Getting Professional

A new year means boosted efforts towards professional development, networking and community involvement.

It’s a good thing to step outside your boxes and comfort zones. And doing so, with little hesitation, often reaps the most rewards. Sign up and go. Stepping out for new volunteer gigs, events, or seminars, opens doors to incredible experiences. It’s all learning anyways.

First up for 2013 was the one-day seminar: Building Your Freelance Business, hosted by the Professional Writers Association of Canada, and the Editors’ Association of Canada. For freelancers in writing or editing, or anyone tempted by the dream of independent employment, I’ve packaged here my favorite take-aways in an easy-to-digest list. Everyone likes lists.

1. Make the Plan for Business

This was an essential step highlighted by speaker Diane Davy, executive director at WorkInCulture. You can’t get anywhere if you don’t know where you’re going, or where you want to go. Freelancing is a business and needs to be planned accordingly. Nothing fancy, but have a working document that highlights your mission, your goals, and most importantly your strategies for achieving those goals. Don’t forget to measure.

2. Accounting and Good Records

A simple, but surely undervalued, part of the process. Darren Rotsch, CA of Murphy and Chung, spoke to the basic practicalities of running your solo business. Be proactive and get set up with a trustworthy accountant or bookkeeper ahead of time. Jump into the habit of keeping good records as soon as possible. Save all your receipts, anything you do that contributes to building your business can be considered an expense. A simple spreadsheet and regularly scheduled updates will help track amounts as you move along.

 3. Market Analysis

Know your market and who your target audience is. It also helps to know exactly what it is you’re offering your clients. Many voices at the seminar stressed the importance of being able to add value to your services or product. You need to be able to convince clients (and yourself) that you are worth it, and your services will be of lasting value. Also, a good quote from Davy: “networking is marketing.”

4. Change and Change Again

This point came up again and again. Things are changing, so count on that. This applies broadly across most industries, but especially within media and publishing. For freelancers, this means having a business plan that is adaptable and constantly updating your marketing strategy, online presence, and scope of work.

 5. Love and Trust

As with most things in life, it all comes down to relationships. This is remarkably true for freelancers and a recurring theme through many discussions. Building solid relationships with clients is paramount to freelance survival. From negotiating rates, to estimating, and resolving the problems that inevitably arise within any project, having clients that know, trust, and respect you is the key for enjoying what you do and being successful.

6. Who Knows Who and Who Knows You

It was reaffirmed that most people doing the hiring or making the decisions often aren’t interested in blind resumes or cold calling. The phrase of the day was certainly “warm contacts.” You need to revisit and reconnect with anyone and everyone who might be a potential lead. But keep it business-like, there is no need to cross lines into blatant self-promotion and repellant advertising. The other message here is to get out, get involved, and put yourself in environments that will connect you to the people you want to work with. And if you’re passionate about what you do, this doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing.

7. Find a Friend

Freelancing can be lonely and isolating, so many recommend finding a friend or connecting with a colleague working in a similar situation. It’s great to bounce ideas off others and it helps to put a critical spin on what you do and what your approach is.

Other quick tips from the day:

• Tax Free Savings Account – Get one if you don’t already have.

• Check out @EdGandia and the International Freelancers Academy, Gandia’s 2012 Freelance Industry Report is worth a gander.

• Rescue Time – A superb tool for tracking your computer usage and accounting for all those minutes you waste looking up recipes and pictures of friends’ babies.