Tag Archives: working

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Going Forward: Employee to Freelancer

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

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

No free tech help

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

Taming home office distractions

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

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

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

No colleagues to commiserate with

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

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

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

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

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Working Hard to Work Smart

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Yoo-hoo,  wake up!  Labor Day is behind us and it’s time to get serious about business.  Our Summer reverie is over until next year.  As inspiration,  I will speak with you about  “working smart”  vs. “working hard”.  That dichotomy has roamed through the popular press for quite some time,  but experience tells me that it is a straw man argument.  In reality,  if you want to be successful and realize your dreams and ambitions,  you are going to work both hard and  smart.  It has never been either or.  It’s both.

Working smart means prioritizing and devoting scarce time and resources to people and projects that deliver results.  Some ideas and activities are very appealing at first glance,  but either they do not have the potential to pan out in the way you would like or you lack the resources to bring about the desired outcome.  Research and analysis shows that time and money would be wasted there,  so you move on.

Effective hard work requires one to work smart.  There are 24 hours in a day and we do need time to sleep and eat,  as well as attend to responsibilities other than work.  Not everything can be outsourced.  The willingness and discipline to roll out of bed at 5:00 AM and work productively until 10:00 PM or even later may be the sweat equity one needs to invest to make the concept viable and sustainable.

Founder of the hardware and software integration company MicroSolutions and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team Mark Cuban knows all about working hard and making sacrifices.  Those behaviors supported him as he built MicroSolutions into a $30 million business.  In his role on the ABC-TV reality show Shark Tank,  the billionaire angel investor has found that aspiring entrepreneurs who have the discipline to learn more about their product,  their business model,  prospective customers,  the marketplace and the competition have the greatest chance for creating a successful enterprise.  He claims that money and connections are not as important as one might think  (I beg to differ on that point).   Cuban goes on to say that if you fail,  decipher what went wrong,  re-group and re-launch.

Cuban also cautions against constantly designing your products and services to give the customer what they say they want.  He advises business owners to solicit customer opinions about what could be made to function better and make doing business with you easier,  but to avoid relying on customer opinions to create future offerings.  Cuban points out that creating the road map to the future is the business owner’s job.  One stays in business by offering products and services to the customer that they don’t know they want until you give it to them.

But understand that hard work,  smart work and study won’t guarantee that you’ll create a successful business,  either.   Contrary to Cuban’s assertions,  connections count  (especially in the  intangible services arena,  where word-of-mouth is powerful);  money counts  (especially when funding the development of a product);  and good luck and timing count  (he may agree with these last factors).  Vision,  ingenuity and risk calculation also matter and these will impact your luck and timing.   Also,  let us not underestimate the momentum-building power of your absolute belief in your product or service and your ability to communicate that passion and enthusiasm to prospective customers and investors.

I leave you with a quote about working hard from Alexis Ohanian,  co-founder of the social news website reddit  and author of Without Their Permission  (2013) “I was willing to burn the candle at both ends.”

Thanks for reading,
Kim