Freelancing on the Road: Can it be Done?

I’ve been weighing attending an important conference later this year, a trip which will require that I leave my home office, get in my car, go to the airport and catch a flight. I don’t get out all that much, but when I do I’m likely to travel clear across the country, being away from home for several days to a week at the most.

Hitting The Road

Heading out of town for a conference can be very refreshing and professionally rewarding. Preparing well in advance can ease the stress while you're freelancing on the road.

Because I only make these kinds of trips 2-3 times each year, I look forward to getting away and doing something different. I like my home office, love my family, yet I usually come back from these types of conferences refreshed and bursting with creative flair. Importantly, I can thrive on those productive fumes for the next few months.

What I dread, however, is trying to maintain my other work while I skip town. Sure, planning in advance knocks out some projects, while others must still be managed while I’m gone. I’m a sole proprietor which means I have to do everything myself, but if I plan well in advance I can minimize my work while away from home so that I can enjoy the conference.

Getting Prepared Now

How do you handle road trips? I’ve come up with five tried and true methods to help me work better, faster and smarter while I’m away, including doing the following as I prepare to leave or while I’m on the road:

Write Ahead – My writing schedule requires that I write daily for some clients which means that I have to plan well in advance to have those jobs out of the way before I leave. On occasion, I’ll write on Saturday mornings which is generally a no-no for someone who values his work/family time separation. If my wife is on board with this plan, then I’m free to write, but if a family responsibility comes up I’ll have to double up my writing in the evening or in the early hours of the morning. I’ve written 7-10 days in advance before, successfully scheduling my blog posts to appear at designated times.

Bring the Laptop – Obviously, if you own a laptop you bring it with you wherever you go. The day before I leave I make sure that all of my files are backed up to my external drive (or off-site with Carbonite), complete my virus scanning, and place a battery back up and extension cord in my carrying case. I never check my laptop – I claim it as my carry on bag – and I don’t let it out of my site. Ever.

Carry a DVR – I own a tiny Olympus digital voice recorder (DVR) which I bring with me to conferences. With fresh batteries included and a back up set on hand just in case, my little DVR comes in handy when I’m listening to a long speech or needing to confirm a quote. Still, I routinely jot down notes on paper and compare everything in my hotel room or in the conference’s press room.

Plan for Emergencies – One trip I took two years ago nearly turned into a nightmare when my email connection fizzled in my hotel room. I had to pack up all of my stuff, head down to the hotel lobby and purchase wi-fi access for the evening. Even then, the connection wasn’t that fast which meant that surfacing the ‘net took longer than expected. I finally finished up my work around 3 a.m., which meant I had just four hours of sleep before the next big meeting at 8 a.m. Next time, I’ll stay in the press room to finish my work, where the internet connection is fast and reliable.

Email, Cell Phone, Contact Information – No, I don’t own a Blackberry nor do I own an iPhone. What’s wrong with me? Well, I have a family to support – luxuries can wait. Before I head out, I answer all of my email messages, but I don’t indicate that I’m away from the office. I do recharge my cell phone and I bring my recharging cord with me. I also update all of my phone contact information and, just in case I lose the phone, I jot down key numbers and keep them in my wallet.

Less Stress

If I keep these five things in mind, then I’m less stressed while away from home and I actually enjoy the conference. I may still have to handle a few client tasks while on the road, but I keep these to a minimum. My time away is usually on my dime which means that I don’t have the luxury of going on the road knowing my work is covered back in the office or my trip paid by a client.

Photo Credit: Ronald Schuster

See Also — Should You Schedule Your Blog Posts?

You Can Win At Freelancing Beyond Personal Branding

Lately, I’ve begun to hate Twitter. No, I haven’t tired of submitting my own tweets or retweeting those messages worthy of passing along, rather I’m directing my hatred toward the increased number of personal branders who seem to be pervasive on this popular micro-blogging site.

I don’t hate these people personally. How could I? I don’t even know them. What I don’t like is their marketing methodology which is designed to elevate them well beyond what they think they are worth. In other words, these kinds of marketeers imagine that they are the be-all and end-all of problem solvers, claiming to present solutions we need in order to succeed at what we do.

Crazy Self Promotion

Many people clown around online, spending way too much time in personal marketing than actually getting some work done. Deliver a solid product and your customers will return for more, allowing you to keep your marketing efforts to a minimum.

I can’t give you an actual example of this kind of person because I immediately block Twitter followers whose self promotional efforts seem to trump the very services they claim to offer. But this problem isn’t peculiar to Twitter users alone – I still come across a good number of freelancers who get carried away with self promotion, placing too much emphasis on themselves at the expense of their actual services.

Many of us are fairly new to personal branding, with the older freelancers part of a generation of people who were taught that self promotional efforts were almost always wrong. In many ways our parents and grandparents were right – who we are is of less importance than what do. Actions do speak louder than words which worked quite well before the emergence of the internet. Today, you have to learn to promote yourself online or risk being missed in a sea of people – nobody knows who you are unless you tell them.

Personal Branding Advocates

While the internet has turned many a trusted standard upside down it has also opened up a world of personal branding advocates who forget that the service offered is of more importance than the person delivering it. When we tend to get so wrapped up in ourselves, we begin to believe our own hype – that nobody else can do the job that we do. Or at least as good as we do.

Friends, that kind of thinking is false. While you may believe your own press, potential customers won’t. Moreover, they’ll look past your hype to the person who seems more likely to make good on their deliverables then you.

Extending Reputation Management

The key to success in any business is your reputation. Your reputation isn’t built on what you say you can do, but on what you have already accomplished. Customers trust that you will follow through and deliver an expected end product. While they may sing your praises personally, it is what you do for them personally that matters the most to them. If you can’t or won’t deliver, they’ll be force to go elsewhere.

Why is trust so important? For one big reason – people who trust you will continue to tap you for their projects. Which means you’ll need to spend less time marketing yourself. Which also means you won’t need to look foolish (or desperate) on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or wherever.

Trust also brings freedom because when you become a known quantity, you’ll get tons of repeat business. You’ll be richer, happier and more satisfied too, maintaining your dignity even while your competition loses theirs.

Photo Credit: Miroslav Nagy

See Also — You Must Brand Yourself Or You Will Perish