The Essential Skills You Need When Going It Alone

October 12, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

When you first start to think about leaving work behind and doing something for yourself, it can be scary. But if it’s something that you really want to do, you absolutely have to make it work. Sure, there are mistakes that you could make, but where you can. you should look to avoid them. And this is why it’s helpful to have the right skills. Because when you’re skilled in all of the right areas, you’ll be in the best position to find success. And you may still make mistakes and stumble and find things difficult at times, but these skills are going to help you out. So to make sure that you’re ready to make this work, here are the five areas to focus on.

Time Management

One of the best things that you can learn to master for yourself is time management. If you want to be able to really get your business off of the ground, you need to manage your time well. You will find that this business resource can help you with that. Because it’s tough. Often, you’ll get started and you’ll think that you have more freedom – that you can do what you want when you want because you work for yourself. But you need to be organized and manage your time well so that you’re the most productive.

Financial Skills

It’s also super helpful to be able to manage money and numbers well. You don’t have to be a huge financial whizz, but it is going to help you to grow your business if you are financially aware of it. If you can see how to save money and to push your profits, you will want to really hone in on this. And you can learn this as you go, because when you’re investing in this, you will find that you want to learn more about money.

Personal Confidence

But you do also need to believe in yourself. You do not want to hold yourself or your business back because of doubt and fear. Instead, you need to get yourself into a position of feeling confident in your abilities and what you can achieve. The more you back yourself, the easier this journey will be.

Collaboration Skills

And you absolutely have to be able to work with others. Because your business will flourish when you have the right experts and companies around you. This could be a great graphic designer or this law firm or a super-productive assistant. When you surround yourself with these people and you learn how to collaborate with them, it will help you to grow.

Creative Ideas

And then the final skill that you need to work on is innovation. Because when you have your own business or you’re starting out as an entrepreneur, you will want to make sure that you’re creative. You will need to come up with cool marketing ideas, you’ll want to have fun with your content, you’ll want to make sure that you’re representing yourself and your business in the best possible ways. So it’s important for you to embrace and really grow your creativity too.

Fatal Foibles That Can Flummox New Freelancers

July 20, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

The younger generation has a much harder time in the present day job market than their parents did, despite (on paper) having some pretty big advantages over them. Today’s twentysomethings tend to be better educated than previous generations and despite the pervasive stereotypes that depict them as slothful, indolent and self obsessed; going into paroxysms unless they have access to their social media feed, they tend to be a hardworking and reliable bunch when given an opportunity to prove themselves. It’s proving themselves, however, that’s the rub for many young graduates entering the workforce. Even graduates who got great grades struggle to find graduate level work and all over the world graduates pour out of higher education institutions and into non-graduate low pay, low skill jobs that waste their talents. Furthermore, many employers expect entry level employees to first put in months at a time as unpaid interns. For those who don’t have the luxury of parental support, this is simply untenable.

Millennials Self Employment

But the younger generation aren’t just staring down the barrel of a difficult job market; they’re on the cusp of an economic revolution in which the gig economy is changing the way in which we trade goods and services. In the face of an inhospitable job market, yet with living costs proving more and more challenging to even well paid graduates, more and more young people are turning to self employment as a means to earn a crust. Indeed, it’s estimated that around 47% of millennials in the workforce freelance at least in some capacity. And make no mistake, earning a living as a freelancer has some distinct advantages. It’s a way to make a living doing what you love and what you’re good at. It gives you the opportunity to hone your administrative, organizational and entrepreneurial skills as you manage your business and hustle new clients. It provides excellent networking opportunities and allows you to really take your career, your livelihood and your life into your own hands rather than slaving away in a job for which you’re overqualified and underpaid.

But in lieu of a proper retirement plan, sick or holiday pay and any sort of job security, freelancers cannot afford to simply scrape by. They need to ensure that they’re firing on all cylinders and making good money so that they can save responsibly and plan for the future. That means avoiding these working and productivity foibles which could either compromise the quality of your work, limit your income or decimate your work life balance…

Going in cold

The good news is that there are no shortage of businesses who are desperately in need of the skills and attributes you bring to the table who don’t have the budget to take on new staff and use freelancers to achieve the best of both worlds. The bad news is that it could take some time for you to build up your reputation and establish enough of a clientele to make freelancing sustainable. While many freelancers are always hustling for new clients, it behoves you not to quit your day job (sorry) just yet and to establish yourself as a freelancer in your spare time, scaling up your operation until you’re ready to go full time.

Failing to charge what you’re worth

It’s possibly the most common foible among nascent freelancers, especially those who have only recently graduated. Their lack of experience gives them a disproportionately low sense of self worth. While experience can certainly sharpen and hone your skills, your talents as they are now are still an eminently marketable commodity.

Many new freelancers get a lie of the land on sites like People Per Hour and try to race their competitors to the bottom in the hopes of getting more clients. The trouble with this mentality is that the best clients are motivated by quality rather than price. Moreover, if you start off with lower rates and garner a handful of clients who reward you with more business, you will place a long term cap on your earnings as you’ll be afraid to increase your prices lest you alienate them..

Relying on “handshake agreements”

When you’re starting out in the freelance game, it’s all too easy to neglect the legalities that could end up protecting you, your reputation and your budding business. While handshake agreements can and do work in the freelance marketplace, it’s important to protect your interests with contracts, especially for new clients, and send invoices which can be traced and chased. You can use any of these free invoice templates if you don’t want to start from scratch. A paper trail will not only protect you legally from non-payment or disputes, it will make you better at managing the business side of freelancing.

Freelancing

Wasting time staring at a blank screen

When you’re working for yourself, productivity is everything. Productivity can make the difference between a good month’s pay and a great months’ pay. It can make the difference between landing top tier clients and staying on the breadline. One of the biggest productivity sapping things you can do, however, is waste time staring at a blank screen. Yes, everyone gets creative block. Yes, it can be enormously frustrating. But if you try and fight through it you’ll end up frustrated or produce poor quality work that you throw out as soon as you cast a fresh pair of eyes on it.

When your creative mojo abandons you, don’t be afraid to take a break. Get out of your home office, go for a walk, read or do something to relax your mind and recharge your batteries and don’t come back to your computer until you’re raring to go.

Trying to race yourself to the finish line

AT the same time, an equally counterproductive strategy is to try and race yourself to the finish line day after day. If you have a particularly fecund Monday and get all of your work finished by 2pm yet the following day you call it a night at 6 or 7pm that’s simply the nature of the beast. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to rush to an early finish. The quality of your work will suffer and while you may find yourself making your deadlines, you will return to your computer the next day to find a whole lot of revisions waiting for you.

Steer clear of these bad habits, and a long, happy, fulfilling and rewarding career as a freelancer awaits.

Great Business Ideas For Aspiring And Creative Freelancers

June 20, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

If you’re a creative person then it can often feel as if there aren’t many job opportunities out there for you. But that’s not the case – you just need to rethink your approach to your career. Freelancing can really open the door for you if you’re struggling to find work that allows you to utilize your skills. Here are some great business ideas for aspiring and creative freelancers.

Blogging

There’s a lot of money to be made in blogging. We mentioned this in another post, but it’s all about creating the right content or selling the right product. Any and every blog can be monetized. And if you love the idea of writing about your favorite topics or posting pictures of your travels then this could be the perfect business idea for you. This is definitely one of the most popular outlets for freelance writers, but you need to work hard to turn it into a profitable source of income.

Building a following is the route to success. Not only will you stand a better chance of earning money from adverts if you increase your website traffic but you’ll also stand a better chance of getting noticed by the right people. Companies sponsor relevant blogs with big followings because it’s an opportunity to sell their products. If you’re a popular beauty blogger then you might be offered a sponsorship deal by a business that sells makeup, for example. The point is that there are many ways to earn money from blogging if you’re passionate about the idea of creating your own personal writing space.

Crafting

Another great business for aspiring and artistic freelancers is crafting. If you love to craft homemade things such as jewelry and vases then there’s a market that’s dying to buy your incredible creations. Thanks to the influx of crafting marketplaces such as Etsy and Bonanza, people selling their own handmade fashion pieces and quirky home decor can make a lot of money online. Perhaps you even love to craft (or want to craft) something a little more ambitious, such as furnishings. Of course, you might want to check out https://www.weldingoutfitter.com/collections/welding-jackets for welding jackets if your home business is going to involve woodwork and machinery. It’s important that you prioritize safety and professionalism if you’re creating a crafting business. You need to prove that your unique creations are more valuable than store-bought alternatives. If you can do that then you’ll make a lot of money from what is simply a creative outlet.

Web developing

As mentioned at https://theworkathomewife.com/72-ideas-for-freelance-jobs-from-home/, designing websites is a great option for freelancers. Not only is it one of the most profitable industries for freelancers in the modern age but it’s also a highly creative career to pursue. If you can code and design a professional website then you’ll also have clients knocking at your door to buy your services. There are always new individuals and businesses who need websites to be made for them. It’s a well-paid job that you can do from the comfort of your own home, and it gives you the opportunity to design some very creative (as long as you meet the requirements of the client).

Employee-preneurship – Taking the Side Hustle Concept to your Day Job

March 2, 2017 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

Photo credit: brighter than sunshine via Foter.com / CC BY-NC

Our world is in a state of turmoil.

Change is the new normal.

Jobs are not secure.

But the educational system, government and big media keep selling kids a lie that you get a college degree and you’ll get a good job.

They sell this cool concept. And everyone of them (educational system, government, and media) support this big lie.

And so like lemmings, kids are churned through overpriced college indoctrination systems. And when they get out – whether with a college degree or without one – they’re given a blank slate to figure out the rest of their career and life with.

That really sucks.

And does it really make sense?

To spend tens, and in some cases hundreds, of thousands of dollars. Get deep into debt. And come out the other side with no job (or one that pays the same as they could have gotten had they taken the four to six years of college and done something else with it).

So that where you are today.

You have a job.

You may have developed a career. And like most people you are finding your paycheck shrinks year after year.

You may get regular raises (2-4% per year) or not (not every business gives annual raises).

You may have been subject to layoffs or reorganizations where you’re now doing the work of two or three people.

You want to know how to get ahead in this chaotic world we live in. But how?

Well maybe you’re not cut out for starting your own business. You don’t want the unpredictability of a business where if you don’t sell you don’t eat.

And maybe the Uber lifestyle isn’t for you. You’re not quite ready to spend another 10-20 hours a week developing a side hustle business.

You’re an employee and want to stay one. So you can have more of a personal life than running a full time business or freelance gig would offer.

So does that mean you’re destined to working day in and day out in the company coal mine with no hope of getting ahead and having a better life and more options and opportunities for you and your family?

NOOOOO!

There is another way.

A way for you to survive and thrive within the system.

No, you’re not likely to get “hit the lottery” strike it rich kind of results.

But you can find fun, fulfillment, and moving yourself into the top tier of employees in your job category.

And trust me, the joy and sense of control over your destiny that comes with that is worth the effort.

And if you do find your company hits hard times, when employee layoffs happen you’ll find yourself at the top of the “must keep” mental checklist management is using to make tough decisions.

And if you do want to make your own move and find a new organization to support you, the relationships you’ve developed, the results you’ve created, and the confidence and skill you’ve gained will help you rise to the top of any competitive interview situation.

So how do you do it?

Employee-preneurship.

Let’s walk through the steps together.

Step 1: Be someone they can count on.

It all starts with being a reliable and effective contributor to the company. You can’t be viewed in a positive light if you don’t consistently deliver when asked.

Whether you’re working project work or just doing the daily work that needs to get done.

If you don’t get it done it falls on someone else’s plate. Or their work gets backlogged by yours. Not a good situation to be in if you’re trying to boost your personal brand with your coworkers and boss.

So get it done. Do it on time.

Step 2: Share your struggles and your results.

Everyone likes to commiserate. Misery loves company. And struggling against a common enemy (a frustrating client, an employee you don’t like, an annoying boss, an underperforming vendor) binds people together like superglue.

But like superglue, you must use it sparingly.

Being seen as a Negative Nelly won’t get you ahead and will keep you buried in the world of the under-performers.

You need the second part of this which is share your results.

If you want to get ahead it isn’t enough just to do the work well and assume you’ll get noticed. True people often do notice and you will get opportunities that way.

But you can add rocket fuel to the situation if you do effectively communicate your successes. And sharing some of the secret sauce of how you did it can go a long way towards building your personal brand.

Don’t do it in a bragging kind of way.

Just segue into it as conversations naturally turn to where you can drop in a comment or tell a story.

Step 3: Give away the credit.

Nothing will undermine your future success more than taking public credit for something that someone else created. If you’re a manager, when you have great results from your team, compliment or call out one of the team members who made something happen that was critical for the success of the venture.

People remember and support those who can get their ego out of the way and build up others. As you get into management you realize that all major successes come through others.

My biggest role typically is that of amateur therapist and cheerleader.

As you get bigger and bigger roles or projects to contribute to you’ll find your influence increases and your stature in the company become larger as others support your grand visions.

Step 4: Volunteer.

If you’re expecting to get paid to do the next job up before you get it, you’ll find you’ll never get there.

People hate risk.

And managers are no different.

Put yourself in their shoes.

Would you promote someone who never has shown they have the skills to deliver in the role?

Or would you promote the person who has already done all the elements of the role?

It’s a no-brainer, right?

So why would you think your situation is any different?

If they can’t see you being successful in the role then you’re not likely to get there. You’ll be passed over for that promotion year after year. And then you’ll find yourself discouraged and doing even less to justify you’re right for the job.

And if there are special projects coming up? Situations that create visibility that you just won’t get in your day-to-day job. Will you be offered them if you’re not showing you can handle them?

Probably not.

It starts with you.

Begin with small opportunities. They’re all around you.

Whether it is helping a coworker with something.

Contributing your expertise, knowledge or energy.

Maybe it is offering to work a few hours of overtime or work over the weekend to help deliver some critical commitment to a client.

And as you get your results-oriented muscles moving it will start coming easier.

And you’ll start seeing more opportunities to contribute.

And others will bring you increasingly challenging opportunities to make a difference.

And you’ll find you’re enjoying coming to work more.

And your annual reviews will start to look better.

And raises and bonuses and promotions will start to happen more frequently.

As you find yourself growing into a full-fledged “Employee-preneur”.

So go take the first step…

Side Hustle? Promotion? Why Not Both?

October 6, 2016 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

Side Hustle Promotion

The old model is dead.

They just haven’t acknowledged it yet.

The tenure-based, “I’ve put in my time.” model doesn’t work anymore. Business is fast-paced and ever-changing. Businesses are irrelevant, out of business, or sold every day.

Only 50% of businesses with employees survive at least 5 years. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics.) Click To Tweet

Do you want to pursue the work and pray model? One where you put in the work and hope you get an annual 3% increase? And pray that the company you work for doesn’t downsize, sell, or become obsolete between now and retirement?

Or are you the ambitious 20% who is willing to take your career and life in your own hands and tackle things head on?

Yes, there is a place for those who just want to put in the work 9 to 5 and then go home and enjoy their life. That is appropriate for 80% of the people who don’t view their career as something that needs to be actively managed. And when they find themselves in the unemployment line at 40 – where the world has passed them by, and they’re having to retrain for a new career they never prepared for.

They’ll be one of the people, like those today, who are unemployed or underemployed with no options other than incurring debt to go back to school or start over again at the bottom in a new industry. And while that is happening they’re running up their credit card debt with a lifestyle that they can no longer support.

So you say, “I’m not that person. I’m willing to put in the work to get ahead, make my own future happen, and not be left behind.”

Are you really?

How serious are you?

You really need to ask and answer that question. Because to get ahead in your career or to start a side hustle/freelance business, or to start a new business idea, it takes commitment. Commitment to get up at 5am to be the first in the office or get an hour or two in on your side hustle before your day job starts. Commitment to work late to make that work project happen, or work on your business when you’re tired at the end of the day and just want to kick back on the couch with a beer or some wine and binge-watch your favorite TV series.

So lets look at how to break out and get ahead in the 9 to 5 work world.

The 7 Things You Should Start Doing Today to Earn a Promotion

40 percent of millennials expect a promotion every one to two years. Click To Tweet

In the dark ages (1950’s and ’60’s) where the old work model was the standard, if you put in your time from 9 to 5, you would automatically progress through the organization and move up to the level that your ability to do the work, networking/ladder climbing expertise within the organization, and time would allow. Then you would retire and die.

Pretty simple, right?

But now with a more mobile workforce who recognizes that employers are not loyal to you, a different approach is in order.

So lets walk through the “7 Things.”

Passion

If you like what you do, you will want to do more of it. If you do more of it, you are more inclined to get better at it, and if you’re better at it, you’re more inclined to get promoted.

No way are you going to put in the hard hours necessary if you don’t like what you do each day and like the people you work with.

So if your job does not have that you either need to search within the organization for a new project opportunity or department that intrigues you, or start a side hustle that can help you bring in new skills that will make your day job more interesting or set you up for a future opportunity that you can be passionate about.

Partner with your boss

Having a positive relationship with your boss will ensure you at least have the opportunity to get ahead. If you don’t have that you’re just kidding yourself if you think you’re going to be promoted. Your boss is often the lens through which those higher up in the organization view you. A positive liking by your boss will ensure you are at least considered for promotion or interesting project work. A dislike is a career killer.

If you don’t have that relationship, build it quickly or move on to a place you can build that.

Go the extra mile

As they say, there is never a traffic jam on the extra mile. Here’s some things you can do to set yourself apart from the pack of those who say they want a promotion but aren’t willing to put in the heavy lifting.

Come in early or stay late (or both) – particularly in your 20’s when you don’t have family commitments yet, time is your rocket fuel to compress time and launch your career.
Volunteer for a new project – being proactive is a necessary ingredient to being management material so develop it early.
Help a coworker without being asked – they’ll remember that later
Hang out with coworkers after work – develop the common bond you have through work and get to know more about them and their interests
Attend industry events – you’ll be that informed go to person when you network outside your company
Continue your education – read, listen to podcasts, take courses to learn a skill at the local night school or community college, or get that next degree. Do what you’re passionate about learning or what is a requirement for the next rung on the corporate ladder so you’re not left behind.

Be part of the team

Cheer your team members on – be that positive influence.
Mentor and be mentored – by teaching others you’ll become better yourself and latching onto someone who is moving up through the organization may put you in a position to be pulled along up with them. Or finding someone high enough in the company who can help you avoid the pitfalls along the way will be invaluable.

Track your progress

Not an item that was mentioned in the article but something I’ve found often neglected but then becomes critical at annual review, promotion, or finding a new job time. And that is keeping a good record of your accomplishments. Do that well and you’ll be able to easily ask the question, “Why should we consider you for this position?” You’ll have meaningful examples of how you contributed to propelling your current company forward in your current role and how that could translate into even more contribution in a higher role or with a new company. Need examples and a formula to do that? Find that “One Thing” here.

So that is how you grow inside the company and make those promotions happen. But there is another interesting statistic that caught my eye that indicates a new growth area you could take that could further your career even more, or add that spark that your day job is missing, or lead to you starting a business of your own.

Is freelancing for you?

1 in 3 workers earn their income through freelancing. Click To Tweet

This is an amazing statistic since the public school system has long driven home that you must do good in school, go to college, and get a good job, and then when you’re done the government will take care of you.

But will it?

As Millennials focus more on causes they believe in and lifestyle, the put-your-head-down-and-go mentality has ended. And they are looking to contribute and earn in new ways.

One of those ways is through freelancing or having “side hustles”.

Whether that is driving with Uber. Or tutoring high school students nights and weekends. Or starting an internet-based business. Or working a second job at a bar or local retailer in the evenings or around Christmas time to earn a little extra money. They’re not above hard work. They just want to do it on their terms.

Is this you? Are you willing to commit to putting your social life on the back burner for a while to build that nest egg to buy your first house? Or to pay off the student loan debt anchor sooner so you can enjoy life? Or to learn marketable skills to get ahead in your job? Or to start that business that will create the ultimate lifestyle so you don’t have to just get by?

If that is you but you don’t know where to start. Or if you have started but are struggling with how to balance things or need guidance on what is most important to focus on. Contact me and we can get you started down that path that is right for you.

Still trying to figure things out? Here’s some other posts you may enjoy…

Do Millennials Know the Secret?

I’m Not Qualified!

Are They Conspiring Against You? 10 Career-Killing Landmines They’ll Never Tell You

10 Blunders Newbie Entrepreneurs Must Avoid