The Freelance Rules #3 - Stay Connected

One of the biggest shocks of moving from corporate life to a microbusiness was the status change that comes from no longer being a budget holder and instead being a service provider. Overnight, my position on the chain of influence slipped hugely and suddenly the people who'd been generous with their time, their interest and their lunch accounts when I'd been on the inside and putting work their way were far less willing to return my calls or even answer my emails.

Instead of being an opportunity for their business I was, to some, a threat, and to others simply not worth wasting their time. No longer a corporate decision maker, I was no longer worth any effort. What hit hardest was the change in relationship with former colleagues. Some stayed in touch, were supportive and, indeed, put some great work Leapfrog's way. For others, I was obviously tainted with redundancy, and I rapidly moved off a few people's Christmas Card lists.

Frankly that's an attitude that has baffled me over the past decade as I've watched myriad former colleagues move in and out of corporate roles, interiming and freelancing. I work in a small, incestuous and interconnected industry - and you tend to bump into people time and again, so surely it pays to keep up cordial working relationships when you can?

In truth, when I formed Leapfrog it didn't take me long to realise that I had to move on - and if I couldn't move my business connections with me, I had to find new ones. Too many fledgling microsbusinesses fail when they rely only on the people they've worked with before to provide their future success. It sounds like an absolute no-brainer - but you'd be surprised how many independents just end up picking up the slack from their old job as a 'consultant' - and never really make the break (I should know, it's what I did for nearly a year with Nationwide back in the early 90s).

You'll recognise your real friends from the corporate world by considering who you're still in contact with six months down the line after your last leaving 'do'.

Today, it has never been easier to build connections thanks to the plethora of social media abounding in the tekkywebisphere. But being 'linked'; being a facebook friend or following someone on Twitter doesn't establish a real connection. You have to work on those: to get your voice out there; to become a recognised voice in the right fora; to be seen in the right professional social media environments. Create the right net rep and it will help add credibility to your emerging business reputation. While it won't bring you work directly it might help open the odd door.

But the best connections remain real face to face ones. That's where the real work comes in. It's terribly easy when you're working on your own or perhaps as part of a two-some to get really isolated. It's good to let people know you're still out there. Steel yourself for the polite refusals, but ask the person you'd like to meet professionally out for a coffee, or just give them a call. Emails are very easy to ignore - and going that step further shows people you're willing to make an effort.

Think beyond business development too - work at building a network of people in associated services - or even people who could cover for you (or you for them) at some point down the line. You're not working in isolation, and the sooner you can build and contribute to a network of professional interest, the better you'll be placed to move onwards and, who knows, back up that influence chain again.

Perfect day...almost

My work ethic is based on rewarding myself - but only when the job's done. So today, with the kids off on half-term and a deliberately light work schedule, I bashed out what I needed to do by 10.30am. I'll do some more after 3pm when Jac's back, but have just come back from spending an hour and a half on top of Whiteleaf Hill overlooking Risborough.

Last night we went to football at Wycombe Wanderers, but the game was called off after just 22 minutes due to heavy snow. It was an icy and dicey drive back home (I miss my 4 wheel drive Subaru!) but we awoke this morning to a good two inch blanket of snow.

Sophie and I headed up into the Chilterns mid-morning and found a lot of timber down across the minor roads, collapsed under the weight of snow. While it's melting off now, I can't remember having this heavy a snowfall in October.

Up on the Chiltern escarpment the snow was deep, powdery and crisp, the sky blue and cloudless and the scene was beautiful. Frankly there's no-one better to spend an hour and half in the snow with than an eight year old.

Taking a bit of time off is one of the great perks of freelancedom.........I just wish I'd remembered to bring my camera......!

Is it right to blog about a slog?

Work is a right old slog at the moment. It's not that it's not enjoyable, but the last few weeks have been long days with back to back interviewing/writing, broken up by meetings (sometimes about meetings) often on the phone and quite often drawing people from across a wide range of time zones. I'm tired, the weather's grim and I'm generally feeling off colour.

A number of projects have been dragging beyond their planned timeframe - it's not a problem when it happens with one, but when three or four collide, it certainly adds an edge to the juggling!

Thank god the clocks go forward at the weekend, adding light to the evenings - now all we need is a bit of warmth to the days!

We've just got through Easter weekend, but it was odd being dislocated from the kids' spring holidays. I took Rory and his mate to football on Monday and the first half was played in a snowstorm - although Stockport had the aptly named Dominic Blizzard at the heart of their midfield!

It's spring now and I want to start playing tennis and cricket - but the garden's a muddy morass and the park's not much better, while the tennis courts are slick and greasy.

I also want a few days R&R but am in that typical freelance position of being invoice and work rich, but payment poor. It seems the bigger the client, the more difficult it is to get paid these days - and I've been working for some very big-name operators recently. So, in theory, I could splash out on a few days in the sun, but the reality is in these credit-crunched times that I'll still be chasing my tail chasing payments during April rather than padding across a warm sandy beach.

Ah, dream on!

All 'freelancers' aren't the same

I've had one of those infuriating exchanges this afternoon with an agency looking to bring in freelance talent to help with their projects.

I'm always looking to expand my comms network and have had a couple of conversations with this agency before. So I responded to the person putting out the call, explained a little about my background and the kind of projects I'm currently - and previously - have worked on.

It must have sparked a little interest as she came back almost immediately and asked my date/hourly rates.

Now I'm probably upper quartile for writing/editing but cheap for consultancy - I sent back some rates but explained that I'd far rather quote on a project basis as I work a lot quicker than many others in my situation. How do I know that? Mainly from a year where I've commissioned a lot of writing from other sources - and have been gobsmacked by how long it takes some people to produce the goods (or how little they seem to think merits a day's pay).

The contact came back almost as quickly stating they paid about a third of my day rate to freelancers - and was I still interested?

No! No! A thousand times no!!!!

When will agencies realise that they have to treat freelancers as individuals and actually marry the skills on offer to the projects they're handling. Freelancer skills can't simply be commoditised. We have different experience and skills to bring, and judging people only on price brings everyone down to a 'word rate' which takes no account of the insight an individual brings to a job.

If we were making widgets to a set formula, then fine.

But comms isn't like that and while agencies select talent on price alone, the only people who suffer are clients.

Now not all agencies are like that - but in the UK at least, too many still are.

It's more effort to get work directly from new sources - but I keep coming back to the thought that it's so much more satisfactory than working through an agency whose goals are maximising their own profits while minimising their costs.

Funny enough, if this agency invested a little more time in selecting their freelances, they'd probably not spend a whole lot more and gain far higher client satisfaction.