Your Best Laid Plans

I woke up early this morning, a full hour earlier than I normally do and well before the first meows from one of our two tabby cats usually begin. On farms they have roosters, but in our household our appropriately named “Song” says it is time to get up and feed/pet her while her sister, Hope, rests quietly in the other room.

I knew we should have gotten a dog from the pound instead.

From the very first day of the year, I have been busy. Tremendously so. Most of my clients are keeping me occupied, but I am also preparing some queries to send out to magazines once I have completed my research on what to send and to whom to forward this information.

To those who do likewise, you know that these sort of campaigns are a major project by themselves.

Today was to be all about catching up as the press days for the 2010 Detroit auto show (NAIAS) are now over. I was not able to get to Detroit for this year’s show, but I was online constantly on Monday and Tuesday to follow the press conferences, juggling that with my other work.

This show is important to me as it helps me find out which models are new and of these which I will cover for my clients. You see, as an automotive columnist I have to submit my editorial schedule for approval as much as twelve months in advance of print date, but with all of the changes in the auto industry over the past year or so, that information is harder to determine.

Nevertheless, by week’s end I should have an updated list to send off, but I can see one major distraction keeping my eyes focused elsewhere.

And that distraction is a deadly one: yesterday’s cataclysmic earthquake in Haiti.  Many thousands are dead, untold numbers of people are injured, and the impoverished country located on the western third of the island of Hispaniola may never recover.

Then again, what does a recovery look like when you are already poor?

At the moment, I cannot think of anyone that I know who may be in Haiti. Back in the late 1980s to early 1990s, I sponsored a pair of young men there at different times through Compassion International, but one soon left the program while the other aged out.

I am racking my brain this morning trying to remember their names, not that I can help them out directly. But I can pray for them.  God knows these nameless men; I hope that they and their loved ones are safe.

Only once in my life have I been profoundly affected by a disaster to the point where work was difficult, if not impossible. Working just nine miles from the World Trade Center site in Teterboro, NJ and for a business aviation company at that, I saw what a terrorist attack could do to shut everything down.

Even when the airplanes could fly again, our business was never the same. Over the next year I endured a salary freeze, a company merger, and a decrease in work responsibilities while also working through a localized recession brought on by the 9/11 attacks. 14 months later I was one of thirty people let go; I started to work for myself the following week.

In the early 2000s, a lot of people in the US were not aware that the economy in the NY area took a big hit, financially and psychologically, one that took years to recover from. Today, NYC is in a different recession, having lost thousands of financial jobs, many of which will probably not come back at least for now.

Job loss certainly is not on par with life or limb loss or the devastation of having lost your entire home, perhaps your whole family. Both are painful, but one is clearly life altering. As in forever changed.

And that is why my best laid plans are not going as expected today — I find myself curiously drawn to the unspeakable horror in Haiti and suffering that I cannot wrap my mind around or keep from following closely.

See Also: Haiti Earthquake Relief

How To Unwind Unfavorable Client Agreements

Feeling trapped? Don't allow the big cat client keep you caged!

One of the advantages of having a lengthy track record as a freelance writer is that you have many more assignments under your belt than the person who is just starting out.

We’ve all been there: sending out queries, bidding on freelance sites, responding to client requests and more. Days, weeks, months, perhaps years of slogging for work, handling your share of rejections and putting up with assignments you’d rather not take but for the simple fact that you have bills that must be paid, clothes to put on your children’s backs and food needed for the dinner table.

Your Tipping Point

At some point in your freelancing career you should reach a favorable tipping point – a place in your life where you can pick and choose your customers, perhaps finally saying “enough” to the handful of clients who really aren’t contributing to your bottom-line.

Sure, you’re getting paid and you may be fairly well compensated for your work. But, you’ve also have had it with bending to the whims of the moment, coming to the realization that a few of your client agreements should simply be unwound, allowing both parties to pursue a fresh direction.

Now I’m saying this to you assuming one thing: you have more than enough work on your plate or prospective work in waiting to keep you busy without one or more of your current clients. If not, you need to begin working on lining up new customers or tapping your active client base for additional assignments. And don’t worry about today’s economy – lots of us are working at overcapacity right now; if you’re good at what you do, then the work is certainly there.

Letting Go

But what is holding you back? I think I know, because I’ve been there myself: certain thoughts or feelings which may be keeping you from making a move that may seem difficult for you to execute, but offering long term and far reaching benefits.

Please read on to see if one or more of the following concerns resonate with you:

I won’t get a recommendation – We’ve been trained to supply references for our clients and some freelancers have detailed information about their previous assignments on their websites and/or LinkedIn profiles. While having a strong LinkedIn profile is smart business, that doesn’t mean you have to list every client or give an account for every moment you worked.

Until recently, I hadn’t provided a resume to anyone for more than three years. And why is that? Because no one asked. The same can be said about a recommendation: if you’re worried that an angry or vindictive client won’t supply a positive recommendation for you, then why list them in the first place? There is no rule saying that you must mention them by name — after all you work for yourself and you don’t have to list every single client you’ve ever had.

I want this client, but not for financial reasons – I’m certainly not telling you to get rid of every difficult client nor am I advising you to dismiss those customers who on occasion present an out of the ordinary demand. Hopefully, you’ve developed needed thick skin to repel every day slights and short term insults as you reach for your goals.

What I am saying is that you may be keeping a customer on for some other reasons, perhaps as a favorite to them or as a feather in your cap (look ma, I am published!) or for some sort of personal validation. I don’t know your reasons for keeping them on, but you probably do. Envision yourself one, three or five years or more out…can you see yourself writing for this client at some future date? If not, why not cut the strings sooner, rather than later?

I need this client for networking – Some clients are so huge that they seem larger than life. In 2005 to early 2006, I was working for one such customer. He provided what amounted to be as much as 90% of my income while indirectly allowing me to get my foot in the door in the automotive industry. Needless to say I lost the client when they decided to move in another direction (selling several websites), putting my family in a disastrous position that took me many months to recover from.

What I should have done was to reduce my dependency early on by limiting my work for this one client while pursuing other opportunities. Needless to say, I now manage two of the larger independent automotive blogs and and am an automotive columnist for other two publications. Yes, it was those articles I wrote for this client that caught the attention of people in the industry, but I still could have gotten their attention by writing fewer articles for this one client. Live and learn!

Moving On

Naturally, the moving on process can take time, perhaps the better part of the year especially if signed contracts weigh in. Yet, if you’re unhappy with a client and there is other work available which can replace what would soon be lost, then what have you got to lose? A huge burden, perhaps.

Photo Credit: Daniel Heitz

See Also — How To Write Your Op-Ed Piece