Family days at the “office”

One of the hardest things about being a working mother, when I was corporately employed, was walking the guilt line when needing to take time off when needed to deal with family issues. There is nothing worse than having a sick child or family member in need and having to be at work while someone else cares for them. And staying home often leads to tension at work, in many workplaces.

A definite perk of having a home office this last while has been that I could spend quality time with an aged but fun-loving pet. This week, he passed away in his sleep, peacefully in the living room in the middle of the usual family action. As shocking and sad as this was (I am still tearing up) I was relieved that I didn’t have the added pressure of having to negotiate a day off.

Kramer was a wild and crazy old guy, and his antics were well known. So many people appreciated him, even our vet office staff was in tears. In the first few months I worked at home, I spent a lot of time experimenting with different office set-ups and methods to organize my work. One involved a large 3 by 5 foot eraseable whiteboard. I used children’s scented markers to colourfully differentiate projects and deadlines. I came into the room the next day and found big tongue smears had obliterated my work! Guess who had coloured fur? This was one of many “Kramer” stories that bring a smile to my face, and tears to my eyes. He was a great member of our family for 14 years, and the office isn’t the same without him. Rest in peace Kramer!

Can you handle the truth?

As my friend and fellow solo-preneur Wendy have discussed often, during and since our days in cube-ville, many people have a romanticized view of self employment — no more alarm clocks, three hour martini lunches, exotic vacations and magical tax write-offs.

If there are many entrepreneurs out there who fit that image, I haven’t met them! The reality is irregular paycheques, no more tech support, and needing to be stellar at not only in your area of expertise but at selling, administration and business.

It takes a certain personality type to thrive. Thick skin, curiosity and interest in learning and continually improving and a certain “why not me?” attitude are prerequisites. So are willingness to adapt and flexibility in schedule. Many women start businesses with the intention of spending more time with their children or lessening their stress – this is fallacy and propaganda! Yes, there are great benefits — the ability to attend school events, be there for family and friends, and kicking off to the beach on a hot afternoon. But there is also working late into the night many days in a row to go on vacation, scrambling to find an internet hookup during a “day off” and realizing there is no one to call when your computer crashes or your printer quits the morning of a major presentation.

This winter I enjoyed a relaxing vacation in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. The photo shown above was taken from our condo. During that trip, I edited and proofed a newspaper, sent out an e-marketing campaign and approved a brochure layout for a client. At that moment, I felt like a short, Ukrainian-Canadian female Donald Trump. Like the occasionally great shot from the tee, the thrill I get doing what I like to do, on my own terms, is what keeps me in the game! But like the pursuit we call golf, you have to be prepared to hit more errant than accurate shots and spend time in the traps.

The value of time

If you’re thinking of becoming a solo-preneur, one of the biggest obstacles to overcome can be your own mindset. As a corporate employee, your days are defined for you. Yes, they can be long, and no doubt, they can be intense. They can even drive you crazy! You may even take your “work” home with you — literally and figuratively. But the key difference is that they are finite and there is a structure set for you. And you get paid regardless – perhaps with overtime and bonuses added on.

New solo-preneurs quickly prosper or perish when it comes to time management. Some have difficulty with their freedom, others try to impose an “employee” structure on their own workday. Neither has been that useful for me. I don’t lack discipline, I am guilty of spending too much time at my desk, and I like getting up early.

The biggest “a-ha” moment I had was during a teleseminar I listened in to, when the speaker said the role of an entrepreneur is to turn time into money. Now that made sense, and the most expedient way to do that is to work smarter, as well as faster. It’s in your best interest, as well as your clients’. With this mindset, you tend to focus more acutely on what is most important.

Many solo-preneurs will try to do what they can themselves, as inexpensively as possible. I do not subscribe to this model – if you have available work, for example, that is charged at $100 an hour, does it truly pay to enter names into your contact list, learn how to use various software and other tasks yourself? Within the first six months of starting my business, and after one all-nighter spent fixing charts and stuffing sheets of paper into sheet protectors, I decided getting help was no longer an option. And as excited as my seven-year old assistant is to help me, the time spent supervising outweighs the benefit of delegating. Since that time I have used a variety of virtual resources for tasks like setting up databases and shopping cart systems, editing and formatting, and technology support. The best part about virtual assistance is that the people you are working understand being self-employed, and have a vested interest in ensuring your projects are completed to your satisfaction. Business depends on it.

Tip: If you want to get a handle on how much time you are spending, use this free tool  to track your projects and task. I set up projects and tasks for each client, as well as time spent on blogging and other business-related tasks. It also allows me to bill to the minute, so I know I am neither undercharging or overcharging clients.

The hardest thing is to start

All writers and creative people have their little tricks to get started. This blog has been bouncing around in my head for the last few months, begging to be let out. Usually this happens around 3 a.m. when I get up to let my 14-year old, counter-surfing Airedale Kramer out. He is nocturnal these days. When I go back to bed, I often can’t sleep. It’s usually in this semi-sleep that my best ideas come (or so they seem in the middle of the night).

Clients and associates ask me if it’s hard to come up with ideas to write about, as I have been publishing my Ready, Aim, Inspire! blog for about a year. Actually, it’s not the ideas that are the problem…it’s that I have too many of them. That blog is targetted specifically for nonprofit organizations, to share tips and resources.

This blog is intended to share experiences related to communications, and especially for those of us who have left the corporate world behind to fly solo. There are many blogs and websites out there catering to independent professionals and freelance writers or copywriters, but none I have found seemed to fit me: a corporate communications strategist operating as a solo-preneur, and not looking to become part of an agency. So, fellow corporate communications fugitives, or wanna-be’s, this site is for you.