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A Sponsor To Propel You Forward

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At almost every stage in life we can benefit from a mentor,  a special friend who has walked the road ahead of us and is willing to help us along by suggesting strategies for creating a successful journey,  choosing an alternate path,  or overcoming roadblocks.  Mentors encourage us,  challenge us,  guide and advise us.  They help us to recognize and evaluate career opportunities and consider the likely outcomes and consequences of our choices.

But when it’s time to move forward on goals,  one needs a different kind of relationship.  To shift into execution mode one needs a super-mentor,  a sponsor,  a well-connected advocate who believes in you and your potential.  Sponsors are influential and powerful people who have the clout to open doors,   make connections and recommend you for plum assignments and promotions.  They take an interest in you and your career,  but their chief role is to develop you as a leader,  a leader who will become an ally.  A sponsor sees furthering your professional success as a way to further their own and to give themselves bragging rights when you succeed.  Mentors prepare you to make a move; sponsors make it possible for you to realize your goals.

When considering who might make a good sponsor for you,  do not look for a role model to admire and emulate.  Look instead for a powerfully positioned rainmaker.  You seek not so much a friend,  as an ally.  Next,  make a brutally honest calculation of the value-added you can offer to your prospective sponsor.  Very rarely will a sponsor go out on a limb and call in favors to advance the cause of another without a powerful incentive,  which can be acting as the backer of someone who shows the ability to climb to the top.  This is a quid pro quo strategic alliance.  To attract a sponsor to open doors for you,  make that individual proud to be affiliated with you.  Exceed expectations,  meet deadlines,  hit a home run every time.  Furthermore,  you must be unfailingly loyal to your sponsor.  When he/she needs backup,   you are the first to stand up and deliver the ROI.

Where might a Freelance consultant find a sponsor?  Network in places where powerful people congregate.   Get involved with activities and work yourself up to earning a leadership role,  where your prospective sponsor can witness your enterprising ways,  ability to motivate and work with a team and ability to get things done.  A not-for-profit organization board,  fitness center or yoga studio,  or place of worship are all good networking venues.

Separate yourself from the pack by honing your communication skills.  Learn to excel in verbal communications,  interpersonal relationships and rapport building;  give excellent presentations;  sharpen your writing skills;  show empathy,  good humor and a willingness to collaborate.  People think that those who communicate exceptionally well are good leaders and smart (whether or not that is the case).  When you’ve identified prospective sponsors (there can be more than one),  work on developing a relationship and allow it to grow organically.

Time will be involved and much will depend upon mutual trust that develops and the boundaries of your prospect.  The clock may be ticking on your plans,  but if you are perceived as pushy,  the relationship will be lost forever.  What you want are opportunities to talk,  so you can let this individual know what you’d like to do.  You can even state that you’re looking for help.  The prospect will either offer the help,  or will not.  If that person does not come through,  either he/she has no influence in that realm,  or would rather not risk extending it to you.  Your prospective sponsor either values you or does not.

Tribalism matters.  Mentors and sponsors tend to bond with those who remind them of themselves and relationships often form within gender,  racial,  ethnic or religious categories.  Your communication skills,  when honed as advised above,  may help you to transcend boundaries.   Also,  in our increasingly global society,  your sponsor may decide that diversity will be advantageous when cultivating allies.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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5 Start-up Must-dos

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Peter Russo, Director of the Entrepreneurial Management Institute at Boston University,  wisely points out that avoiding mistakes is not quite the same thing as doing the right thing.  Avoiding mistakes is being on the defensive,  the yin side of the equation.  Doing the right thing is proactive,  on the offensive,  the yang side of the equation.  Here is Peter Russo’s list of essential must-dos for those who plan to launch a business venture.

1.   Know your goals for the venture.  “A lot of people see an opportunity without ever asking themselves what they’re doing it for.  Are you trying to make a quick buck?  Create a legacy?  Afford a certain lifestyle?  It’s critical that you know from the beginning what your goals are,  because everything else is going to revolve around that.”  Launching a full-time venture that is expected to grow exponentially and generate for the owners ever-expanding  profits is not always a goal.   Some people start a business to generate some income by leveraging a creative ability.  For many years my father,  who had a day job,  worked in a landscaping venture that was started by my mother’s uncle after he retired.  The two worked evenings and Saturdays for about 15 years.  My father and great-uncle understood that it was not practical to attempt to expand the venture into a full-time endeavor,  for any number of reasons and so they didn’t.  But they made money and that was their goal.

2.   Recruit and hire the best people.  “It sounds almost like a cliché to say that I’d rather have an A team with a B idea than a B team with an A idea.  The right team can fix a lot of problems.  If you don’t have the right team,  you don’t have much of a chance.  Get the best available people at the time.”  Hiring friends and family who need a job is not the way to staff your start-up.  You need experience and talent,  creative and resourceful professionals possessed of an excellent work ethic and who are a good cultural fit for the organization.

3.   Develop a forgiving strategy.  “Things are going to go wrong.  They’re going to be harder,  take longer and cost more money than you think.  You have to have a strategy to survive.  A lot of people put together a plan that will work only if everything goes right.  It’s not going to.”

4.   Be honest with yourself.  “Acknowledge shortcomings,  weaknesses and problems immediately.  Do not ignore them or try to talk yourself out of them.  Address them head-on.”  So if you have production problems,  distribution or quality control problems,  fix your system.  If business is distressingly slow,  then re-think your business model—do you have a viable concept?  Or might you have been too optimistic about market potential,  or your ability to enter and win customers?  Should you step up your marketing efforts?

5.   Commit to the business.  “You can’t really do anything significant without fully committing yourself to it.  A lot of people try to dabble.  They think they’ll do it part-time and see how it works out.  If you plan to be successful,   you have to commit.”  Refer back to #1—what are your goals for the business?  Plenty of people operate successfully as part-time caterers,  musicians,  wedding photographers/videographers,  website designers,  etc.  They start a business to generate some money by leveraging a creative ability.  It takes a great deal of energy,  discipline and focus to launch and sustain a part-time business while simultaneously working a full or part-time job.  You must commit to the business if it is to succeed.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

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Cosi Fan Tutte: Uber Achievers

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Hello again and welcome back to the list of suggested behaviors and activities that will help you achieve your 2014 wish list.  For the past three years I presented New Year’s Resolutions but this year,  you get to pick what you want to do.  I’m here to help you get what you want!  To do that,  I read up on motivational psychologist and Associate Director of the Motivation Science Center at Columbia University School of Business Heidi Grant Halvorson,  who writes for The Harvard Business Review.  Dr. Grant Halvorson is a highly successful professional,  but unlike many charmed individuals,  it is safe to say that she knows how she became,  and remains,  successful.   Here are the final four elements of her 201 1 e-book,  Nine Things Successful People Do Differently:

VI.   KEEP ON KEEPING ON: Be willing to commit to long-term goals and persevere in the face of difficulty.  Studies show that those who are able to put shoulder to the wheel and push through adversity obtain more education in their lifetime and earn higher grade point averages in school.  To help yourself along,  plan specific actions that when followed will bring you to your goal.  Devise a timeline for your action plan,  monitor the efficacy of strategies and reward yourself when important milestones are reached.

VII.  BUILD WILLPOWER MUSCLES: Our self-control muscle is like any other of our muscles.  When we don’t use it,  it eventually atrophies.  Use it or lose it! Give your willpower muscle a good workout by taking on small challenges that compel you to do something that perhaps you’d rather not,  e.g. taking on a home cleaning and organizing project.  Establish must-start and must-complete dates and then commit to them.   If you find yourself wavering and making excuses to put off the project—don’t!  Flex your willpower muscle and do some heavy lifting.  As you develop inner strength,  also known as self-discipline,  you’ll ready yourself to take on bigger challenges and achieve more life-changing goals.  It’s like training for a marathon by starting with 5K races.

VIII. DON’T TEMPT FATE: No matter how strong your willpower becomes,  it is important to always respect the inevitable fact that human beings have limits.  If you over-reach,  you’ll run out of steam or out of luck.  Avoid taking on more than one major challenge at a time if you can help it.  Do not be over-confident and bite off more than you can chew by setting obviously unattainable goals.  Successful people instinctively know what is in the realm of the possible and refrain from setting themselves up for failure.

IX.  FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WILL DO: …and not on what you will not do.  Research on thought suppression shows that trying to avoid a thought has the opposite effect and makes that thought grow larger in our minds.  The same holds true for behaviors.  By trying not to engage in a bad habit,  like smoking or eating junk food,  the habit becomes strengthened instead of broken.  Instead,  turn your thoughts toward implementing strategies that will bring you to your goal.

I hope that reading Dr. Grant Halvorson’s  Nine Things  helps you to acknowledge what you’ve been doing right all along.   As well,  I hope you’re able to identify the mistakes that have undermined you and that going forward,  you will develop successful strategies that pave the way to your most important goals.  Have a wonderful year.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Become An Uber Achiever

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Happy New Year!  Please accept my sincere best wishes for a happy and successful 2014.  As is customary,  I begin the year with information I consider to be motivational,  since a new year  (along with Spring)  suggests a fresh start.  In my first posts of 2011,  2012 and 2013,  I presented lists of suggested New Year’s Resolutions for you to adopt.  This year,  I invite you to choose the goal of your dreams and I’m pleased to pass along suggestions on how to make it your own.

You may have noticed that many highly successful people do not have a clear sense of how they manage to grab the brass ring time and again.  Often,  uber achievers do not have an awareness of what allows them to succeed or prevents them from failing.  How do certain mere mortals repeatedly gain the favor of the gods?

It is true that we all have a repository of certain attributes,  advantages,  competencies and talents: the natural salesman,  the math whiz,  the influential family.  Some may encounter a wise and powerful mentor along the way,  who guides them onto the right path,  keeps them out of harm’s way or gives them the heads-up about opportunities on the horizon.

Motivational psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson says in her book  Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals  (2011)  that research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not only because of the cards they hold,  but also because of what they do.  Halvorson has spilled the beans on what other behaviors makes the rich different from you and me  (with apologies to those who do not equate success with wealth):

I.    BE SPECIFIC: When setting goals,  be as specific as possible.  Knowing precisely what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there.  Furthermore,  identify and commit to specific actions that must be taken to reach your goal,  actions that leave no room for doubt about what must be done.

II.   CARPE DIEM: Achieving goals means recognizing and acting upon opportunities before they slip through your fingers.  Make sure that you don’t fail to ride a good wave because you didn’t bother to anticipate its possible arrival,  or because you were distracted by competing pursuits and dramas.  Open the door to success by planning to take real steps toward your goals.  Studies show that planning trains our brain to recognize and seize opportunities when they arise,  in that way increasing our chance of success by about 300%.  In other words,  plan to succeed.

III.  MONITOR AND MEASURE: Achieving goals requires regular monitoring of one’s progress.  Know your timeline and milestones and adjust your strategies and actions according to progress made.  Rewarding yourself for interim successes is a good idea.

IV.  REALISTIC OPTIMISM: Thinking positively about the likelihood of achieving your goal is enormously helpful in creating the conditions for success and sustaining motivation.  Nevertheless,  guard against underestimating how difficult it may be to get where you want to go.  Anything worth having is likely to require significant time,  planning,  sacrifice and persistence.  Daughter-in-law of the Prince of Wales,  mother of a future king of England,  Catherine Middleton used to be called “Waity Katy”.   Now she’s known as the Duchess of Cambridge!

V.   GETTING BETTER: Believing that you are able to reach your goal is imperative.  Equally important is believing that you can acquire  the ability to reach your goal.  In other words,  focus on acquiring whatever the building blocks of success may be,  whether that means learning new skills or developing relationships with those who can help move you forward.

I’ll be back next week with a few more building blocks for you to incorporate into your plan for success.  Have a great week.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Achieve Business Objectives With Facilitated Strategy Meetings

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Attracting and retaining customers and ensuring that an organization remains competitive in the marketplace are the primary responsibilities of for-profit and not-for-profit organization leaders.  Organizations run on revenue,  regardless of tax classification.  Every three to five years,  savvy leaders review their organization’s current state and the environment in which it operates,  the organizations’ customers,  the delivery of products and services,  the competitive landscape,  obstacles and threats to success and apparent opportunities and use that information to identify and prioritize goals that will set the organization on a path to a sustainable future.

It is imperative to create the conditions for a successful strategy planning or process improvement retreat/meeting.  The world has changed and there is no time to waste on possibly unproductive  “brainstorming sessions”  that may have sufficed in the past.  More than likely,  the results of the planning retreat are vital to the organization and it would be unwise to allow the winds of fortune or internal politics to control outcomes.

Engaging a professional meeting facilitator to guide your strategy planning or process improvement retreat will guarantee that participants will identify goals and objectives that are SMART  (specific,  measurable,  attainable,  relevant and timely)  and earn the support of mid-level managers and other key staff.   A facilitator allows all stakeholders to fully participate in the meeting,  rather than confining a key decision-maker to the role of meeting overseer and time-keeper.

The facilitator creates a positive meeting environment for the participants and lays the groundwork for teamwork and productivity.  He/she  keeps participants focused on the topic and momentum flowing.  Should a strong personality attempt to high-jack the agenda,  or if  the meeting somehow drifts off topic,  the facilitator employs techniques to re-establish focus without offending or squelching participant engagement and creativity.

A skilled facilitator knows how to bring forth the wisdom in the room.   He/she knows that most leaders already have the answers to the challenges their organization faces because they are its leaders.  They only need the right flow of energy to bring wisdom and good ideas to the surface.  If the group gets stuck,  the facilitator will help participants to consider the questions that should be asked,  which is another way to access the right answers.

One competency at which your meeting facilitator will be particularly adept is building consensus around a common vision and  priorities,  even if interpretations of these matters are divergent.  Helping opposing camps to listen to the reasoning behind the concerns and choices of the other side can lead to the discovery of a  “third way”,  alternatives that incorporate the key strengths of each viewpoint,  address what is important to each camp and allow the group to coalesce around this new hybrid approach.

Identifying long- and short-term goals that when implemented will grow market share;  overcoming business challenges;  improving service delivery and other process systems;  creating or more effectively utilizing competitive advantages;  and improving  bottom line profitability over the approaching 3 – 5 years is how organization leaders fulfill their responsibilities and behave like good stewards.  Contracting with a professional meeting and strategy planning facilitator ensures that leaders will meet these obligations and dispatch them appropriately.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The ABCs of Time Management

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Setting priorities and establishing boundaries are the heart of time management.  These behaviors are closely linked to productivity and the achievement of important goals and objectives.  There are inevitably instances when conflicting responsibilities and demands threaten to overwhelm us.  Deadlines loom.  Manipulative people scheme to insinuate themselves into our lives because they enjoy the attention and control.

Procrastination ushers in avoidance behavior that sabotages the fulfillment of obligations and may prevent us from reaching our full potential.  We may disappoint those who deserve our support.  The cold fact is that certain responsibilities and people are more important than others and we must be mindful of that reality when allocating the most precious resource we possess,  next to our health.

Julian Birkinshaw,   Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the London Business School and Jordan Cohen,   Productivity Specialist at the global firm PA Consulting Group,  have  spent the past three years studying how knowledge workers can become more productive.  The two found that knowledge workers spend 41%  of their time on discretionary activities that don’t necessarily bring much value.   To make the most our time,  it is not enough to merely draw up a to-do list and throw oneself into as many items as hours and energy allow.   It is necessary to give some thought to the implications and potential impact of what must be done,  as well as the consequences of failing to do it.

In his 1973 time management classic How to Get Control of your Time and Your Life,  Alan Lakein recommended that we evaluate each task by establishing SMART — specific, measurable, achievable,  realistic and timely- — goals when deciding where to devote our time and what to do first.

SMART goals are used to rank and label what we must do as an A,  B,  or C task.   A-level tasks /goals are the most important.  Lakein says A-level tasks are where one devotes 80%  of available time.   The remaining 20%  of available time will be divided between the B-level and C-level tasks,  with C-level tasks receiving the smallest percentage of time.

To achieve important goals and objectives and in general accomplish whatever it is you intend to do,  make a to-do list and start with A-level tasks.  Lakein emphasizes that in order to get beyond mere efficiency,  in which a laundry list of essentially unimportant tasks are completed,  and on to productivity,   we must understand and do what is most important.   He urges us to work smarter,  by doing what brings value-added and not harder,  by frittering our time on busy-work that could either be ignored or out-sourced.

Birkinshaw and Cohen suggest that we sort the C-level tasks into three groups:  quick kills,  meaning it’s possible to discontinue these tasks with little or no negative consequences;  off-loads,  meaning what can be delegated or out-sourced;   and long-term redesign,  meaning projects that need to be restructured or re-thought before they can be assessed for value-added potential.   The idea is to make more time available for A-level tasks or leisure activities that allow us to re-charge our energy stores,  relax and enjoy ourselves.   Work – life balance is an important component of quality of life,  preventing burn-out and enabling us to operate at our productive and creative peak.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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You Are the President

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Today is Election Day in the US and an 18 month long  (or thereabouts)  presidential campaign will finally draw to a close.  I take voting seriously and view it as both a right and a responsibility.  It is only in the past 50 years or so that true voting rights were extended to the general population.  For 150 years,  only land-owning males of Euro-American descent who were literate in English were eligible to vote.   As a result,  the vast majority of citizens have been unable to vote for most of our history.  Vestiges of restrictive voting laws linger today, unfortunately.  For example,  why isn’t Election Day a paid holiday for all workers,  full-time,  part-time and contract? 

In our last episode,  I left you with a cliff-hanger and promised to take a look at what is most likely the most important part of your Personal Presidential Campaign.  Dear readers,  that would be relationships.  Pay particular attention to whom you know and who knows you.  Business is political and politics is all about relationships.  Identify and affiliate with organizations that will bring you into contact with people you need to know.  That could mean the chamber of commerce,  house of worship,  nonprofit organization board,  or a fitness center.   Figure out where the right people congregate and then evaluate where you will have the best chance of access and acceptance.

Something else you can do: search your VIP’s name and you might discover that he/she will speak at a local conference.  Be there if it’s open to the public and within your budget.  If you’re able to attend,  take notes on the presentation so that you can ask a good question during Q & A.  Your intelligent question will pave the way for a post-talk conversation that will set the stage for relationship-building.

Along the way,  you must also get a handle on what you can offer the VIPs you want to bring into your camp.  Objectively evaluate what it is about you that higher-ups will appreciate.  Maybe you have a skill that nonprofit boards covet  (beside check-writing ability):

  • Are you a silver-tongued salesperson,  who might therefore be an adept fundraiser for the VIP’s favorite charity?
  • Do you possess the  excellent organizational skills that would make you a key player on an event committee?
  • Can you build a website or put together an e-newsletter?

Or maybe you know an influential person or two and you can connect your VIP to someone he/she would like to know?  Whatever it is that you can do,  discern your value-added and work it,  even if it’s helping out with crossword puzzles.

Social media can also play a role in your relationship-building strategy.  If your VIP has a Twitter feed,  definitely sign up to follow and eventually join the tweets and re-tweets.   If LinkedIn is your thing,  resist the temptation to right away ask your VIP to join your network.  Be more subtle and try to find out if you have any connections or groups in common.   If so,  tap your common connections to obtain some useful background info.   Follow group discussions to see if your VIP participates.  If you can intelligently add to discussions in the common groups then do so,  as your VIP could be following and it could be an opportunity to look good.  You can do the same in the general Answer forum.

In closing,  please know that I do not advise you to coldly manipulate those people whom you feel will be useful to your ambitions.  To the contrary.  Relationships must be a two-way street and win-win is the goal.  Take the time to build authentic relationships and provide value to others as you campaign to be the President of your professional life.

Thanks for reading. Cast your vote.

Kim

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Campaign for President

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I am rather a political junkie and pride myself on keeping up with important local,  national and sometimes international elections.  On Tuesday November 6,  those of us in the US will cast our votes for President in the culmination of a contentious and mind-bogglingly expensive race for the White House.  There are also a few important Senate races to resolve as well.

Dorie Clark  (no relation),  corporate strategy consultant and adviser to the gubernatorial campaign of MA Governor Deval Patrick and the presidential campaign of Howard Dean,  says that business owners and executives should pluck a few lessons from electoral politics to better position themselves for business and career success.

Clark urges those of us in leadership positions  (and every Freelancer is a leader)  to  observe and follow the behavior of the best politicians,  from Lyndon Johnson to Ronald Reagan: set clear and reasonable goals;  identify and cultivate supporters;  build and exercise influence;  and execute relentlessly to achieve your ambitions.  You may not be running for public office,  but it’s a smart idea nonetheless to manage your career as if you were campaigning for president.

First,  choose a professional goal.  If you find it advisable to alter your goal down the road,  that’s OK;  you just need to propel yourself forward and start your campaign.  Those in business most likely want  to earn more money and that may mean acquiring more clients who dole out lucrative contracts.   So maybe your prime objective will be to sign three Fortune 100 clients,  to support the goal of accessing higher paying and more prestigious projects that enhance your brand and your bottom line.

However,  you may eventually decide that your organization is not ready to pursue Fortune 100 clients.  Instead,  you shift your sights to Fortune 1000 clients,  because that is more realistic for you.  The point is,  you’ll position yourself to sign clients who can offer bigger budget projects and maintain your goal of enhancing both your reputation and your revenues.

Next,  set important milestones for your campaign.  A presidential candidate is advised to win the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary because performance there impacts future campaign success.  Candidates who succeed in those races vastly improve their chance of reaching the White House.  What interim projects can you pursue and win,  projects that when on your CV will persuade bigger clients to  trust your expertise and feel comfortable enough to hire you?

While you work on getting yourself into some stepping stone projects,  take a look at your skill set,  your personal and professional network and your marketing materials.  Identify and resolve any gaps and need for upgrades.  Observe those who have arrived at the place you want to be and check out their skills,  education level,  marketing materials,  relationships,  professional organizations,  etc.  Fill in as many missing elements as possible.

Make an action plan and hold yourself accountable by attaching dates.  Maybe you should become a better public speaker or obtain a certain professional credential? Maybe there are books, blogs or magazines you should read to stay current in your business (or that of your target clients)?  Find out when and where the course will be offered and its cost.  Enter registration dates into your calendar.  Budget the money.  Visit the library or book store.

Next week,  we’ll take a look at what may be the most important component of your presidential campaign.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Business Planning Resolutions for 2012

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This week we’ll consider where you’d like to take your business,  what you’d like it to look like and how you’d like it to operate.  Every journey has a destination or goal.  The journey of your business should not be random;  it deserves careful thought and planning.  Reserve some quiet time to think about the journey of your Freelance venture.  You may want to start by reviewing where you’ve been.

Which kinds of clients and assignments give you the most fulfillment?  Which let your talents shine and/or bring in the most money? What competencies have you learned along the way?  What has taught you to become wiser and more confident?  What were your successes and what would you like to do better next time,  or maybe avoid altogether? Take stock and make a plan for the New Year.

Resolve to develop business goals and strategies

This sounds obvious,  but we all know that it’s very easy to get totally caught up in just trying to find clients and get paid,  getting tunnel vision.  We become like the hamster in a wheel,  busy–busy running in circles,  without giving adequate thought to our actions and following a road map.  As a result,  we can be going nowhere fast.

Start this year by nurturing yourself and taking time to reflect on what has transpired over the past year or two and acknowledging how you feel about it.  Did you set goals for your business? Were they realistic for you?  Which goals did you achieve and how did that occur?  Re-evaluate the direction it makes sense for your business to take and brainstorm strategies that you can enact  (alone or with the help of colleagues)  to bring it there.

Planning is the only way to create a successful business venture.  Set your direction and develop SMART goals :  Specific, Measurable,  Attainable,  Realistic and Time-bound.  Next devise strategies,  the path you will take to reach the goal.  Follow through with action plans  (with dates attached),  to keep you moving forward and on schedule.  Revisit your goals in three months and assess what is working,  what needs tweaking and what should be jettisoned.

Resolve to reaffirm your business model

The business model is the framework by which the business functions as a business:  the products and services that are offered;  by what methods,  in what location and by whom products and services are delivered to customers;  how the business will attract and retain customers;  the length of the sales cycle;  and how and when payment for products and services will be made.  Is your business model operating effectively?  In 2012,  take steps to ensure that your operation functions like a well-oiled machine.

For Freelance consultants,  the system of outreach to potential clients is often a sticking point.   Periodic review should be given to the products and services offered and how they are packaged,  presented, delivered and priced.  Talking with trusted clients is a good way to get feedback on your business model.  If you’re a LinkedIn member,  visit the Answers Forum and put questions out to your peers.  You will likely receive much useful information.

Finally,  review how you typically obtain clients and prospects.  Do you solicit them  (and how that happens),  do they find you  (and how that happens),  or do colleagues make referrals and introduction?  Which method has the best conversion rate?   What is the profile of organizations that have become your best clients over the past three years? Use what you learn about all of the above to buff up your business model and set the stage for a more profitable 2012.  New Year’s Resolutions will conclude next week.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Seven Resolutions for 2011 Part 1 of 2

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Happy New Year!  You had to see this coming,  so here we go with the resolutions.  We’re at the top of the year and it’s a time-honored tradition to look forward and plan to succeed.  I hope the list that I’ve pulled together inspires you to get busy.

1.   Set financial goals  

Whether you’re 35 or 55,  financial goals are a must.  Establishing these goals as a Freelancer presents a  unique challenge,  because our incomes are often neither predictable nor secure.  A fickle revenue stream makes adequate planning even more of an imperative.  We must get our arms around the money thing and take as much control as possible.  Our ability to live a comfortable life throughout our lives depends on it.  The idea is to avoid going broke,  especially in the elder years.  Those with a  steadily employed spouse have a huge financial advantage,  while those who are single or married to a fellow Freelancer have more variables and hence  a more challenging mountain to climb.  Consider what you want your balance sheet to look like in five years and make an appointment to discuss your financial wish list with your accountant.

2.   Develop a budget  

You may be expert at monitoring and tracking expenses,  but developing a budget encourages one to anticipate the year’s fixed and variable financial obligations,  as well as revenue that is likely to be generated.  One budgeting objective can be to prepare for the inevitable peaks and valleys in a Freelancer’s revenue stream.  When do you typically bill the most hours and when the least?  Which annual conferences do you like to attend,  when and where are they held and what is the cost?  Where and when is it (or might it be) advantageous to advertise?  Have you been mulling over the idea of making upgrades in certain of your marketing materials?  What about your credit needs—do you need to apply for another card to help float strategic expenses,  or can you cancel one?  When can you make contributions to your retirement fund and what should that amount be?  Can you take a vacation this year,  when can you take it and how much can you spend?  The idea is to figure out how to pay for what you must do and also cover a couple of items from your wish list,  to reward yourself.

3.   Review business priorities  

Should you form a strategic partnership,  to give your business entrée to a new segment of your market?  Should you aim to sign more new clients,  or focus on obtaining repeat business from previous clients?  Or would it be wiser to try wringing more billable hours out of your current roster?  Which clients might be most amenable to which strategy?  Also,  should you do more teaching and/or speaking this year? Which institutions will benefit your reputation and client list the most?

I’ll be back to complete the list of resolutions next week. 

Thanks for reading,

Kim