So, You Want to Pick my Brain?

by "Get it Done Girl" on October 1, 2010 · 1 comment

in Free Agency

Claire Celsi wrote a great post yesterday entitled, “How to Ask for Pro-Bono PR or “Pick My Brain“”

Most Free Agents run into this situation at some point in time. It’s good to have a plan in place before you’re stuck in that moment.

I feel comfortable having my brain picked if:

  • We already know eachother and have some rapport
  • I’m returning a favor – I’ve picked their brain before
  • You’ve given me a referral in the past (also returning a favor)
  • You volunteer for a non-profit
  • Afterwords, you’ll write a LinkedIn Recommendation for me

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but there are ways to get your questions answered; just need to go about it in the right manner.

How do you handle this type of situation?

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Freelance Camp Des Moines – BE THERE!

by "Get it Done Girl" on September 23, 2010 · 0 comments

in Free Agency,freelance

Freelance Camp Des Moines is here – mark your calendars and register to attend this day-long event:

Where: Foundry Coworking @ 1312 Locust Street, First Floor

When: Saturday, October 23, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the event; 4 to 6 pm After Event Festivities

What: A day-long learning  and idea-sharing event for free agents, business owners, consultants, recruiters and more.

Registration: $25 registration (Event is limited to 75 registrants, so act quick!)

Inclusions: Breakfast, lunch, beer and pizza dinner. One-year membership in Freelance Pros, a BPA-free, stainless steel water bottle.

SATURDAY AGENDA:

8:30 am – Breakfast with networking session

9:30 am – Brainstorm of breakout session topics

10: 30 am – Breakout session #1 (three concurrent sessions)

11:30 am – Breakout session #2 (three concurrent sessions)

12:30 pm – Lunch (provided)

2:00 pm – Breakout session #3 (three concurrent sessions)

3:00 pm – Breakout session #4 (three concurrent sessions)

4:00 pm – Final wrapup

4:00 – 6:00 pm – After Event – Networking opportunity with pizza and refreshments provided

POSSIBLE TOPICS:

  • Insuring your freelancing
  • Electronic Invoicing
  • Project management
  • Building a freelance team
  • Networking for the freelancer
  • Taxes for the freelancer
  • Pitching / Marketing your business
  • Building a pricing structure
  • And more

Speakers include:

Nathan T. Wright of Lava Row

Andrew B. Clark of Create WOW Marketing

Jason Kerber with KerberTech

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What is Social Networking?

by "Get it Done Girl" on September 18, 2010 · 0 comments

in Social Media

I recently presented to a networking group about how social media can help them grow their business. I told the group that they could jump right in with their questions as I wanted this presentation to be more of a conversation than a speech. Right off the bat, a gentleman asked me what social networking was. Below are some definitions:

Wikipedia
http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/
About.com

Social Networking in Plain English:


How would you define Social Networking?

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Lately I’ve come to know a few people who are operating an extremely successful freelance business….but they don’t have a business. name I applaud them because they didn’t let the stress of arriving at the perfect business name hold them back from moving forward with their dream.

When I started my business last fall, I spent about a month brainstorming names until I landed on Contemporary Business Solutions. Did I love it? No. Did it represent my business well? Yes. I’ve created a current, contemporary solution to business’ needs by contracting my time when they have project that needs to be done. All too often small business owners feel that they need to hire staff when the workload picks up – that might not be the best solution. It’s extremely expensive to hire a permanent employee when you’re not positive that the upswing in business is going to last. That’s where I come in.

A few months ago, I received an email from someone saying that I was introduced to them from afar at a networking event. Basically, someone was pointing out people in the room by their tag line and I was the “Get It Done Girl” in their eyes. WOW – sure wish I knew who that person was so I could thank them because it’s a perfect fit. I grabbed that tag line and ran with it. I began including it in my pitch at networking events and now people are introducing me to others not by my business name, but by my tag line, which I think is more powerful and descriptive of me as a person.

My point here is to not let your business name hold you back from moving forward. If you don’t love it, that’s okay. Once your community gets a sense of who you are and what you do, chances are, something magical will happen and your tag line will emerge…

Have any of you had similar experiences? Which came first, the business name or your tag line?

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Is Your Blog Post Consumable?

by "Get it Done Girl" on September 2, 2010 · 0 comments

in How To:,Social Media

When you’re cooking something for dinner, you can definitely tell when you’ve forgotten to season it; whatever it is you’ve prepared, if it’s not tasting good, you’re not going to eat it. So, why do you ask your blog audience to read posts which you haven’t spiced up at all?

I’ve been using the word “consumable” quite a bit lately as it relates to blog posts written by the clients I’m coaching. As they write, I impress upon them the importance of making what they’re writing “taste good” so it can be easily digested.

Here are some of the characteristics of an “under-seasoned” blog post:

  • It consists of one block of text – not good for the reader with wandering eyes…
  • It’s 1000 words long and the author still hasn’t gotten to the point
  • There’s no image to help me remember what the author wrote about – I’m a visual person – help me out…
  • There’s language used which I don’t fully understand and the author hasn’t linked out to a resource to help me learn more

How do you spice up your blog posts to make them “consumable”?

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