Want to Save Time and Frustration Starting Your Freelance Business?

Flexibility vs Rushing It Through

I was sitting in the bank.  My bank guy was on vacation.  It turns out switching company names on my accounts wasn’t the simple thing it was supposed to be.  It required closing old accounts and starting completely over.  I learned this ensures important details are all there, avoiding a tax nightmare down the road.  Joy.

The Joys of Switching Mid-Stream

Starting a business is complicated.  Many decisions.  Time and focus intensive.

Deciding the type of business structure is important.  I chose sole proprietorship initially because I didn’t understand the value of a higher level of protection from frivolous lawsuits.  I also didn’t feel like I had the resources to invest in creating an LLC.

Therefore, I’m starting over.  Somehow, I missed that someone had the LLC version of my company name.  

Starting over as an LLC feels a bit like new because the name is different.  I feel just as uncertain in the technicalities as I did when I started my sole proprietorship last fall.  That’s leading to a problem.

“Should Be Simple”

I feel rushed.  Stressed.  That’s a problem because I’m less likely to take the time to:

•         Figure out every detail in advance
•          Research every option
•         Know where to find the answers for those details

Since I didn’t get far down the self-marketing route, it should be a simple matter to change my company name. 

Yeah.  Not so fast!   I feel more than a little dismayed at the time I’m spending on admin stuff right now.  

What I Didn’t Expect

Changing my name changed the way my company feels to me.  Certain aspects are the same, like copywriting for the personal growth niche.

Copy By Design felt purposeful.  Carefully designed.  Upscale.

Words To Soar By, LLC feels very different to me.  

When I came up with it, I was just trying to nail down a name.   I just wanted to get that professional email set up.  I didn’t expect to revisit the other details.

I should have expected the logo questions.  Things like framing the company purpose.  Tagline.  I just didn’t realize they should change.

I didn’t realize the impact of the name change until I was trying to order the logo.  This name feels powerful.   The delicate, classy script no longer fit.  The tagline needed to change.  The logo needed a picture. 

Flexibility meant realizing it wasn’t the same and changing the feel of the logo.  Winging it meant trying to zip through a simple name change without other adjustments.   I needed to slow down.

Worth the Extra Time

Being prepared means confident follow through rather than rushed decisions I might regret later.   I’m finding I prefer to have the patience to work through it first.   

Weekly Challenge

This past week was about finishing as much of my homework as possible for the Joshua Boswell workshop this week.  

The logo process has started.  I have peeked at the website building process, but hurrying to purchase a domain isn’t going to mean a live email address until I make the website live, I think.  I need to slow down and not rush that process either.  I’ll probably wait until after the workshop. 

What are you doing to move your business forward this week?

Networking: Beneficial or Waste of Time?

What I Came to Appreciate About Networking

Last October, my husband and son drove me to the airport.  On the way there, I told my husband I wanted to go back home.  Why?  

I was petrified.

I was supposed to fly to Florida for a conference, where I didn’t know anyone.  I mean, there were maybe a handful of people I’d spoken with in a mastermind group online, but I wasn’t sure how well things would go once we met in person.  

What would I say past initial pleasantries?  Could this introvert talk and not bore someone to death? 

I could see the headline now, “Virginia Woman Bores 17 People to Death at Florida Conference.  Details at 11!” 

What’s the big deal?

There was a time when I thought networking meant using people.  It sounded like an awful thing to do, even if it was “mutually beneficial.”  It felt like something fake to avoid like the plague.  I’d much rather be genuine, thank you very much!

One day I was reading about networking and something shifted:

Networking is as simple as knowing where to go when you need something.

Did your computer lock up?  If you don’t have a computer guru on your speed dial, you’ll probably ask your friends whom they use.  Were you complaining about an organizational problem to a friend and got a recommendation for a product that simplified things? That’s all networking is. 

Not so scary after all!

Know Your Networking Style

Maybe it’s a personality thing.  Highly social people may be more inclined toward socializing.  Who would have guessed?  People who are highly motivated with a long list of tasks may see it as a waste of time.  Laid back people who aren’t into the people thing just find people stuff quite stressful.

Personality alone doesn’t determine if networking is worthwhile.  It’s the way to meet connected people.

For example, if you were a real estate investor, there are several types of people you are interested in meeting at a real estate investing networking event.  Contractors, realtors, private moneylenders, and other investors are all useful contacts.  

Different Ways to Network

Different styles of networking appeal by personality and need.

If you are a laid-back introvert, a cocktail mixer probably ranks right up there with nails on a chalkboard.  On the other hand, if you are a driven, task-oriented person, it might be perfect.  Meet the kind of people you were looking to meet - once you meet your objective, leave.  If you’re an introvert, it may be easier to go to a meeting where a presentation takes up most of the event.  If you talk to the person next to you and discover someone beneficial to know, bonus points!

Meet-Up has groups for all sorts of interests, business or otherwise.  Local chapters of the Chamber of Commerce or Ruritan Club can be valuable as well.

Conferences and special events are a great way to meet contacts in your field.  As an introvert, I enjoy the learning.  I also enjoy being in a room or stadium full of people who get my interest and know my struggles.

Social media is a great route for highly busy or highly introverted people.  It may take longer to make connections.  However, if you make the deliberate effort regularly, and you can still build a good network.

Indirect networking takes longer, but can build a satisfying set of connections as well.  Community service groups, church groups certainly aren’t about building your business.  Obviously, as a person of integrity, you wouldn’t get involved if you weren’t into their central mission.   Yet sometimes along the way, you learn a member knows someone that needs you … or just the person you need.

Dealing with Nerves

•         Hi, I’m (insert name) with (insert company name.)  What’s your name?
•         What do you do?
•         What’s your specialty? (If appropriate to learn more.) 
•         What sort of project are you working on right now?
•          May I have your card and send you some information (if they seem interested in what you do.  Follow up as immediately as possible.)

Remembering that this person may also be just as uncomfortable as you are might help as well.  They also came to meet people and make connections.   Both of you want the same thing:  find out if this is a good connection to develop.

Any time you’re around people you may run into people that don't click with you.  That’s ok.  You aren’t signing up to be best friends.  You aren’t obligated to your new contact.  You are just checking out some possibilities. Listen to your gut and follow through accordingly.  

Swallowing My Fear

My husband was encouraging as I poured out my fears.  My resolve hardened, and I got out at the airport, determined to wring every drop of joy out of the event.  By the next morning, I realized that everyone else was in the same boat.  

It felt like these were just friends I hadn’t met yet because we had a commonality - our love of words.  I decided exchanging names and home states was easy, and asking if it was their first time at the event made good stock questions.  Having those questions made me more comfortable and it was easy to make the first step with dozens of people over the rest of the event. 

Not bad for an introvert!

Worthwhile Networking

Networking lets you meet people in your field, provides potential clients for you to serve … or vendors to serve you.  You may also run into someone who becomes a mentor.  And a good mentor is priceless.

It’s good to challenge that comfort zone a little.  However you go about it, you are providing potential value to the person you meet.  If they are in need of your service, or know someone in need, and you connect well with this person, you will be on the short list of people to call.

The old cliché, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” still applies.  Your next great client may be at a networking event, looking for you.  Will you be there?

Have you beat the networking blues?  Please comment below with your best networking tip.

Weekly Challenge

Last week, my weekly challenge was to get the ball rolling for my new business entity so I can get a domain, email address, logo, business card, etc.  As of 15 minutes ago, I received my EIN so I can start transacting business under the new name.

This next week will be about finishing as much of my homework as possible for the Joshua Boswell workshop in a week and a half.  I’ll also be getting a new logo and purchase a domain.  I’ll probably only peek at the website building part because I think that’s more time than I have until after the workshop.  

What is your goal to move your business forward this week?

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?