Will You Be Reaching Higher In 2010?

Sample planning calendar to help you succeed in 2010

Forgive me if I appear to be blowing past Christmas with this article. That’s certainly not my intention.

Instead, I thought I’d stimulate your thinking by having you consider your course of action for 2010. I’ve been writing a series of business articles for SayEducate lately, focusing on the coming year purely from a business owner’s angle, therefore I’m taking stock in how I manage my own affairs too.

But now I want to look at things from a more personalized vantage point – your own work. What plans do you have for the coming year?

Freelancing, 2010 Style

I fully understand that it can be hard to say in detail where you’ll be this time next year – only God knows – but I do think that each one of us wants to see some changes in 2010, not least being an improvement in the way that we live.

Living in a market based society, the kind of work we do and the rate of pay we desire will go far in determining whether we reach higher or not. That sage maxim – if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail – is so true. How well we do depends a lot on our personal attitude and desire for self improvement.

The Self-Employed Depression

Last week, I read several articles where certain freelancers thought that it was within their right to judge other freelancers for working for a so-called content mill. I won’t link to those articles nor will I give those conversations much credence. Everyone has a right to work for whom they want and under what conditions suit them. Perhaps reading about the plight of other freelancers can bring clarity to this sort of thinking (The New York Times: The Self-Employed Depression).

But, if you’re seeking to better yourself in 2010, there are some steps you can take to increase the odds that the year turns out to be more profitable for you then this year. These are fairly simple, disciplined steps that can be taken gradually as the months unfold.

A Sample Calendar

Not everyone can hold to an ambitious schedule, so with that in mind I’ve come up with a calendar that you can follow, so adjust it to fit your goals and schedule:

January – You’ll be paying quarterly taxes on January 15th and again on April 15th, so make sure that you have enough funds in place to tackle that project. Use this month to review 2009 including asking clients for 1099-MISC forms. Get your receipts and other paperwork together for the tax man.

February – If all of your tax data is in place, then complete your return or make an appointment with your accountant. Hopefully, you’ll get a refund. If not, file after you have enough money to pay what you owe your state and the IRS.

Spring – With tax season behind you, use the month of March and early April to query editors. Send out letters to magazines, newspapers, and journals; cold call companies; touch base with your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn associates. Over the ensuing weeks follow up with everyone; negotiate deals, sign contracts, begin new assignments from mid-April through May.

Summer – From June through August you’ll be busy working with new customers while keeping current clients happy. You’ll also take a much needed break with your family. Make sure that everyone is on the same page as to when you’ll be unavailable and how they can reach you in an absolute emergency.

September – With Labor Day past, you’ll have the strange feeling that the year is fast drawing to a close. I like to use this month to review current client contracts and reassess my relationships with them. That includes whether I’ll be continuing with a particular client or not, if I’ll be asking for more money, or whether we’ll be changing the terms of our agreement.

Early Fall – October and November can be good months to query for new work. At this stage of the year, plenty of companies are fast at work cutting costs for the year to clean up their balance sheets. Staff will be let go which means that some of their work will be outsourced. Be sensitive to corporate turmoil, but also consider that there may be an opportunity for you.

Holiday Season – The holiday season stretching from Thanksgiving to Christmas and through New Year’s Day seems like a positively awful time to take on a new client, right? Only if you’re super busy balancing family, church, social, and other functions. Use this season to enjoy time with loved ones; you’ll be busy enough come January.

Make More Money

So, what will following this calendar yield? Better opportunities, more money, and a balanced lifestyle, if you hold to a disciplined plan. No, I won’t put a figure or percentage on your gains, but if you develop a sensible schedule then you should see good results over time.

Photo Credit: Bartek Ambrozik

Finding Sure Footing In An Uncertain Economy

Perilous economic times can shipwreck your business in mere moments. You can't avoid the storms of life, but your business can survive -- even thrive -- if you take steps now to stay afloat.

If you run your own company, you can’t help but notice that the current economic crisis could have a profound affect in the way you manage your business: from having enough cash on hand to meet payroll, to securing a line of credit to buy equipment, boost your inventory, or to meet monthly expenses. Likely, we haven’t seen the bottom of the market yet, something that continues to cause much fear and consternation around the globe.

A lot of what is going on today is well beyond your control and may, indeed, be as a result of what is taking place in markets beyond your own country’s borders. Never before has the global market been so tightly woven together, a double-edge sword that can lift all boats in good times and just as certainly sink the entire fleet in bad times.

Plan While You Can

Business owners know that in order to navigate the rough seas, a plan of action must be drawn up to avoid being pulled down into the financial vortex. Those plans must include keeping day to day operations going, promoting the business, and planning for the future especially in anticipation of better days ahead. Oftentimes when we’re in the middle of a crisis, it is virtually impossible to look beyond what is happening by envisioning that better days are coming. Having the foresight to plan for a rebound can certainly improve your company’s picture for the long term.

Today, however, there are enough troubles to handle, challenges which must be met and overcome one by one, to shake even the most confident person to the core.  Gaining the upper hand during these trying times will mean that your business will continue to survive, if not thrive, provided you keep your head upon your shoulder and refuse to make any decision in haste.

The following are five tips that can help your business navigate the current financial crisis:

Team Up — I write extensively for the automotive industry and have been witnessing a trend lately that can help many companies survive the current downturn, indeed succeed for the long run.

Specifically, though companies are not necessarily merging, many have chosen to forge business partnerships to meet specific needs. For example, Chrysler and Volkswagen agreed in 2005 that Chrysler would supply the German automaker with a minivan to sell in the US. The Routan is on the market, a vehicle that fills an important gap in the VW line up, while allowing Chrysler to maintain production capacity at one of its plants.

You aren’t an automaker, but you may have a service or a product you could share with another company. Consider developing a mutually beneficial agreement that will carry you both through this current storm, a temporary business relationship that ends at a time agreed upon by both parties — nurture your partnerships!

Contingency Plan – If you were to lose a major customer tomorrow, how would that event affect your business? Although we plan to succeed, part of being successful in business is to recognize that if a major shift in business were to take place, you’d already have a plan in place to address those changes. Your company may have a plan in face to weather a catastrophe (e.g., fire or earthquake), but do you have a scaled down plan in place that addresses losing a customer?

Sometimes clients send out signals that they are having problems including taking longer than normal to pay their invoices. Get with your Accounting Department to learn who is falling behind, but be slow to renegotiate terms because a bankrupt business may never pay what they owe you.

Consolidate Operations — Nonperforming assets should be sold, business units that aren’t performing might be discontinued, and departments can be combined to bring forth greater efficiencies.

But, before you consider tossing your most valuable assets — people – look for ways to streamline expenses including trimming the fat from the phone bill, reducing energy costs, reviewing travel expenses, overhauling your advertising budget, securing credit while you can, build up equity, pay down debt, and convert adjustable rate loans to a fixed rate.

Regarding advertising, pare this expense very carefully. You still need to promote your business which includes sponsoring community events, pursuing new customers, and telling current customers what you have to offer to them. With a recession, you have much more latitude where your advertising monies will be spent; shop around and negotiate the most favorable deal for your business. Keep up with your SEO blogging.

Cash Is King – In a down market where credit is difficult (and expensive) to obtain, businesses with a lot of cash on hand are in the best position to weather the storm. Cash will also allow you to step in and snap up other businesses at prices well below the market rate, putting your company in a position to quickly expand when the market recovers.

Right now, assets are underpriced and some of your competitors may be failing; with plenty of cash on hand you’re in a position to buy, buy, buy!

Downsize Through Attrition, Hire Contractors — If your company is in a position where payroll must be cut, try to reduce staff through attrition first. Next, offer early retirement or an incentive package to help others move on, but do everything within your means to keep your best people hired. Tread softly because you don’t want to spook your best employees who might jump ship if they think that your boat is ready to sink.

If you find that you need new personnel to fill vacancies, use contractors and temporary workers to supplement your workforce — a corps of last hired, first fired people who won’t sink your company’s morale if they are let go. When the economy improves, offer permanent work to your best supplemental employees.

These Are The Best Of Times, These Are The Worst Of Times

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, these are the best of times for some companies but they are also the worst of times for other businesses. You probably already know where your business stands at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you’ll find yourself in the same position in just a few months time. Inaction will sink your business, but aggressive planning will just as certainly give you the opportunity to not only survive tough times, but to thrive.