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.
Continue reading From Big Business to Solopreneur: A Success StoryI was recently talking with a colleague who commented that there were steps she needed to take to help build her business, but it just felt like too much. She wasn’t the kind of person who reaches out to strangers and asks them for a 15-minute phone conversation; that’s something that phone researchers feel comfortable doing, but not an online researcher like her.
Continue reading No More “Fake It ‘til You Make It”As I embark on any new venture, I always like to take a little time to reflect on what brought me to this point. As infopreneurs, many of us will be familiar with the knowledge management concepts of ‘lessons learnt’ and ‘peer reviews’ for projects. And we probably apply those concepts as second nature to our client projects. But how many of us consciously take the time to reflect on our personal work or life journey?
Continue reading President’s Message: New beginnings and self-reflectionWhen I started my business after having worked in corporate information centers, I was afraid that I would have to replace all the expensive subscription databases I had access to as an employee. I worried that I would not be able to prove my credibility or expertise to my clients without the professional tools I was accustomed to.
Continue reading It’s All About Why, not HowAIIP recently hosted a webinar on how to build your word-of-mouth referral network (members may see the recording), and it got me thinking about the importance of finding effective ways to let people know what you do without sounding like a talking billboard.
Continue reading Showing, Not Telling, What You DoI was recently asked by someone I’m coaching for advice on how she could negotiate an increase in her hourly rate on an ongoing project, as she had initially priced herself at a low hourly rate. My advice to her was that she had a few options. She could go back to the client and tell her that she was going to raise her hourly rate, but she would have to be able to point to increased value since the inception of the project. In other words, what’s the added value that the client gets for the higher budget? What else can she do in the same number of hours that enhances the value of her contribution? Alternatively, she could chalk this up to a learning experience—we’ve all had them—and reflect on how she can position herself in the future to charge a rate that better reflects her value.
Continue reading How to Give Yourself a RaiseWhen you hear Independent Information Professional, what do you think of? Someone who organizes, shares, or disseminates information? That is true, though it can manifest in several different ways. Our members run the gamut from technologists, researchers, coaches, marketing professionals, knowledge managers, web designers, private investigators, thought leaders, and public speakers. We are scattered throughout the world, yet we are all connected by the desire to grow and flourish as business owners.
Continue reading We’re a Diverse Set of Business Owners with the Desire to GrowBack in March of this year, the topic for AIIP’s monthly Info Pro Café virtual event was “Meaningful Metrics: Measuring What Matters for Infopreneurs.” (The recording and notes are available for AIIP members at https://www.aiip.org/Members-Only/IPC-metrics/; my other thoughts on this topic are at https://www.batesinfo.com/reluctant-entrepreneur/meaningful-metrics/)
That discussion, along with some conversations I have had with coaching clients, got me thinking about some of the less measurable metrics – or at least goals – that help us maintain a good work-life balance and avoid burnout. In addition to bringing in enough revenue to cover our expenses and pay us according to our value, we need to ensure we find satisfaction and fulfillment in our work.
One of the metrics I use is how much free time I have and whether I feel like I have control over how I spend my time. I make sure that I take off at least one half-day a week for local volunteer work or to take a hike during off-peak hours. Sure, that may mean that I am in the office over the weekend, but it’s important to me that I can prioritize my non-work activities. (Speaking of volunteering, remember that AIIP offers lots of satisfying volunteer opportunities that give you a comfortable space to build a new skill.)
Look for opportunities to give away your expertise in a context in which you also find enjoyment. When I am offering a workshop, for example, I always offer free follow-up support for all participants. While at first I was concerned that I would be overwhelmed with requests, I found instead that the people who did contact me after an event always had interesting or thought-provoking questions that I enjoyed addressing. I am rewarded for the small amount of unpaid time on my part by getting to have thoughtful conversations and gain fresh perspectives.
Related to finding non-monetary ways to be paid for your expertise is finding clients with whom you feel a particular kinship. A recent article in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, “To be or not to be your authentic self? Catering to others’ preferences hinders performance” (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749597817308865), describes a study of entrepreneurs’ success in pitching their ideas to potential investors – not unlike our marketing efforts as solopreneurs. The research found that the entrepreneurs who focused on catering to the investors’ expectations and interests performed worse than those who offered a pitch that felt authentic and genuine. The cognitive burden of attempting to discern the listener’s interests and concerns interferes with our ability to connect with the other person.
My takeaway from this and similar research is that the most effective way to attract clients I enjoy working with is to be my authentic self in all my public spaces. I keep my LinkedIn profile fresh and, yes, I post in Facebook with both business-related thoughts and my landscape photos. While I draw the line at politics, I try to show an authentic version of myself in my writing and speaking, knowing that my style may not appeal to everyone. I would rather attract clients who appreciate my, um, non-corporate approach than try to be the kind of consultant that I think a client wants me to be.
While measuring activities that contribute to the bottom line is important, make sure you are also engaged in activities that compensate you in non-monetary ways. A happy infopreneur is a more effective infopreneur.
Mary Ellen Bates has been an infopreneur since 1991, providing business analysis for strategic decision-makers and consulting services to the information industry. Her passion projects are beekeeping and coaching new and long-time infopreneurs. See more at BatesInfo.com.
