Archive for the ‘Creative marketing’ Category

The preparation for the European Cooking Trip is going strong at my home office. It’s quite a challenge to set up a 21 day adventure through 7 European countries with one cooking course per country. Fully guided with transport in a luxury van and accommodation for the entire trip.

Meanwhile you can check out the current homepage of www.europeancookingtrip.com and watch the video trailer. If you want to stay up to date with the release of the final website of this culinary trip through Europe, sign up for the mailinglist.

So far the planning is to schedule 4 trips in the summer of 2011, making availability for a maximum of 8 participants per trip and a year total of only 32 participants. I am telling you, this is exclusive traveling!

To be continued…

I spoke on a business panel on social media this morning, and specifically how law firms and professional services firms could engage: “To Tweet or not to Tweet”…

The gist of my points was to step back from the technology, and instead, examine the overall business/online strategy, the users and from there, to define and plan how social media might fit. It’s like ‘Web 2.0′ and ‘RSS’ and every other term that frightens the living crap out of marketers… social media is not a new thing, it’s merely where web publishing and users are evolving too.

A few points I covered:

1. Social Media is just another form of web publishing; its characteristics are slightly different in that it breaks from the usual ‘unidirectional’ style of publishing to one that is:

• Contemporary
• Often-two way
• Conversational and honest

2. Businesses should not get caught up in the hype and technology, and instead, focus on:

• Their objectives; and
• Their clients/customers and what they genuinely want online.
• In other words, don’t start Twitter for sake of Twittering. Work out what you need and then look where your audiences are.
• First mover advantage is not central, though those who move quickly, reap the benefits.
• Define a social media policy and roadmap; change takes time and baby steps are a great way to start.
• Stick with it, because nothing is immediate.
• Always focus on the best, most beneficial content. You get what you pay for.
• Be realistic… big businesses take time to steer. Show benefits of new policies and communication channels to get buy-in and show relevance.
• Invest in reputation monitoring software.

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Being an effective and successful freelancer is not easy. We have to be polite, respectful, punctual, and our work must consistently surpass client expectations. Here are some tips to help you become more effective at managing your workload.

Let everyone know what you do
Everyone. No, seriously—everyone. Not just your neighbours but their dogs as well. Place your business cards at bars, stores, bulletin boards, and any other place that might be related to your business.

Many freelancers will find that even their families do not know what they do. A little clarification can help tremendously.

Use a calendar
Eventually, your work load will grow into a chaotic mess unless you implement and actually use a calendar. You will never have that “I’m forgetting something” moment again.

An effective use of a calendar is for task lists. When you build out a task list for a project, add estimated dates for each task. By monitoring your calendar you will be on top of things with minimal effort.

On my PC I simply use Google Agenda, giving me instant access to my calendar at all times, even on my phone. This sort of mobility is priceless.

You are a business
An inexpensive and easy way to gain respect as a freelancer is to acquire a business license and fictitious name. Instead of saying “Hello my name is Bob and I do this”, you could say “Hello, this is Bob from Fantastic Media Services”. No longer an anonymous expendable face, you have a corporate identity.

A fictitious name is a name under which a business performs. For example, “Coca-Cola” is not the name of an individual but rather a fictitious name for the company. Just sign in as a starting freelancer at your local Chamber of Commerce and you’re done. Banks will usually allow you to open an account in your business’ name with just the fictitious name statement.

The easiest business to create is the Sole Proprietorship, which allows you to conduct consistent business, yet requires no extra bookkeeping—all your revenue is claimed on the next year’s income tax statement.

Communicate
I one heard a complaint from a client of mine saying that freelancers are unreliable: they tend to drop off the face of the Earth. Or they are always too busy.

Maintaining consistent contact with a client builds a bond of trust and reliability. As stupid as it sounds, a client is more likely to contact you if they think you will respond.

Reply to all emails within minutes of reading them. If you do not yet have an answer to their question, let them know that you are actively looking for one.

All calls should be responded to with a phone call, never an email, unless specifically requested. Always take the option of a phone call. The more human and welcoming you are, the greater the bond of trust.

Be honest
A riddle: What is worse than receiving bad news? Not receiving the bad news.

Nobody is perfect and freelancers tend to give highly optimistic expectations of a project. Unfortunately, when a delay or other unforeseen incidents happen, freelancers will commonly not inform their clients for fear of retribution. However, this only creates bigger trouble for you. The client needs to know when a problem arises, immediately. They will understand. After all, “business” is another word for “delay”.

Be confident
You know you can complete the project. All of your qualifications match the description and you have had similar projects in the past.

Now you have to convince the client that you can do it.

Your confidence is on what your client’s confidence will be built; If you have none,nor will your client. Dress the part, talk the talk, and have a firm handshake.

Another well-known secret seems to escape many freelancers: do not tell them only what you can do, tell them also what they want to hear.

Use your strengths; Outsource your weaknesses
There will come a time in every freelancer’s career when he or she is faced with a project that is beyond the scope of their solitary capabilities. Unfortunately, I have seen a lot of people simply say that they cannot do it and pass on the project.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed by such a project, the key is to accept it with open arms, as this project could lead to more opportunities. Since you cannot handle it alone, find some people to help you.

Separate home and work
An important part of living is being able to relax. Working from home tends to make this difficult since your work and your life eventually homogenize.

Combat this by separating the two. If you can afford a small office, do it. If you have a spare room, make that your office. Otherwise, find another way to segregate your work area, even if it is just a changing screen. That isolation will ensure that your career does not creep into your real life.

Stay fresh and up to date
No matter what field you are in, technology is changing it. This, obviously, is more prominent with those of us who work with computers. The key is to pay attention to the new trends in your field.

Keep and backup your work
Keep it forever; Back it up at consistent intervals.

Just imagine working for 100 hours on a project only to have that work destroyed by a virus, spyware or a hard drive crash. Not only that, but all the rest of your work saved on the hard drive is gone as well. What do you suppose your chances are of retrieving that data? Very small. Services exist that claim to be able to retrieve such data, and while these might be a lifesaver, they should not be the backup plan.

Find a suite of software that allows you to compress your data and burn it to CDs, DVDs or even upload it to a secure storage platform like Strongspace. And always make multiple backups.

Conclusion
Being a freelancer means being agile, smart, intuitive, driven and willing to get dirty. As fun as working for oneself is, it requires a lot of discipline. But if you end up pulling it off, you will have a most rewarding career.

I know two CEO’s: one in publishing is a friend; the other in manufacturing is an email friend. There is a common bond between the two; both are in their sixties and both act as if they are closer to twenty-two. Their sense of vitality springs from their passion for what they do.

Each feels a sense of pride in the businesses he leads; more importantly, each is pushing his respective organization to new heights with a vigor found typically in much younger men. Their can-do attitudes seem almost corny, as if sketched from an earlier age or at least from musicals like The Music Man. But both men are in exactly the right positions at the right time. Read the rest of this entry »