Hey, new and aspiring freelancers in Seattle! Curious about how other self-employed professionals in the area got their start and deal with the ups and downs of working solo? On Tuesday, June 30, from 2 to 6 p.m., Seattle tech startup Jackson Fish Market is hosting its first Small & Special conference for current and hopeful small business owners. The conference is sold out, but I’ve got two free tickets to give away. Read on to see how you can win them…
Speakers at the event include Babeland co-founder Rachel Venning, children’s book publisher Oliver Chin, web application developer Steven Bristol, and international wine distributor Jon Rimmerman. You won’t find any venture-capital-hungry bazillionaires here; all the conference speakers bootstrapped their way to profitability.
As for the day’s agenda, according to Donald DeSantis of Jackson Fish Market, “It will be one part inspiration, one part practical advice, and one part meeting new people.” In addition, all attendees will be entered into a drawing to win a custom promotional video for their business, courtesy of lilipip! studios and valued at $8,000.
To register for the conference (a deal at $25.00!), see smallandspecial.com. For more deets about the conference, see smallandspecial.com. If you’d like to throw your digital hat into the ring for one of the two free tix I have to give away, tell me about your business idea and why I should pick you right here in the comments. (Sorry, I won’t have time to collect email responses this week.) Thanks, and enjoy!
June 28th, 2009
Got an email from some mystery reader the other day asking, “Is this site still active? I haven’t seen a post from Michelle in many months.” (Actually it’s been just under two, but who’s counting?) In an upcoming blog post, I’ll explain why I disappeared from the blogosphere for such a long stretch. But first, some fresh content…
Work It, Mom! just ran a new Q&A with me and I wanted to share my favorite question of the bunch:
If you were just starting out as a full-time freelancer and had just enough money each month to pay for ONE of the following things, which would you choose, and why? (1) Hosting for your own website. (2) Mobile web and e-mail on your cell phone/Blackberry. (3) Membership in a paid job listing site like FreelanceSwitch. (4) Four Americanos.
My answer: Easy: web hosting. It’s criminal to not have a website as a freelancer these days. You need your own corner of the digital universe where people can easily learn who you are and peruse your samples and/or client testimonials.
Number one, it makes you look like you’ve joined the twenty-first century (if you forego a site, don’t expect potential customers to be impressed). Number two, it saves you extra time you might have spent explaining your work/approach/MO to a new client. Number three, you can make a one- to four-page WordPress site in a morning. Number four, Web hosting costs less than $10 a month. Number five, in the time you spend scouring those (often crummy, $10/hour) ads on freelancing job sites you could have sent your new URL to everyone you’ve ever met in your life, started schmoozing with other freelancers on Twitter, and drummed up your first client by word of mouth or the power of SEO. I’m a big fan of joining a community and cultivating relationships rather than bidding into the void on projects advertised on job sites, unless it’s a really, really kickass-sounding job.
As for options (2) and (4), I don’t use a smartphone and I don’t drink coffee.
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June 4th, 2009
I did a post this a.m. on Nine to Thrive (my NWjobs blog on work/life balance) about the nastiest work from home scams people have been reporting of late.
Of the many the FBI warns against, my personal favorite has to be those package forwarding or product reshipping jobs listed online. If you’re lucky, your so-called employer will merely neglect to reimburse you for the shipping fees on all those electronic goods you’re repacking and reshipping. But if you’re unlucky, you could get caught up in a criminal investigation, as many of the goods these employers are hiring home-based workers to ship are stolen.
You may think that having viable a freelance skill to sell over the web and in person makes you immune to such scams. “Only rebate processors and envelope stuffers get taken for a ride,” you may tell yourself. “Not writers, web designers, and software programmers.” But I beg to differ. (Seen Craigslist lately? Or those useless “paid in promotion” — aka, PIE — gigs?)
When it comes to listing my most-hated freelance scam, I’m torn between all those “Will pay $50 for a 2500-word article/five-page website/three-city PR campaign” project listings polluting the web and those heartless do-it-on-spec-and-then-see-if-anyone-will-deem-you-the-contest-winner-and-reward-you-ten-bucks-for-it sites. (Exhibit A. Exhibit B.)
Perhaps “scam” is too strong a word here, as these outsourcing practices aren’t illegal, only insulting, not to mentioning damaging to professional freelancers who need to earn a living wage. Still, part me wishes there were some regulatory labor body that required such sites and ads to prominently display a “Hobbyists, Apply Here — Pros Who Want to Eat, Steer Clear” graphic at the top. Then those hiring managers without a clue would more quickly come to the realization that you do indeed get what you pay for.
April 6th, 2009
As you no doubt heard earlier this week, the print version of the Seattle P-I, one of my city’s two daily papers, is no more. (The 20+ staffers who kept their jobs have embarked on a big fat newspaper 2.0 online experiment, complete with reader blogs, canned content from magazines owned by Hearst — the P-I’s parent company, and links to competing news outlets.)
As devastating as the folding of the print P-I is to those of us who learned to write a lede on a typewriter, the noose has been around the neck of newspapers for some time now. Freelance budgets have dwindled, pay rates have shrunk, and paid contributor opportunities are nearly extinct.
Writers, photographers, and illustrators have had fair warning about this monumental shift in the freelance market. That’s not to say some of us haven’t cried our eyes out about it, but we’ve had fair warning. Those of us who value eating have adapted, branching into online markets, magazine work, trade publications, corporate work, consulting, editing, et cetera. You know, diversify or starve.
Although I got my 9-to-5 start in newspapers, I’ve never been more than a sporadic contributor since going freelance in 1992. In the intervening years, I’ve hopped from freelancing for the book publishing biz to dotcoms and the corporate tech sector, back to magazines and newspapers and books, and lately, over to web news media — though to stay afloat, I still do some of each.
As long as newspapers, magazines, and books are around, I plan to have a hand in them. But I find myself working online so much these days that I have moments of thinking, Six months is a long fracking time to wait to see that article I just wrote in print and on newsstands.
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March 19th, 2009
Another call for sources for my ABC News column: I’m hoping to write this week’s piece on employees who get laid off by a company only to wind up freelancing, contracting, temping, or working for them part-time later. If you’ve been laid off from a staff job in the last six months and have since started freelancing or contracting for that same company, I’d love to hear from you. You can be anonymous and I don’t need the company name. Besides sharing people’s anecdotes in the article, I’m looking to give tips, do’s, and don’ts of taking an ex-employer back as a freelancer or contractor. Please email me by Tuesday if you’re interested. Thank you!
March 13th, 2009
Last week I asked if anyone wanted to weigh in on my ABC News column on how layoff gossip both helps and hurts office workers. (You can read the column here; it ran yesterday.)
But employees aren’t the only ones who grapple with layoff gossip. As a freelancer and contractor, I’ve recently had to temper my monitoring of the downsizing rumor mill about several of my clients. On the one hand, you want to stay informed of budget and headcount cuts so you can plan accordingly (save your pennies, find new clients, be sensitive to editors enduring employment upheaval). On the other, you don’t want to fall so far down the rumor rabbit hole that you can’t think straight.
In other words, you don’t want to be like the freelance journalist I interviewed for my column who said this:
“I get obsessed with the gossip to the point that I become unproductive. Instead of pursuing the work I have, I’m chasing down the latest choice tidbit on whether this other business is going to close. I’m on the phone with colleagues, I’m reading all the blogs, tuning in to the TV, to Twitter, you name it. It’s probably all a waste of time, but hope springs eternal and all that.”
I can relate to this. As a reporter, I love a juicy story too, especially when it affects my own life and livelihood. I’ve certainly lost a couple afternoons in recent weeks tracking the latest newspaper body count. But I’m trying to remember that if I don’t do the work that’s already on my plate I could be next in line to get the boot.
How about you? How do you deal with the layoff rumors swirling around your star clients?
March 13th, 2009
I’m looking for full-time, part-time, temporary, or contract employees who can talk about the below. Anonymous is fine, and I won’t mention your company name (legally, I couldn’t). If interested, email me here. The deadline is Tuesday, so I’d need to hear from you by Monday night. Thanks so much.
How are you dealing with rumblings around the office about impending or potential layoffs at your company? Glad to know (information is power!)? Rather not know (too stressful/depressing!)? Wish your boss hadn’t told you that that nice dad down the hall was on the layoff list? Taking bets with your coworkers about which dead-weight manager will get canned next? Know someone who’s started an anonymous blog about layoffs at the company? If you have a tale to share about how people are dealing with layoff gossip at your job, I’d love to hear from you. I’m also happy to talk to anyone who’s been laid off in the past six months who’s dealt with this.
March 6th, 2009
Like everyone else, I’m looking for ways to shave expenses. Dinners, presents, movies out, and tickets for live music are now few and far between. If I need clothes, I buy used as much as possible (I’ll break for new undees, sneakers, and socks though). If I play with friends, one of us suggests eating in or going to a free event, like a book reading or a talk. European vacation plans with the boyfriend are on hold. You know the drill — the frugal freelance budget, only on steroids.
I’m especially psyched that this insurance agent helped me pick a healthcare plan that costs $1500 less a year but still covers the stuff I need covered. (By dropping maternity, pharmacy, and vision bennies, I save money — who knew!?) And I made the switch from cable TV to Netflix a little while back. Together, these changes save me $200 a month, which ain’t too shabby.
Still, each time I revisit the “Where I can save?” question, two monthly expenses that I don’t really need to be incurring jump out at me:
(1) The money I pay to have my house cleaned every 4 to 6 weeks (about $100, depending on how dirty the house is). This is a total guilty pleasure for me. But I hate to clean and rarely have time to anyway. Besides, I look forward to that one day a month when I sit on the freshly vacuumed couch, survey the tidy, dog-hair-free living room, and think “Ahhhhhh.”
(2) The money I pay to have a 40-pound bag of Buddy’s food delivered every 4 to 6 weeks (about $10 delivery charge each time). For some reason, picking up the dog food is an errand I’ve always hated. Usually I realize I’m out of kibble when the dog needs breakfast and an editor needs the article I’m working on. Also, those bags are dang heavy. So when I heard about a local delivery service, I was all over it.
Although I aspire to live leanly as possible — even if it means sucking it up and picking up my own mutt chow and mopping my own damn floors – I have a hard time letting either service go because these people are independent business owners. It’s a total thrill to not have to pay Comcast $60 extra a month or to tell LifeWise Health Plan where they can stick their stupid, plundering rate increases. But it does not feel good at all to take business away from another self-employed person. So I’ve decided that I’m keeping both services, depression be damned. Unless I have to start dipping into the dog’s food myself, I’m getting my house cleaned and my kibble delivered to my doorstep.
How about you? Are there expenses you feel you should cut back on but can’t bear to dump because you’d be contributing to another small business owner losing income?
February 28th, 2009
Kate asks: If you’re not quite ready to quit your day job…or in my case, if I’m just about to graduate college and plan on getting a “real” job before transitioning to full-time freelancing, would it hurt my chances with future employers if they know that I ultimately want to be a freelancer? My Dad was looking over my LinkedIn profile and mentioned that he thought it wasn’t a great idea for future employers to know that I eventually want to work for myself. Do you think that a magazine wouldn’t hire me for that reason?
I answer: This is a great, great question. I wouldn’t tell them. At all. Or put that detail on LinkedIn. It’s just like saying, “I think your magazine is a nice way to pass the time for now, but I really want to go into veterinary medicine.” It’s a turnoff to an employer. It basically screams that you’re out of there as soon as you get your big freelancing break, which is not a message you want to convey.
Just say you want to be a writer (or editor, designer, or whatever it is you want to be) and keep your dream of full-time freelancing on the down low. If you do pick up a bit of freelancing work on the side while at your 9-to-5 gig and your coworkers catch wind of it, just play it off as something you’re doing because you need more money (don’t we all?) and because you’re looking to beef up your skills.
Before you freelance on the side, make sure your day job doesn’t have a “no moonlighting” clause in your employment contract. This could prevent you from freelancing in the same industry that your employer’s in, at least while you’re still working for that employer.
February 26th, 2009
Seattle freelancers: You don’t have to travel far for fresh ideas and savvy resources to pump up your freelance business. I have a few upcoming events happening in your neck of the woods. Some details below, and more info on my Events page.
When: 7:00 to 9:00 pm, Wednesday, March 4
What: “How to Make the Media Notice Your Small Business” - Tips on writing an irresistible media pitch and tools you can use to put your business in front of hundreds of lead-hungry reporters and bloggers. More info.
When: 1:00 to 6:00 pm, Friday, March 6
What: “All-Access Pass” Journalists Conference - A great event for those trying to figure out how to survive as a freelance journalist right now. Learn how to diversify your income. Seize the opportunity to schmooze with local writing rockstars/editors in attendance. More info.
When: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday, March 28
What: “Beyond the Red Pencil” Editors Conference – I’ll be leading a “Dealing with Difficult Clients” workshop (conference registration required). More info.
And for freelancers nationwide, I haven’t forgotten about you! There are still spots in my “Dealing with Nightmare Clients” teleseminar with the Freelancers Union this Wednesday, February 25. From my ear to yours, I’ll share stories from the trenches and the resources that helped me see the light of day again. Further details and registration info here.
February 22nd, 2009
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