running an info business Archives - Page 3 of 6

Just One Page, That’s All It Takes

The AIIP 2024 Symposium – the annual conference of the Association of Independent Information Professionals – was quite privileged to have former business reporter Sarah Glova as our Keynote Speaker in St. Louis, MO.

Cultivating Evergreen Thought Leadership: Insights from Jennifer Burke’s 2024 AIIP Symposium Session

By Aaron Harvey

At the recent AIIP conference, I had the pleasure of attending Jennifer Burke’s keynote “Cultivating Evergreen Thought Leadership.” Jennifer’s insightful presentation drew a compelling analogy between gardening and content creation, emphasizing the importance of diverse, sustainable, and strategic content practices. Her “Content Gardening” approach highlighted the need for a balanced mix of content to establish and maintain thought leadership. Here’s a look into her innovative content strategy.

Proving, Not Talking About, Your Value

By Mary Ellen Bates

One mistake made by many infopreneurs when they start their businesses is thinking that we need to sell ourselves, our capabilities, and our services to prospective clients. We assume that, when a prospect calls us to discuss a project, our job is to convince the caller that we are the best person for the job and that we are worth what we are charging for our services. When I was first introducing myself to the market, I would emphasize my years as a library manager, my graduate degree, and membership in AIIP as being indicators of my value.

Mastering the 5 Parts of Your Infopreneur Business

By Heather Carine

(Editor’s Note: Heather Carine will speak at the AIIP 2024 Symposium and at the pre-symposium Business Jumpstart Bootcamp in April.)

Information professionals love to connect dots.

When I read Josh Kaufman’s description of his concept of the five parts of every business in The Personal MBA, I loved the simplicity and the ease of connecting the dots. Kaufman distills the five parts of business, each flowing into the next, down to:

Mastering Independent Info Pro Life: AIIP’s Updated Getting Started Guide

By AIIP Outreach Committee

AIIP’s invaluable guide on how to start an independent information business has been refreshed! The updated edition of “The AIIP Guide to Starting Your Own Information Business” is now available on the AIIP website. The companion launch webinar on October 12^thwill feature a panel of new and seasoned AIIP members sharing their experiences and wisdom from getting their own businesses up and running (see registration info further below).

Becoming Frictionless

By Mary Ellen Bates

Why do our repeat clients come back to us? While we would like to believe it’s because of our breathtaking analysis, our brilliant marketing campaign, or our unique training program, it’s often something simpler – we’re easy to work with. We make it easier for our clients to come back to us than to find an alternative.

Having Difficult Conversations with Clients

By Mary Ellen Bates

In Colorado, where I live, we sometimes experience a weather phenomenon called virga. It is precipitation that falls from a cloud but evaporates before it hits the ground. It’s quite a sight. Infopreneurs often encounter the business equivalent of virga when we see ahead of us a stormy and contentious conversation with a client. But we can help evaporate it before we get drenched.

From Big Business to Solopreneur: A Success Story

By Kelly Berry

Starting Off

Like all good infopreneur stories, Janene Liston’s starts in the middle: after a successful career working for top international companies, she was burned out and decided to step back from the corporate world to heal and reassess. This was her opportunity to figure out what she really wanted to do. Like other solopreneurs, she found standing at the edge of her own new business to be scary and exciting.