Independent information professionals (IIPs) go by many names:
- researcher,
- freelancer,
- contractor,
- consultant,
- knowledge manager,
- content developer,
- … and more.
One of the most common questions AIIP volunteers hear when talking with new info-entrepreneurs and those considering the leap to self-employment is whether AIIP can help them get clients.
They wonder if there is a job referral board, programs to promote members’ businesses, or tools for getting subcontracting work from other members.
The answer is that yes, AIIP offers the tools and resources for each member to attract the kinds of clients that are just right for that person’s skills and expertise, but these tools don’t take the form of a referral program or direct client outreach.
Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) members are often asked variations of questions such as: What is it like to be in business as an independent information professional?;and How do I go about establishing such a business?
To help answer these, let’s start with …
What does an independent information professional do?
We asked our AIIP Past Presidents to share their tips on building and growing a successful independent information business.
Cindy Shamel, AIIP President (2003-2004) shares some tips on looking for new markets.
My livelihood depends upon successfully engaging a target market willing to pay cash money for my products and services. Today I have an established client base, but sustainability requires strategic and ongoing monitoring looking for gaps and opportunities.
Read More →
One of the key benefits of belonging to AIIP – or any professional association – is having a listing in the membership directory: a post from Mary Ellen Bates
Independent info pros often need to bring colleagues in for a large project or subcontract out a job that exceeds their ability or timeframe, and there is no better way to find a good partner than through the AIIP Business Directory.
Many new business owners get tongue-tied when it comes to describing their business and, as a result, they miss a great opportunity to expand their business through subcontracting and referrals.
We asked our AIIP Past Presidents to share their tips on building and growing a successful independent information business.
Marcy Phelps, AIIP President (2009-2010) shares tips on long term planning.
At meetings of the I-25ers, a group of independent information professionals located in and around Colorado, we often discuss how to stay focused. It’s getting harder and harder, with the many hats we wear and the ever-increasing rate of change in our lives and work, to make decisions about our businesses and carry them out.
Setting goals for the next 5 or 10 years provides focus in our lives and milestones for success.
It will also keep you sane.
We asked our AIIP Past Presidents to share their tips on building and growing a successful independent information business.
Crystal Sharp (AIIP President, 2006) shares her ideas on finding a balance that works.
In the usual course of play, study, or work, individuals — consciously or not — take steps to exert some control over their immediate short-term or long-term future. What is unsettling about Facebook, Linked In, Snapchat and the churn and flux of new social communication channels is the rapid pace at which our world is being stretched, flattened and flexed. As the familiar and predictable structures of social, professional and personal relationships are shifted, we are left less in control.
The information profession is vast, almost undefinable. At AIIP, we carve out our niche as infopreneurs with many research-based specialties including competitive intelligence, information management, marketing research, and pharma research. As diverse as our business specialties may be, “we are more alike, my friend, than we are unalike.” –Maya Angelou.
Our likenesses stem from running our own businesses and from being experts in aspects of finding, analyzing, managing and sharing information. The person next to you may be a private investigator, writer, marketer, patent researcher or a win-loss expert. We have a myriad of experts hiding in plain sight.
And therein lies the beauty of AIIP. The value we offer each other is that we are all teachers and learners.
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Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved