Chinwag Jobs Blog

Secret diary of a freelancer: putting a best (first) foot forward in 2009

2008-12-22T13:21:22Z

In this series of blog posts at Chinwag Jobs, we present Secret Diary of a Freelancer, brought to you as part of Xchangeteam’s Freelancer of the Year 2008 awards.

Welcome to my secret diary. It’s secret because I want to be candid and give you the inside track on what my life is like as a freelance gun for hire. It’s warts an’ all but hopefully inspiring in the main, highlighting the highs and the lows of my profession. We freelancers are the future: hear it here first.

Putting a best (first) foot forward in 2009

Our digital marketing freelancer thinks that while others wind down for Xmas, it’s a good time of the year for the freelancers to skill up. Hint: working for other agencies is another way to keep those skills fresh.

Here we are at the end of quite a landmark year for business - 2008. It’s been a relatively quiet month in comparison to most of the 3rd and 4th quarters and it will continue to be so.
Time for a well-deserved rest? Maybe a better thing to do would be to think about updating your skills.

As a freelancer, it’s surprisingly easy to fall behind on the skills front. As a company person, training is par for the course: you have your regular appraisals, your training requirements are at least listened to and more often than not dealt with and tracked. It’s easy to miss out on this process once you step outside the womb of the big corporation - but important not to.

No peace for the self-employed after all, remember. You are always competing against the larger agencies with their legions of well-trained professionals, so it is important that you don’t give them a reason not to use your talents.

At the moment in particular don’t fall behind because you’re not on the same page of the book as everyone else in the marketing potential of FaceBook and the business opportunities Twitter represents. If you are still speaking Web 2.0 you need to be speaking Web 3.0, basically.

One advantage you have as a freelancer that the company drone certainly does not - and it’s worth highlighting! - is that working for an agencies for short assignment can allow you to pick up new techniques and accrue a lot of experience in a very intense way. Training is theory-based, but going to work in a context where that gets tested in practice is the best possible way to skill up.

So my thought is look for an assignment for a spell at a top agency. You will probably be helping global brands, and FTSE 100 companies with commensurate budgets. Working on big-ticket accounts might give you not just a new edge to your skills; it could mean that you get to play with cutting-edge techniques your regular, smaller clients may be too risk averse or budget restricted to be interested in.

So, mix it up, stop working so much for that one smaller agency. Take advantage of the seasonal downtime in your business to get some training over the next few months.

Next year will be tough. But you will be able to weather that storm better if your skills are up to the minute and your experience even more impressive than it already is.

Secret diary of a freelancer: party on

2008-12-17T08:30:51Z

In this series of blog posts at Chinwag Jobs, we present Secret Diary of a Freelancer, brought to you as part of Xchangeteam’s Freelancer of the Year 2008 awards.

Party on

Our digital marketing freelancer thinks Xmas parties are great networking opportunities. Not the office kind, but the client entertainment kind. But be warned - keep the booze intake to a minimum and never be so daft as to think you’re there to enjoy yourself!

Think back: as an office slave, the Office Christmas Party was an outlet for all that pent-up office sexuality - and in my case, an outlet for my inner Olivia Newton- John. Play that funky music white boy and I was off… not dancing on tables, but first and last off the dance floor. It was a lot of fun!

But that was then. And this is now.

I still get invites to other people’s office parties - if working onsite, say - and I sometimes go… it’s an odd experience. In the freelance demi-monde when one works for a company and sits in their office every day, and yet remains apart - ‘not one of them’ - it’s strange being in such a context these days. For which read, office tribalism a go go!

Any-how - my main point is that I and all you other digital freelancers out there just see these events differently now. The main focus for the party season for me and you has to be client entertainment. In that category I’d place the ones you may host for your clients, the ones your clients hosts for their clients, and finally the ones your suppliers may host for you. These various parties all equate to one thing - networking opportunities. Here there is lots of opportunity to make new business contacts, cement existing relationships and to talk shop.

And by the same token screw up the ones you already have. Networking opportunity may turn into networking disaster if you get swept away by that lovely free booze. This doesn’t have to be as extreme as you wearing your skirt on your head… but you may not be particularly funny or clever or even very charming after that one drink too many.

What you don’t want is leaving the client - or indeed anyone you have a solid business relationship with - any enduring image that’s anything less than positive and pleasant. So be warned.

Not in the same league as the gossip fall out from indiscrete goings on at the office party, sure - but it could make or break a business deal, sour a professional relationship,or otherwise give the impression you don’t want (think: the client thinks I fancy them now).

Your motto this Yule: fun - but keep the real fun until you’re with your mates and people who don’t pay your bills. Then get that skirt as high on your head as you like (if you must). Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! xxx

Secret diary of a freelancer: always be invoicing

2008-12-09T08:30:22Z

In this series of blog posts at Chinwag Jobs, we present Secret Diary of a Freelancer, brought to you as part of Xchangeteam’s Freelancer of the Year 2008 awards.

Always be invoicing

Our digital marketing freelancer is busy billing

The new VAT tax rate came into effect this week has upset some retailers who need to change all their price stickers - but it’s got me thinking about invoicing!

It’s pretty awful: nobody likes doing it or receiving invoices, but it’s a job that has to be done and regularly.

It’s no good generating all that income and then not receiving any of it, after all… But it’s not always as straightforward as that, as most of us freelancers know all too well. Yes - I mean that fun experience when you’ve undertaken lots of work for a client, start wondering when your bank account indicator will go back up to “full” - and they start querying it.

I once made the basic error of billing someone at the end of the project, rather than during it (and on a monthly basis, natch). It made sense because it was project-based work; the issues arose when the project was extended - and I became financially extended as a result. When I presented my fairly chunky (because I hadn’t billed for so long, remember) invoice, there was an enormous amount of amount-querying on their side and amount-justifying on mine. Not a pleasant situation - and to be fair, not really the client’s fault. People forget. A month is probably as long as your client can be expected to be totally on top of what you are doing for them.

Conversely, I have sometimes been in the joyous situation of being able to bill on a weekly basis. No queries on invoices whatsoever: wonderful brimming cash flow to boot. Unfortunately, this blissful arrangement came to an end because the client baulked at the admin involved (mutter, mutter).

Based on my experiences: if you are involved in doing business that is not especially high value (the client or the project do not immediately appeal) and perhaps the daily rate does not appeal too greatly, then perhaps think about payment arrangements such as weekly ones to make your life simple.

The greatest problem for a freelancer is financial insecurity. Your greatest asset, by contrast, is your creativity and ability to think outside the box. So why not apply your creative powers to your payment terms and contractual arrangements?

Keep up the invoicing in the meantime!

Secret diary of a freelancer: the tax man cometh

2008-11-28T12:09:58Z

In this series of blog posts at Chinwag Jobs, we present Secret Diary of a Freelancer, brought to you as part of Xchangeteam’s Freelancer of the Year 2008 awards.

The tax man cometh

Our digital marketing freelancer is getting into spirit of Xmas and thinking Tax Self-Assessment

For the likes of the self-employed, Christmas means expense. Holidays are never paid obviously, and then there’s the large present-buying bill. Apparently, Christmas this year is going to be more of a conservative affair. People are not going to be spending large sums on gifts; gone are the excesses of yesteryear; nonetheless, it’s significant expense and it falls on top of a holiday period which is also naturally non-income generating.

With these Scrooge like thoughts in mind, let’s consider the other significant happening at this time of year for the freelance professional. Not only will you have significant outgoing at this time of the year, but you will need to account for them.

It’s that self-assessment time again. You need to submit your accounts online before the January 31st deadline.

Get yourself an accountant if you don’t already have one – that’s my advice!

I had for years submitted my own accounts, thinking that it was a good policy for me to be familiar with the ways of Inland Revenue and not to pass off any of the accounting headache; but that assumes that I was effective at attributing expenses in the most tax efficient way. It seems I wasn’t, and I’ve saved myself money and a big admin headache by employing someone who is.

Just as you tell your clients to bring in the specialists (namely the likes of you and me) when required, so you need to bring in an accountant to go through that mountain of receipts.

It should mean a little extra money in your coffers (the accountant should pay for itself) which will please your inner scrooge no end.

Finally, A Word From The Sponsor, Christmas also means the close of entry for the Freelancer of the Year Awards. So along with the Xmas pressie list, sorting out your self-assessment, remember to get going on your entry. If I can receive a nomination, so can you. Prompt your client, or enter it yourself.

Coping with a downturn: managing the workforce

2008-11-27T09:00:59Z

Guest bloggers Zoë Ashcroft and Alex Abbott of law firm Winston & Strawn provide a helping hand for firms tackling employment issues.

As the recession hits, Companies are being forced to consider money saving tactics and make difficult decisions. Redundancies may be contemplated.

If your business is contemplating redundancies, read on.

We all think we know what redundancy means, and yet the word itself is a term of art created by, and enshrined in, employment legislation.

The law surrounding the termination of employment is a minefield. Employers need to take steps to minimise the risk of successful claims being brought against them.

When making redundancies, employers must ensure that the dismissal is fair and lawful to protect themselves from claims for unfair dismissal (under employment legislation) or wrongful dismissal (a breach of employment contract). Employers will also need to comply with discrimination legislation relating to matters such as sex, gender, race, religion and age discrimination together with a myriad of other employment regulations. For example, if more than 20 employees are to be made redundant over a 90 day period, the government must be informed.

What does all this mean?

As an employer you need to tread carefully. There are specific rules regarding the manner in which you can terminate employment relationships, which if followed, will help to protect you from exposure to expensive claims. No only must you be fair in your selection criteria but also in the process. If you fail to follow the correct procedure you risk the termination being viewed as automatically unfair by a tribunal.

Unfortunately, redundancy is a highly technical area of law, impossible to deal with in any real detail here, but in a nutshell, an employer considering redundancies should consult their lawyer to protect themselves.

Digital Mission to SXSWi

2008-11-20T17:17:05Z

The next Digital Mission to South by South West Interactive (SXSWi) in Austin, Texas is shaping up to be a corker with a series of networking events designed to promote, enlighten and enable digital SMEs to set up shop across the pond, all in the space of 6 nights and 5 days!

This is the second Digital Mission to be organised by Chinwag for UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) enabling digital companies to expand into overseas markets and attract investment outside the UK. The first one to the Web 2.0 Expo in New York last September was a roaring success for the companies that attended and this mission looks set to be just as helpful.

For more information about the mission, the criteria required and the selection process, please take a sneaky peak at the Digital Mission homepage

Applications are now open and will close on Monday, 24th November which is only 3 days away so it’s time to get your skates on if you’re interested in applying!

Secret diary of a freelancer: work/life balance

2008-11-20T16:56:03Z

In this series of blog posts at Chinwag Jobs, we present Secret Diary of a Freelancer, brought to you as part of Xchangeteam’s Freelancer of the Year 2008 awards.

Work/life balance

Our digital marketing freelancer knows too much work doesn’t just make Jack a dull boy - it makes him (or her) a sick boy, too

As a freelance, when does your average working day end? If you’re like me, it’s hard to put a definite boundary on the clocking on and off stuff. Think about all the things you do – have to find the time to do – in a working day: find, keep, bill and keep happy your clients, sure, but then there’s updating your website and portfolio, cold-calling potential new clients, attending networking events, bookkeeping, admin, creating back-ups, research (reading books and blogs), fitting in some training to keep up with the kids, checking out the competition… and so on. And on.

To adapt good old Hunter S Thompson’s adage: When the going gets tough, you work harder, not always smarter!

So even in the best of times, a freelancer’s life is a pretty damn busy one. And thus it’s easy to fall into the trap of working 12 hour days – worse, working into the wee small hours…

Being ‘free’ to work ‘when I want’ is the point – working silly hours at silly times is habit forming. It’s a great habit to kick.

So in that burgeoning order and diary book – put in some You Time. It’s a matter of self-discipline at the end of the day; you have plenty of discipline when it comes to meeting those client deadlines, so set yourself your own targets - and stick to them.

Making sure you are always properly holidayed-up is central. I firmly appreciate all the work and admin needs to be done for sure but cracking up in three years time at er, 25, in my case (blush) is not sensible. Give your clients plenty of warning and scheduling some real time off for you to decompress is no problem.

I also – as far as possible - keep exercised and look after myself. Get some private health insurance, too, so that when you are ill avoid the temptation to ‘work through it’ - take the time off to recover.

Take time out by booking meetings in your diary - meetings for yourself - and treat them seriously!

Whatever system suits you – work it up and stick to it. You are your own biggest asset and you don’t want to wear out your own gearbox.

Work life balance means not just working hard – it means ‘looking after yourself hard’ too.

Secret diary of a freelancer: yes we can

2008-11-13T10:18:03Z

In this series of blog posts at Chinwag Jobs, we present Secret Diary of a Freelancer, brought to you as part of Xchangeteam’s Freelancer of the Year 2008 awards.

‘Yes we can!’

Our digital marketing freelancer thinks business needs to take a leaf from Obama’s book

A fact that both I and I think the marketing industry itself is highly aware of is that the President Elect of the United States got there by relying heavily on the Web - and is expected to continue so relying during the course of his administration. Obama, of course, got into office by raising an appreciable chunk of his campaign funds via small donations over the Internet; and his ‘Change.gov‘ approach is going to be based on inviting the public to share ideas about running the country, encourage individuals to apply for jobs in the administration and undoubtedly occasionally get a flame mail or two from ‘Joe The Plumber’.

Exhilarating stuff in my mind, plus a great model of a transparent and genuinely participatory relationship with a service provider. Given the rise of all social media I have been encouraging my clients to embrace such a vision – albeit on a smaller scale, natch.

I have been encouraging clients to blog, create wikis, use Facebook, all the rest… but the resistance I have met is probably familiar to you too. Some social media are fine (to keep the troops happy), goes this argument, but to ask staff or customers for genuine involvement in the running of the company is not Social Networking, but Social Nihilism!

Will Obama’s success – and his transparency and willingness to genuinely involve his ‘customers’ - finally change this archaic set of notions?

Part of why I don’t have a salaried position is this: a frustration at working in a command and control style culture. As a freelancer, I get to say ‘yes I can’ a lot. Customers and workers, everywhere, want to call the shots and know what shots to call.

Like us freelancers, business needs to say ‘yes we can’, too.

Secret diary of a freelancer: it’s the economy stupid

2008-11-05T16:26:58Z

In this series of blog posts at Chinwag Jobs, we present Secret Diary of a Freelancer, brought to you as part of Xchangeteam’s Freelancer of the Year 2008 awards.

It’s the economy, stupid

Our digital marketing freelancer is fairly sure she’s keeping her head while all around are losing theirs

Well, for the tiny minority of us not caught up in BrandRossGate it’s the economy and changing business circumstances that are claiming undivided attention.

Don’t be surprised to hear the downturn has become a constant in all the campaigns I am now putting together. I am marketing ‘credit-crunch-friendly’ this and ‘credit-crunch-proof’ that; ‘how to not break the bank’ pieces and ‘how to breathe easier doing this while tightening your financial belt,’ flow from my laptop with gay abandon.

Gallows (creative) humour, you may say, as without doubt clients and budgets are where it’s really at in all this. The Great Depression Mark II is being wheeled out as an excuse to justify all manner of different saving/cut back schemes. However, despite this increased financial control, I am still being approached with offers of work, and good and lucrative work at that. None of my existing clients are cutting my budget – rather, upping it! So what does that say?

I think that freelance resource when budgets get sticky is probably an increasingly attractive solution for UK Plc. We are flexible, easy to hire and fire and ’scalable’ (doddle to hire two if one not enough). What’s more, we freelancers are a wellspring of creativity – and although creativity sounds like the first thing that would go when things get tougher, it’s seemingly the reverse. The requirement, even if the creative problem is ‘how to do more with less?‘, is greater.

All this is welcome good news for us hired guns!

In the midst of all this, it turns out I’ve been nominated for Freelancer of the Year. And no, dear reader - I didn’t nominate myself! A big thank you to my dear client who did, though!! Spread the love I say. I’ve never entered for any professional award before – not for the likes of me, I had always thought… But that’s a daft attitude, as one won’t win lotteries one doesn’t enter. So now I am ready to take the plunge and get my proper dues.

Word from the sponsor - so should we all, between finding yet another ‘bucking the credit crunch’ angle that is…

Secret diary of a freelancer: alive and kicking

2008-10-24T12:30:05Z

In this series of blog posts at Chinwag Jobs, we present Secret Diary of a Freelancer, brought to you as part of Xchangeteam’s Freelancer of the Year 2008 awards.

Alive and kicking

Our digital marketing freelancer is forging on with her blog - despite blogging’s recent demise

If you hadn’t noticed – blogging is dead, apparently.

This one ain’t. And great as it is, twitter is just not going to accommodate my wisdom (ahem). The postings are too short, not enough leg room for my interior thoughts, incisive observations and industry insights.

Hearing about the death of the blog, for a digital marketer, is a bit like accountants hearing about the death of the spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are hardly the hottest item in the business armoury, but nonetheless manipulating them is what beancounters do: I imagine being told they are defunct would be a bit of a blow.

Likewise, I, as a digital marketer, use blogs in multiple ways. I now star in (this) one, I advise my clients to star in their own and then I read a bunch of other blogtastic worthies to find out what we should be blogging about so as to encourage my clients to join the conversation and leave comments.

Therefore being told they are demised, deceased (cue Monty Python bores) is not altogether good news. Yes, I know that twitter is the Next Big Thing and we media lone wolves have to be ahead of the curve as always, dear reader… tweet, tweet. But blogging, like the trusty spreadsheet, simply does and probably for a long time to come has a place.

So I blog on! Convinced Web blogging is an art form just maturing, not dying. I’m living proof.

And finally, a message to Steph, my colleague in arms, great to hear from you – and that it’s great to know you too share the same freelance enthusiasm and drives. From where you are standing there’s nothing to be ashamed of, I agree. But the lack of common understanding of the lot of the self-employed can be frustrating. We lack a voice in many respects … despite my own vociferous one!

Keep on truckin’. And bloggin’.