School of Freelance Hard Knocks: Email

The Email Mistake You Don’t Need to Make

Funny thing happened today.  

I was researching to see how a process worked.  One thing led to another, then another.  I found myself in a quagmire and I hadn’t even started writing.  So let me tell you what happened.  Hopefully it won’t happen to you.

The topic of today’s post is about your email address.  It can hurt if you don’t take this seriously.  I dislike that it’s a thing.  Ignore at your own risk.  

So, I learned I had a problem.  When I started to take steps to correct is, I discovered I had a bigger problem.

Where It All Started

Last fall, I opened up my business entity, a sole proprietorship.  I wanted to have some business cards to hand out at the conference I was attending in Florida in October.

I remember getting overwhelmed and not understanding business entities very well.  What I did understand was that it was easier to start a sole proprietorship.  Cheaper too, which was a plus.  I could always change it later, right?

So I was still finishing my coursework.  Time got away from me.  More classes to take.  More ways to put off the big scary thing:  asking for pay in exchange for services.  But I digress.

The more I talk to other business owners, the more I’m convinced I need to form an LLC.

A Small Detail

Why is that an issue today?  I'm dealing with email, right?  

Well, I need a domain name to deal with the email issue.  Looking into the domain issue, I discovered someone else has my business name as an LLC.  

If I stay as a sole proprietorship, I’m fine.  However, I’d rather avoid the confusion, where possible.  

I haven’t done a lot of marketing yet aside from networking on LinkedIn.  If I’m going to change my name, now is the time to do it before I have stationery printed.   I need move forward meaningfully with my workshop in a couple of weeks.  

I would have been wise to consider this last fall, but here I am.   Moving forward, feeling farther behind.

Progress Killer

So … to get my email, I need my domain.  To get my domain, I need my new business entity set up.  Instead of simply getting a domain and getting my email set up this morning, I’ve been researching business names.  

Choosing Email Wisely

Like anyone pursuing a new career, I’m busy.  Focused on important details of skills growth, forming a business entity, bank accounts, etc. - who cares what my email address is!  It’s the quality of what I produce that counts, right?

People I’m currently working with don’t seem to be bothered in the least by my email address.  Then again, it’s a labor of love (otherwise known as pro-bono.)   

Why should I worry about what my email looks like?  Turns out it could be costing me clients.

Email as a Statement

Quite a few business owners and people with hiring power talk about this.   They don’t take someone seriously without a “professional” email address.

Late last week, my new computer guru echoed the sentiment.  He added that it’s cheap to get a domain.  You don’t even have to set up the website.  Just use it to create your email.  You can even use Gmail to do it. 

But his bottom line?  People aren’t serious about their work if they don’t have a professional email address.  An email address makes a statement about a business before opening the email.  That statement could cause it to be deleted - unread.

Unfair?  Sure.  Facing a full inbox, it’s not surprising someone looks for  dis-qualifiers to tame the monster.  You don't want it to be yours, right?

Getting Out of Email Purgatory

By now, you’ve already figured out your Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail address isn’t going to cut it.  You need to buy their business services to use the email client you are familiar with, while presenting your best professional persona to your business contacts.  

There are some freebies out there, but user complaints suggest non-existent customer service and terrible spam filtering make paying worthwhile. The technology might not be as helpful as you are used to.  Definitely worth the time to do the research if you want to use a free option.

Oh, and choosing your business name now might be better than changing it down the road. 

Weekly Challenge

I ended up getting a used laptop last week.  I was determined to buy new.  However, my husband asked me to give a local company a call.  Listening to the owner on the phone, I was convinced a used one he had was worth a look. 

Servicing local businesses for the past twenty years, it made sense to buy from him.  Next time, I’ll probably buy new from him.

Now I need to get it set up and start working tutorials.  I get to learn programs I’ve never worked with before.  That can only help me move forward more effectively.

I chickened out of my weekly challenge this past week.  I worked on other parts of the assignment but not the calls.  I decided I’d better get a professional email address first.  What I didn’t realize was I needed to call a lawyer first.  Isn’t starting a business fun?

My weekly challenge is to get the ball rolling for my new business entity so I can get a domain, email address …. logo, business card, etc.

Make Room for Breaks – Or Suffer the Consequences

Boosting Performance by Reducing Stress

Starting a business is a bold move.  It usually requires far more than you ever thought possible.  Yet you still want it – without losing everything else you hold dear.

Science indicates that simple things such as time for breaks, hobbies, and vacations are crucial to maintain your edge as an entrepreneur.   

Time for Breaks?  Ha!

 

I know, I know – there’s no TIME for breaks.  What if I said there’s no time to miss breaks? 

 

Consider what working straight through, and during “off hours” is stealing from you:

•    Your brain rejuvenates less at night, reducing creativity and productivity
•    Your family and friends don’t see you, increasing distance over time
•    Your body relaxes less, increasing aches and pains (headache anyone?)
•    Your energy is reduced, leading to burnout and possibly depression

The American work ethic is an interesting study in culture.  Don’t get me wrong, work is a virtue to be sure.  Yet somewhere along the way, workaholism replaced work as a virtue.   

Always “On” Syndrome

 

Innovation slowly tightens the noose around your neck.  Your devices make tasks faster to accomplish.  You feel pressure to do more.  It’s easy to find yourself “always on” – checking messages and emails through the evening and first thing in the morning.

When you work from home, any sense of getting away is difficult.  It’s easy to develop the habit of working in the evenings and on weekends because there is always lots to do.  

Science says you might not be getting ahead of anything.  In fact, you'll likely hurt your bottom line in the end.

"Staying inside, in the same location, is really detrimental to creative thinking. It's also detrimental to doing that rumination that's needed for ideas to percolate and gestate and allow a person to arrive at an 'aha' moment," Kimberly Elsbach tells Jeremy Hobson, host of Here & Now. 

Boosting Creativity

 

"We know that creativity and innovation happen when people change their environment, and especially when they expose themselves to a nature-like environment, to a natural environment," says Kimberly Elsbach.  

Walks at the park or beach are incredibly restorative.  More than that, it gives your brain a chance to assimilate everything that’s going on.  By removing yourself from work, you get a different perspective.  You’re far more creative in your solution when you give yourself the gift of getting away from it all for a while.

Tim Kreider put it a different way. “Space and quiet … provides  a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done." 

Getting Away More Often

 

Research is showing the restorative effects of a vacation lasts a limited amount of time.  People need to get away more often.  

Jeroen Nawijn (from Erasmus University in Rotterdam and NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences and his team are published online in Springer's journal Applied Research in Quality of Life.) suggests that people are likely to derive more happiness from two or more short breaks spread throughout the year, rather than having just a single longer vacation once a year. 

Scheduling For Success

 

My challenge to you is this:  schedule regular breaks during the day.  Find some time each day to sit still without thinking about everything you need to do.  Find some time each week to get out into nature for fresh air and calm surroundings. In addition, if you can afford it, get away for a long weekend a few times this year.  Schedule this in.  Your business needs it.  So do you. 

Weekly Challenge

 

Last week, I wanted to work on homework for the workshop I’ll be attending next week.  I have started into it.  There is a lot more work than expected.  This week’s challenge will be to contact three people in my niche and interview them to learn the pain points in that world.

What task do you need to do this week that will move your business forward?

Skipping These Details Hurts Your Quality of Life More Than You Think

What Supports Your Mission

Getting up this morning was not pretty.  Sinus headache.  Tired.  A huge case of, “I don’t wanna!”  I actively considered staying in bed for another hour or two.  After all, nothing HAD to happen before then.

Reluctantly, I pushed back the covers while still debating.  Problem is, sleeping in becomes a habit - a vicious cycle.  No workout.  No energy.  Not enough energy to work out.  Rinse and repeat.

Brendan Burchard called me out on that in his Motivation Manifesto course.  “Power plants don’t have energy.  They make energy!”  He also challenged me to be more disciplined – which starts with a decision that I will do it, pretty much no matter what.  So last week, I made the decision to work out each day, except Sundays, no matter what.

 

Remembering my determination to work out first thing, I got up.

Hunting Down Our Best Selves

I enjoy working out with Coach JonathanRoche.  He has this unique style of speaking motivationally during exercise.  He frequently talks about hunting down our best selves. 

 

In his workout community, we receive a motivational challenge each week on Tuesdays.  Today, Flo Bradley asked an interesting question.  “What may happen if I don’t commit to continuously hunting down the best version of myself?”

The past couple of weeks, we’ve talked about mission statements for both you and your business.  Today, I want to look at the things supporting your ability to live out your mission.

Who do you want to be?  How do you want to show up in this moment?  Is your lifestyle supporting that desire?

Critical Musts

 

Yes, to be effective, pursuing a freelance business means sacrificing time for other things.  Yet some things are too critical to your balance to miss:

• Prayer and meditation
• Healthy cooking and eating
• Exercise and motion breaks
• Appropriate sleep
• Healthy, supportive relationships
• Ongoing education

All of these are crucial to consistently bringing your best to moments that count.  Skipping one or more leaves your system unbalanced, reducing dynamic awareness to dull exhaustion and eventually burnout.

Choose Your Impact

Flo Bradley followed up by asking another powerful question. “Who else suffers if I let myself go?”

What is the impact when:

• Your client doesn’t receive your best? 
• Your church or community member didn’t receive encouragement?
• Your family didn’t get nourished well? 
• You bailed on commitments?
• God was trying to show you an opportunity? 

The Life of Your Business Isn't Just About Your Business

The life of your business isn’t just dependent on your ability to pay attention to important details in your company.  It requires diligent care of your own physical, emotional, and spiritual health.  How well you take care of yourself directly impacts your ability to live out your mission.

I do not have an affiliate relationship with anyone right now.  I included links in case you were interested in learning more from any of these people who have impacted my life.

Weekly Challenge

Last week, I wanted to get an old project touched up and out.  I’m in the process of getting it out.  Then I have three projects all vying for my attention.  One is my certification, one is doing the homework to be ready for a workshop I’m attending next month, and one is doing another certification program in my niche.  

This week I’ll focus on the homework.  I want to make sure I have plenty of time to address and adjust before the workshop.

What sort of weekly challenges would be helpful for you?  I find accountability makes me stay on top of things much better.   It’s a powerful tool.  If you’d like to try it, feel free to post here.  I hope for this community to grow and develop accountability connections.