the neobank

A disruptive new presence in the banking and financial services sector is the neobank, a fintech company that provides financial services through a mobile app or website, including checking and savings accounts, budgeting tools and cash advances. Because neobanks don’t carry the costs associated with maintaining branch offices, they can offer lower fees and higher interest rates on savings accounts.

Those looking to do business with neobanks must realize is that fintech lenders are not actually banks and they are not chartered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. In order to provide certain of their products and services, perhaps most importantly guaranteeing that customer deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the neobanks must partner with chartered banks.

Found, a U.S neobank launched in 2019, partners with Piermont Bank to offer FDIC-insured business checking accounts that provide services that are attractive to Freelancers, including automatic expense categorization, built-in invoicing and tax calculation, plus the ability to auto-save and set aside money to pay taxes. When Freelancers hire subcontractors, Found enables you to manage their tax forms and pay them with no fees. Chime is the leading fintech neobank and partners with The Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank to provide bank and credit accounts. Chime markets itself as a (mostly) no-fee option for customers—no minimum balance requirement or monthly maintenance fees, no overdraft fees and there’s free ATM access – customers can access over 60,000 in-network ATMs for no fee, which you can locate through the Chime app.

As neo-banks expand their penetration in the under-served and hungry SMB market, their success has encouraged other, much larger, players to enter the fray and now, some of the largest online marketplaces in the world have begun to offer financing to their merchants. Shopify Capital, Shopify’s financing service for its merchants, has lent more than $5 billion to small businesses. Loans have ranged from the low hundreds to $5 million. The Amazon Lending platform for sellers invites US sellers can apply for a loan up to $750,000, while UK merchants can apply for anywhere up to £2 million (around $2.6 million). While Amazon stopped underwriting its own loans in the US and UK earlier this year, it’s outsourced the process to third parties.

Overall, new ways of financing are increasing accessible, with neobanks and other fintech creative financing leading the way to support SMB owners, Freelancers and other small players who need an alternative financing approach to business lending. It is expected that as more Freelancers and other business owners become increasingly comfortable with emerging technologies, spurred on by the need for business capital whose access requirements are less stringent, will be willing to consider and eventually trust start the alternative neobank solutions as their primary business funding source.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © courtneyk | Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

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Making It As A Freelancer 2024-2025

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Whatever your motivation for entering the Freelance workforce, whether you saw a pathway to more money and/or autonomy or maybe you couldn’t get hired at a W2 job, you should be aware that the number of Freelance professionals and gig workers is growing at a fast clip and market saturation could be on the horizon. In 2023, there were 64 million Americans working independently and we are on track to become the largest share of the workforce, with a 2027 projected number a staggering 50%.

Freelancers who look to marketplaces such as Fiverr and Upwork have already seen evidence of competitors flooding the market and bidding (or under-bidding) as everyone competes for projects. It’s an uncomfortable thought, but you’ll fare better if you start taking steps now to stand out from the crowd. Intensifying competition increases the necessity to identify and promote your unique voice and personal brand. How can you differentiate?

You already know the answer—keep up your inbound marketing and focus on the services you provide and the results you deliver. Focus on your ability to give clients what they value most and communicate your value proposition and make it clear at every touchpoint. Optimize your website and LinkedIn profile to establish your online presence and digital footprint to attract clients. Furthermore, position yourself as a thought leader in your field by using Google’s algorithm guidelines as your recipe—Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness (EEAT).

Remember also the value of outbound marketing and identify useful tactics to source (and retain) clients and give yourself viable alternatives to the increasingly competitive, and sometimes frustrating, Freelance marketplaces. It will never hurt you to get some face time with potential prospects and those who might be able to refer you. Networking can be effective in any number of settings, business and personal, but be sensitive to pushing yourself onto people, which is a turn-off. If you can figure out where decision-makers for your skill set can be found, then that’s where you set your sights. It’s not only who you know, but who knows you, and that’s how you get contracts.

Top 10 Freelance jobs 2024

The trend toward Freelancing is impactful for all professionals, self-employed Freelancers and traditionally employed, and our reconfigured workforce has already disrupted the workplace we once knew. Freelancers especially need to know what is happening within this new workplace environment, so that you can respond in a way that makes sense—upgrading your skills or adjusting your services and marketing strategies and tactics, for example. Below is a review of the typical hourly billable rate you can expect to earn in one of the top 10 Freelance jobs, as reported on Salary.com, ZipRecruiter and Payscale:

  1. Freelance writer—$23.27/hour
  2. Editor—$32/hour
  3. Photographer—$37/hour
  4. Producer—$39.71/hour
  5. Freelance Director—$55/hour
  6. Translator—$20/hour
  7. Copywriter—$29/hour
  8. Graphic designer—$32.64/hour
  9. Creative director—$62.18/hour
  10. Camera operator—$36/hour

Emerging Freelance jobs 2024-2025

Impacted by mass layoffs, ghost job postings and the corrosive effect of inflation, the 2024-2025 job market is expected to remain challenging, a condition that’s predicted to lead increasing numbers of employers to hire Freelancers and workers to resort to Freelancing. Below are skill sets poised to dominate the Freelance marketplace in 2024 and beyond.

1. Virtual Assistant

The global virtual assistant market is growing fast and is expected to reach $15.7 billion by 2028.  VAs have become an important resource to drive business growth. The strategic use of VAs can produce heightened levels of efficiency and innovation for businesses, from streamlining operations to enhancing the customer experience. Furthermore, hiring VAs is significantly less expensive than hiring full or part-time employees.

The vast majority of Freelance VAs work from home, performing tasks such as coordinating calendars, responding to emails on behalf of clients, and/or performing other administrative work that enables the client to focus on work that only s/he can do. VAs often work with small businesses and even Freelance colleagues who need assistance handling administrative work, social media posting, or invoicing, for example.

Tech-savvy VAs are also in high demand and those skilled in technology and automation can earn $50-$75 per hour. Many businesses, schools or other organizations host online groups for customers or students and need VAs to keep these communities active, relevant and helpful. Businesses need help setting up and managing their digital tools and community management has become a growing niche.

2. AI Prompt Engineers

AI prompt engineering will continue to be a fast-growing specialty in 2024-2025 and as AI is further integrated into business processes, the skills of prompt engineers will become increasingly valuable. This emerging opportunity entails both technical expertise and creativity. Prompt engineers write instructions that guide AI systems to generate accurate and useful outputs. The job is about designing and refining input for text generators like ChatGPT, Bing, or Notion and text-to-image generators like DALLE-E, Designer’s Image Creator, or DreamStudio. Freelancers who’d like to enter the field must understand how these AI models work and how to communicate with them effectively.

Prompt engineering plays a critical role in guiding AI models, like Large Language Models, to produce desired outcomes based on specific inputs or requests. These professionals facilitate effective communication between the user and AI technology and the prompt engineer must develop the art of crafting targeted questions or instructions that direct AI to find and share the top on-point responses in real-time conversations. Companies are aggressively seeking prompt engineers to help perfect the functioning of their AI systems and they are offering high salaries, with some positions paying six figures.

To succeed as an AI prompt engineer, you’ll need excellent communication skills and a good grasp of natural language processing. Knowledge of programming can be helpful, but is not always required. Because the technology is new, to get started, you can take courses in AI prompt engineering to gain familiarity with and proficiency in the different AI tools. Building a portfolio of successful prompts is a great way to showcase your skills for potential clients.

3. AI Ethics Consultants

Artificial Intelligence Ethics specialists are in quite high demand as more companies use AI systems. Companies need experts to guide them through ethical challenges and the AI Ethics Consultant role is to promote the responsible use of AI and ensure that AI systems comply with established ethical policies and guidelines. You’ll conduct ethical impact assessments to identify potential bias and evaluate AI systems for fairness, transparency and potential harm. The AI Ethics Consultant also advises other team members on ethical implications and works with the legal department to guarantee that laws and regulations are followed. Furthermore, the AI Ethics Consultant develops guidelines for AI use, assists with company policy development and trains teams on ethical AI practices.

AI ethics is gaining attention and creating a positive employment outlook for AI Ethics Consultants. This specialty requires both technical expertise and ethical knowledge. You should understand AI systems and be able to recognize and remedy potential issues. To succeed in the field, stay updated on AI trends and ethical debates. Develop a strong network in the tech and ethics communities. Opportunities are available in consulting firms, research organizations, technology companies, government agencies and enterprise companies.

This role requires a bachelor’s degree in computer science, ethics, or philosophy and most employers will prefer a graduate degree. It is recommended that you obtain certifications in AI ethics to boost your credibility. Showcase your knowledge and status as a thought leader by writing articles or scheduling speaking engagements. The pay for this role can be substantial and AI Ethics Consultants typically charge premium hourly rates for their expertise.

4. Sustainability Engineers

Sustainability engineering will offer numerous opportunities to Freelancers in 2024 – 2025 and Freelance sustainability experts are in high demand in many industries. As businesses face pressure to become more eco-friendly, sustainability engineering skills will become increasingly valuable.

Companies are looking for experts to help them reduce their environmental impact and meet new regulations. This could include designing energy-efficient systems, developing waste reduction plans, or creating sustainable supply chains. Green building Freelance projects are available at architecture and construction firms and projects that help manufacturers switch to renewable energy sources are also expected to be plentiful. The services you provide will likely include carbon footprint assessments, environmental impact studies and sustainability strategy development.

To succeed in this field, a background in engineering and environmental science is required and being up-to-date on cutting-edge green technologies and sustainability practices is a must. Certifications in areas like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) will help you market yourself to potential clients and earn a respectable hourly rate. Up-to-date familiarity of environmental regulations and reporting standards is also valuable.

5. Online Course Creators

Education is becoming increasingly important in the Freelance industry and online is the preferred format, making online course creation a promising niche for Freelance work in 2024- 2025 and beyond. Freelancers need the skills and knowledge necessary to compete in a rapidly changing workplace that makes them feel compelled to update skill sets or learn new skills altogether. Experts are needed to create the courses they’ll enroll in.

Online course creators design educational content that typically includes videos, slide presentations, quizzes and other interactive materials and activities that make online learning more engaging. It is not required for online course creators to also be teachers; if you have expertise in a subject, consider leveraging your knowledge and developing a course. Popular topics include business, digital marketing and wellness. Maybe you could create a course on stress management or becoming more creative?

Many course platforms offer user-friendly tools to build courses. You’ll need strong writing skills to simplify complex ideas and make them understandable. To succeed, stay up-to-date with learning trends and technology. Networking with other course creators can help you discover where and how to find work opportunities. Payment for online course creation services can be per course or hourly and it may be possible for creators to also earn ongoing royalties from their courses. Still, it may make sense to use this opportunity as your Freelance side hustle.

6. Cybersecurity

Today, we share more information digitally than ever before and in ways that continue to evolve. Moreover the arrival of new technologies can open the door to cyber attacks and snafus reminiscent of the Crowdstrike incident. Remote and hybrid work are becoming the new standard in the U.S., as employees rebel against coming into the office. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 11.1% of companies offer a fully remote work environment and 27.5% of companies offer a hybrid work environment. With so many employees who WFH for some portion of the work week, the chance of a data breach increases and that means cybersecurity must be a priority. As a Freelance cybersecurity consultant, your primary responsibility will be to provide expert advice and solutions to clients in order to secure their digital assets from cyber threats.

Becoming a successful Freelance cybersecurity consultant requires that you gain work experience in a variety of cybersecurity roles such as network security, incident response and systems analysis to become exceptionally proficient in analyzing and managing serious security threats that may include threat hunting, compliance and cybersecurity architecture. Obtaining credentials such as Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) or Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is essential, as these qualifications confirm your knowledge and increase your credibility in the cybersecurity industry. In addition to earning the right qualifications, accumulating practical experience and building a strong professional network are also must-dos.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Photo by Megan Jamerson/KCRW March 15, 2024. Remote workers use Open Market in Koreatown as a shared office space during an event hosted by LA in Common. https://www.laincommon.com/

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Reinvent and Rescue Your Failing Business

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Those of you who follow astrology know that the planet Mercury is currently in retrograde meaning, as a result of an optical illusion, the planet appears to be moving backward in its orbit. Mercury began to retrograde on August 5 and the phase ends on August 28. The third and final Mercury retrograde of the year will occur November 25-December 15 (the first retrograde Mercury of 2024 was April 1- 25). All nine planets can appear to retrograde and it is said that when they do, the effect can scramble our best laid plans. For example, signing contracts is said to be ill-advised during retrograde Mercury (and also during retrograde Venus, Mars, or Jupiter). However, there is an upside associated with the downside of retrograde Mercury—you may be able to rectify what went off the rails.

Astrologers claim that Mercury is the planet most closely associated with business activities. You would never launch a business during retrograde Mercury (or retrograde Venus, Mars, or Jupiter), when the planet seems to be orbiting backward, because the venture would almost certainly fail—you want forward movement to get things rolling. Instead, astrologers advise you to use retrograde Mercury to figure out whether a failing enterprise can (or should) be rescued and is worth the effort and money needed for the resurrection.

The prefix re– conveys the spirit of retrograde and signals that it’s time to pause and reflect on what has transpired and anticipate how the outcomes might influence next steps. The ancient practice of astrology recommends using retrograde Mercury to revisit, reconsider, repair, recuperate, or reimagine what appears to be broken but, with careful reassessment and cost-effective reengineering, can be successfully rebuilt.

Oh, why not? Do not allow the heartbreak and frustration you feel as your dream of entrepreneurship crumbles convince you to abandon ship too soon. You owe it to yourself to discover what might respond to a well-executed pivot and put the remedy in motion.

Review what went wrong

Conduct a thorough post-mortem to reveal which factors caused the failure. Was it the product or service offered, or were you too far ahead of a developing trend? Did you overestimate the size of your target market, or become too optimistic about demand for your offering? Were there operational problems that, e.g., interfered with product manufacturing or delivery, or was cash-flow the problem?

A comprehensive review of financial statements, sales data and customer feedback will help you recognize the glitches. With an accurate diagnosis of what has not been working, you can redirect your focus and develop a reinvention strategy.

Rethink the business model

A business model describes how the venture will make money—methods the company will use to sell the product or service to customers and how the business will drive sales, for instance. A business model also determines the type of products and/or services that make sense for the company to sell and how to effectively market and brand those products or services. The will identify the ideal customers the company should aim to capture, the depth of customer demand and anticipated operational and selling expenses. Miscalculations in the business model planning are almost certain to eventually result in unmet revenue expectations. Appropriate market research is the remedy for an ineffective business model. Study direct competitors and industry trends.

Reconfirm customer demand

Understanding your target customer’s needs and priorities is integral to start-up success, so obtaining psychographic data will help you clarify what is essential to them when they shop in your product category. Whether or not your business failure was a lapse of product-market fit, identifying and then learning how to communicate your offering’s value proposition is a key component of brand-building and achieving sales revenue goals. An insufficient product-market fit results in the product or service failing to resonate with prospective customers and results in weak demand.

Revisiting the buyer persona of your ideal target customer will also be instructive. Let your market research lead you to identify the right customer, the right product-market fit and just maybe, reveal a niche target audience with a readjusted offering, that differentiates you from competitors and paves the way to a loyal customer base that is your springboard to sustainable growth.

Reassess pricing

Pricing problems limit sales revenue, whether you’ve priced too high or too low. Incorrect pricing is often implicated in cash-flow and revenue difficulties. Get your bearings by researching three or four competitors to verify the price tolerance range for your product or service category and get an idea of how you might readjust your pricing—and maybe customer payment options, too. Being flexible and creative with how customers can purchase and pay for products and services—on your website, on social media, on consignment, with free delivery—can boost sales and build your customer base. But first, do your price comparisons to ensure any new pricing is competitive and fits your market tier and brand, whether luxury, midlevel, or economy.

Reexamine the sales strategy

Again, make it easy for customers to do business with you, whether you are a bricks & mortar shop, sell on line, or offer your wares through a subscription service. Also, shipping and delivery should be easy and priced at a level that customers accept.

Furthermore, inefficient or cumbersome business procedures can drain time and resources away from serving customers and growing the business. Investigate technology—marketing, financial, operational— to simplify workflows, delegate tasks, improve organization, speed up processes and reduce expenses associated with day-to-day operations.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © iStock for TheSchoolRun. The solar system.

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Give Me A Break!

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Ambitious people work hard. Their to-do list is too long—and they wouldn’t have it any other way. They are achievers and they have mountains to climb. They are always flat-out crazy busy and cannot afford to waste a single moment. Working hard, working smart (hopefully) and working nonstop defines being productive, as they see it. Productivity is the engine of ambition. To the hard-working ambitious, this is a no-brainer, right?

It seems that many, if not most, ambitious people buy into this mind-set. To show the world (and themselves) that they are not slackers, they may brag about sleeping just four or five hours at night, because they have so much work to do. Others brag about waking up at 5:00 AM, so that they can wring as much productivity as possible from the day. Working 10 or 12-hour days and maybe skipping lunch, too, is standard behavior for members of the Hard Working Club; even vacations can include a Dropbox file filled with documents to review and a list of emails destined to populate their send file.

If the above scenario describes you, please know that I admire your ambition, work ethic and determination to succeed. To keep you on your path, I respectfully offer an observation—in order to sustain your ability to work hard and smart and maximize your productivity so that you can take aim at the ambitious goals you want to achieve, you must effectively manage your energy, concentration (i.e., focus) and endurance, mental and physical. Proper management of energy has nearly as much impact on productivity as the time spent working on your task.

Recall an instance when you finally had time to work on a task that was hanging over your head, but you put it off because you were too unmotivated or exhausted to do it. What your brain and body were telling you was that every once in a while, it is beneficial to stop working and rest. Rest periods—breaks—during your working day are more powerful than you might realize. In fact, rest breaks can improve productivity because they allow you to replenish your physical and mental energy.

A period of at least 10 minutes, during which you stop working and engage in a restorative activity (or inactivity) helps your body and mind to relax and refresh. Fatigue undermines concentration, creativity and endurance. Ignore that reality and you can find yourself unable to focus or perform well. Habitually pushing yourself to work through fatigue is not a sign of discipline or determination. Ignoring your human needs is counterproductive and can lead to burnout, a condition associated with unfortunate physical and psychological consequences.

By contrast, taking short breaks throughout the workday will restore your energy and help you maintain the physical and mental endurance needed to maximize your productivity. Taking breaks also supports the healthy self-regulation of your emotional state and behavior—that is, your mood—to promote positive interactions with others. When over-tired, we are vulnerable to responding to others in ways that are reactive—brusque or irritable—and we’re prone to taking frustrations out on others.

So, to stay at the top of your game, take a few micro-breaks throughout the day. Those respites can be as brief as 10 minutes in duration, but they matter. Just as micro-stresses might accumulate at work, micro-breaks can help you counter the negative effects. Below are examples of how and when you can incorporate restorative, productivity-enhancing breaks into your crazy busy workday.

1. Give yourself permission to take breaks.

Challenge the assumption that you’re too busy to take a break—you can’t afford to not take a break! Instead of leaving it to chance that you’ll find a few random minutes to squeeze in the rest you need, be as intentional about restoring your energy as you are about working hard and being productive. When you get into your car to begin a journey, you must have fuel in the tank. Taking a break during your workday is like going to a filling station to get the fuel needed to reach your destination.

2. Schedule breaks and set reminders.

Schedule blocks of time during the day when you’ll step away from work-related activity and do something that allows your mind and body to relax, so that you can replenish your physical and cognitive energy. You can let your biorhythms guide your break time and schedule a rest period when science predicts that your energy is at its lowest — in mid-to-late afternoon.  Research shows that our energy is typically lowest at around 3:00 P.M. You might try giving yourself 15-minute breaks at mid-morning and mid-afternoon, plus a 30-60 minute lunch break. Adjust the timing as you see fit.

If you’re inclined to get lost in your work and ignore the physical or cognitive hints that signal it’s time to rest a few minutes, install a pop-up alert on your desktop or phone to encourage you to stop working for a few minutes. Having a visual cue on your workspace screen, maybe a coffee mug, or an image of someone walking a dog or in a yoga pose, is a practical and entertaining reminder that break time has arrived. There are several apps designed to do this and some are free.

3. Build on bio breaks.

The breaks we must all take are the bathroom breaks. You can build an add-on to one or more of your bio breaks by “stacking,” that is, developing a new habit by attaching it to an existing habit or behavior. So, after your bio break, add your preferred relaxation or exercise activity. In this way, you pair something you want to do (or should do), with something you must do, such as visiting the bathroom. After your bio break, it will feel easier to transition to a 10–15-minute break that you devote to practicing deep breathing, meditating, climbing a stairwell or, for a longer break, taking a walk or run.

4. Batch email and other communications.

It can be tempting to use a few spare minutes when you have them to quickly respond to email or Slack messages, to make what could be an avalanche of mail more manageable. Yet, blocking out specific times in your workday for responding to emails is not only an efficient use of time, the practice also makes it easier to develop the habit of scheduling time exclusively devoted to breaks that do not include some form of work. It is in your interest to enable yourself to periodically relax and refresh, to sustain your energy and work at peak productivity.

5. Maintain meeting boundaries.

If possible, do not allow yourself to be trapped in meetings that exceed their allotted time frame (admittedly, this is easier to enforce when you preside at the meeting). If you are not the convener or meeting leader, be proactive about defending your boundaries by communicating in advance that you have another commitment that follows the meeting and therefore, you must observe the adjournment time indicated on the agenda and make your exit. Setting the expectation from the start that you will leave a meeting on time subtly encourages other attendees to be sensitive to the need to adjourn promptly.

It’s imperative to exert control over your time. When meetings exceed their projected adjournment time it can cause you to join your next meeting late, which is disrespectful and possibly disruptive to those attendees. Moreover, being late adds stress to your day. Most people will appreciate your stated intention to leave the meeting when the expected conclusion time arrives because respecting time often benefits them as well. In the event that you arrive late to your next meeting, spending just 15 seconds to take three deep breaths can help you focus, feel more prepared and be fully present.

6. Your go-to routine for unexpected breaks.

When possible, take advantage of unexpected breaks that occur when a meeting adjourns early or, conversely, starts late. Whether you listen to music, stretch your neck and roll your shoulders, or engage in a breathing exercise, creating in advance an easy to do and remember relaxation routine will allow you to use unanticipated breaks to your advantage. When it happens, embrace the serendipitous gift of time and use it to reduce stress and replenish your energy.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Bettmann Archive, Lunch Atop a Skyscraper photographer unknown, September 1932. Iron workers take a lunch break 800 feet above West 49th Street during the construction of NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

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On Avoiding A Cash-Flow Crisis

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On any given day, a Freelancer or small business owner might find him/herself in the suffocating grip of a possibly game-changing marketplace challenge. Anything from flood-producing rains to a wily competitor can cause customers to vanish and profit margins to shrink. It’s a nightmare scenario and, obviously, you must do whatever possible to avoid the problem. Stepping up your marketing with a clever campaign and catchy message, to nurture customer relationships and promote your brand, may be an effective response but be aware that money has a role that goes beyond the well known advantage of being a defense against disaster. 

An effective defensive strategy is about more than simply having enough money to outrun your problem. The key to handling money is to treat it as an asset and take steps to manage your cash by following its flow through your business. Do that by studying your sales revenues and accounts receivables, that is, money that flows into your business and also your accounts payable, meaning, the money spent on business expenses such as rent, utilities, payroll and inventory. 

The benefits of vigilant cash-flow management practices are not to be underestimated. According to 2023 data produced by Minneapolis, MN based U.S. Bank, poor cash management and insufficient cash-flow are implicated in 82% of business failures. Poor cash-flow shows its teeth in several ways, including:

  • Cash-flow gaps A cash-flow gap is a frightening emergency that occurs when a business pays expenses, for example, inventory or supplies, but does not receive the expected inflow of money within a reasonable time-frame. A shortfall is a warning that the business needs more cash, in a hurry. Maybe you’re waiting for a customer or two to pay invoices? Consistently expanding cash-flow gaps undermine working capital that can leave your business strapped financially, potentially putting it in a dangerous position if not addressed.
  • Managing seasonal revenue fluctuations  Seasonal businesses frequently face significant cash-flow challenges. A typical example is that of restaurants that operate in summer resort locations. During the peak season of Memorial Day (last week in May) through Labor Day (first week in September), these restaurants welcome an endless stream of customers, who pack the premises and overwhelm staff. Revenues are robust while the peak season lasts but in the off-season, greatly diminished revenues can trigger cash-flow gaps that cause the business struggle to maintain financial stability.
  • Opportunities beyond reach Expecting the unexpected, being agile and ready to act, is among the most valuable leadership qualities of a business owner, whether it’s the owner of a neighborhood dry cleaner to the CEO of a multi-national conglomerate. A business needs to be in a strong financial position to take advantage of interesting opportunities as they arise, whether that’s buying out a competitor, opening a new location, or launching a new product—the ability to act quickly usually makes all the difference. Without sufficient available cash, your growth and expansion plans will be hobbled, causing you to miss the boat on potentially lucrative opportunities.

Loans and credit cards are not the only options

When looking to resolve a cash shortfall, many business owners think of contacting their bank to discuss options for a business loan or credit card. Your business banker is there to support you in many ways but finding a solution to your cash crunch might more logically begin with your bookkeeper or accountant. S/he may not warm to the idea of you taking on debt associated with a loan or an increased line of credit; s/he may be more inclined to recommend that you become more vigilant about your entity’s cash management and make a modest investment in a cash management software package instead.

The power of cash management: cash-flow and forecasting

The purpose of cash management is to ensure that your business is able to pay expenses (accounts payable). Cash-flow management tracks how much money enters the business bank account—e.g., through sales revenue, accounts receivable payments, interest from investments—and leaves the business bank account for accounts payable. Cash management procedures position your business to both monitor expenses (and minimize or eliminate unnecessary expenses), make prudent financial decisions and, hallelujah, create and maintain a healthy cash reserve that will insulate your business from the financial instability. You’ll get your financial house in order and attain the means to pursue business opportunities that can further enhance financial stability.

Cash management software works by shining a light on money problems so that you can take corrective action in a hurry. Cash management software enables the user (you and/or your bookkeeper) to quickly and accurately monitor, analyze and pinpoint cash-flow problems. So, persistently late payments of customer invoices that cripple business cash-flow will be brought to your attention and signal that steps to speed up accounts receivables should be taken. Other cash-flow optimization benefits will likewise be made clear from the data that emerges from your cash management software, including the ability to accurately determine the amount of cash needed to cover accounts payable obligations and create a reasonable forecast of your entity’s future financial health.

Good cash management software will also have cash-flow forecasting capabilities to help you manage cash in the future, by creating “what-if” scenarios that let you evaluate various potential outcomes simultaneously. You’ll also be able to calculate expenses and ensure there is enough incoming cash to pay up. The best cash-flow management software will also have cash-flow forecasting capabilities to help you manage cash in the future and make the future of your business entity bright. Click link to learn how you can get started. https://www.trustradius.com/cash-flow-management

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Mother Counting Money, by Johann Georg Mayer von Bremen (Germany, 1813-1886)