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

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

Jim found me when he left a comment with an article I wrote about repairing power windows. In that article I was very unclear about one of the fix-it steps I shared, so Jim decided to alert me to my mistake. He didn’t put me down nor was he trying to be a know-it-all, but his remark served to underscore something I’ve always hated – getting too technical about something that I wasn’t totally familiar about. I thanked him for his input, amending the article accordingly, while also agreeing to his suggestion that we exchange links to our sites. A friendship was born!

Living It Up In Detroit

I feel like such a heel! I not only referred a friend to a job that has turned out to be a legal disaster, but he's looking at 10-20 years in the federal penitentiary. I suppose I'll be baking him a huge cake with the attendant file inside....

Our meeting in Detroit was fun as neither one of us was under pressure to meet deadlines while we were there. I learned that he favored European luxury while I was partial to American muscle, but we both agreed that the Infiniti G37 coupe was just the right model to bridge our divergent tastes.

Weeks after our get together I forwarded a job lead to him that turned out to be a plum gig, one that I would have considered myself if my plate wasn’t full at the time. That job began in Spring 2008 and turned out to be Jim’s best freelance assignment ever.

Overseeing a staff of six freelancers, Jim took what had been a fairly invisible automotive forum/blog and turned it into an information powerhouse inside of six months. In addition to his base salary, he pulled in commission checks and other bonuses which meant Jim no longer needed to rely on other customers for work – a place where we’d all love to be – but one which proved disastrous.

We missed seeing each other at Detroit this year, as I decided to conserve my cash while Jim was wined and dined by a bevy of auto executives who gathered in the Motor City despite the rapidly changing fortunes of the car industry. Word was out that once Barack Obama ascended to the presidency, Chrysler and General Motors would reap tens of billions of dollars in loan money and aid, a prediction which quickly proved true. And, the thinking at that time was that mostly everyone would survive the challenges of 2009, believing that by Spring 2010 the recession would be long past and consumers would be in a spending mood, partying like it was 1999 all over again.

Things Go Awry Suddenly

My first clue that something was terribly wrong was when I recently visited his company’s site and discovered that Jim’s name was nowhere to be found. Sure, his blog articles were there as were his forum comments, but his last post was in July and his name was no longer among the credits. Just two of his freelancers were listed as “contributors” though it appeared that no one was holding down what had once been a very public and promising editorial role.

I quickly fired off a note to my friend to see what was up, but I didn’t hear back from him for many days. Then out of the blue I received a phone call from Jim, ready to tell me his story.

What I heard was both delicious and frightening – a story of intrigue, lies and betrayal. Regrettably, I’ve been sworn to secrecy, permitted to share a tiny morsel of the events as told to me. I accurately surmised that a legal component was underway, thus the hush-hush nature of our conversation. But, Jim said that I could (and should) warn freelancers of a problem that he believes may worsen over time as that looming difficulty involves the non-payment of funds.

When Companies Go Belly Up

As much as I wanted to know more, I understood that Jim was in a financial pickle, one that might very well ruin him. His story was intriguing, yet scary as I realized that this was someone I knew, plus the unspoken obvious – I was the one who referred him to the job!

What I managed to get from Jim were the following essential points.

As recently as March, his client began to slow down making payments while his once hefty commission checks rapidly disappeared. By April, half of his freelancers were let go and in May the owner of the business was in the news for committing a business transgression. Jim couldn’t tell what it was but I googled the guy’s name and learned that he was under indictment for selling counterfeit automotive parts. Ouch.

Fuel pumps, water pumps, sway bars and intake manifolds were just a few of the fake goodies sold by the perp with a street value in the seven figure range. That explains why Jim has had to retain his own attorney – I assume he wasn’t directly involved, but as someone who was the de facto public face of the company, the D.A. may be taking a very close look at his involvement.

Some Obvious Points

I can only speculate on some of the missing points in our conversation, but what I heard and later discovered on my own brings to light a few things:

• As much as you think that you know your clients, you probably don’t know all that you need to know about them. And, in Jim’s case, all that you probably should know.

• Some jobs are too good to be true. Though I don’t know all of the details about the gig, what initially sounded like a decent short-term assignment, turned into a full-time contract opportunity, one paying him big bucks. I would love to understand how that transition came about and whether Jim thought it odd that he was being rewarded so generously.

• Never burn your bridges. I don’t blame Jim for being too busy to take on other work, especially since the main gig was more than enough for him. Still, I guess I learned my own lesson from a past experience – never rely on just one client, because when that job comes to an end you’ll be in big trouble. In Jim’s case he may have some legal matters to handle as well. Gosh, I hope not.

There are some holes in Jim’s story, which are probably best left unfilled at least until the legal matter has been settled. I did learn that my friend may end up losing thousands of dollars in unpaid freelance work because his client filed for bankruptcy protection this summer. I am supposing that once customers have been reimbursed for fake parts (if ever), then vendors will get their shot at what remains.

Good luck with that, Jim.

Photo Credit: ZoofytheJinx

I Work All Night I Work All Day…

Life can be like a ball and chain if you never get a break. But for some freelancers, work is a never ending quest as they worry about getting the next gig and paying their bills.

I’m not surprised that the trend to work all of the time has been emerging. After all, with work hard to come by and with more freelancers then ever to count among the competition, any delay getting back to a potential customer could mean lost business. Perhaps forever. People know that if you’re not available someone else is, especially if they’re looking to use you to work on a one-off project such as writing a press release, updating web content or helping them with a time sensitive marketing campaign.

But I have to say that if I worked as hard as some of these people do without taking a break, then something has to give. And that “give” would likely come in the form of harming my health; neglecting my wife and children; or simply failing to deliver my best work because I’m tired all of the time.

…To Pay The Bills I Have To Pay…

Last month, my family and I packed our stuff up and headed from our home in North Carolina to see family in New Jersey where we hail from. We left on a Thursday and returned on a Tuesday, a short trip but long enough for us to see just about everyone, including some relatives we hadn’t seen since our last trip back in 2006. Yes, I brought my laptop along and I had my cell phone on, but we still managed to have a good time as I limited my “work” to checking my email once in the morning and again in the evening.

Thankfully, there were no fires to put out and, even though I didn’t tell most of my current clients that I was going away, the one query I had was able to put off until the day after we returned. There is no way that I would have canceled the trip – I needed a break personally and our family needed to get away together. I returned refreshed and ready to tackle the world and as for my immediate family they were thrilled to reconnect with aunts, uncles and cousins they hadn’t seen in some time.

…Ain’t It Sad!

I’m of the mind that some work that can’t wait is not worth doing in the first place. I suppose that this is easy for me to say when my workload is heavy, as it has been throughout the year, but there comes a point when a few days of uninterrupted break is not only beneficial but necessary if you are to recharge your batteries and connect with family and friends without being permanently tethered to your work.

So, how about you? Have you been able to take a break yet this summer? If so, did you take a “working break” or did you manage to disconnect from your computer and connect with those whom you love?

Photo Credit: Jeff Prieb

Song Credit: Abba — Money! Money! Money!

This can be a good thing because though business is cyclical in nature — fraught with many ups and downs — there is something about a deep downturn that is etched in our memories, becoming among the deepest and most defining moments in our lives.  Hopefully, resulting in a new appreciation for life, perhaps showing that thriftiness can build character.

What Our Great Grandparents Can Tell Us

One need only to talk with someone who was part of the now fast passing away generation that lived through the Great Depression to get a feel for how that period shaped their entire lives, even as unbridled prosperity later ruled the day…at least for a relatively short while.

The ugliness will no doubt be remembered too, sparking conversations where we’ll recall those times when large corporations were bailed out even while small businesses and middle  income folks were struggling to stay above water. We’ll also wonder just how much government really expanded during that time and whether it’ll ever contract to a more manageable and sustainable level.

Why Not Furloughs Instead of Layoffs?

But, I think one trend that will get a bit more than a passing reference will be how companies handled layoffs during that time.  Clearly, most struggling companies opt to go the mass layoff route while others try a more sensible, even humane approach by furloughing employees.

Furloughing is common with blue collar workers who sometimes are let go temporarily and called back to work later on. During their furlough (laid off) period, workers can collect unemployment benefits and in some cases work another job.

This practice has been around for decades, allowing companies to adjust workforces as needed. Employees may not particularly like being furloughed, but they know that the odds are with them that they’ll resume their employment at some point down the line.

A Bum Rap For White Collar Employees

White collar employees usually aren’t as fortunate. When management decides that money needs to be saved, one of the first things they do is cut payroll. Not cutting back on hours. Not reducing their workforce by attrition. Rather, permanently laying off significant numbers of people immediately.

I have always thought that this practice was senseless, even cruel. Generally what happens is that a portion of the company’s workforce is put out of work while the remaining employees keep working with few, if any changes. Sure, there may be the attendant salary freeze or restrictions on what days they can take off, but the majority of the workforce feels nary a pinch while a handful have their lives totally disrupted.

Particularly Disruptive For Seasoned Workers

This disruption is not easily remedied, particularly for older employees who almost always go through an extended period of unemployment and must eventually settle for a position that pays far less and offers few opportunities for advancement.

Back in 2002 I was part of a group of thirty people let go from a company, a move that I found somewhat of a relief but also a tremendous hardship. I understood that my company was going through a difficult time, but I also knew that things would change and that they would be hiring once again.

Of course, there is always the case made that I (and other long term employees like me) would eventually be replaced by someone who made less money, but in the majority of situations laying off people affects employee morale, puts a drag on company earnings, and disrupts lives.

I don’t believe that companies owe their employees their jobs, but I think it does say a lot about a company who does everything within their power to keep their workforce in place even through difficult times.

State Employees, Retail Workers Furloughed

This past week I learned that two family members were preparing to be furloughed, unusual moves for their fields as one works for a large retailer while the other is in state government. For my retailer relative, she’ll be having her days cut back from five to four while my government relation will be taking scheduled days off without pay over the coming months.

Certainly, no one likes to take a pay cut but in this case things turn out a little differently — no one loses their job. True, there is no guarantee that additional furloughing won’t happen nor have lay offs been ruled out, but for now, everyone is employed.

A Company’s Strength? Its Workers!

I find something good, even reassuring about a company who takes a page out of the blue collar handbook and tries it with office workers, sales staff, store employees and traditional white color employees. And, I think showing employees that you’ll stick with them through thick or thin builds a much more loyal and engaged workforce, one that will do their jobs better and, ultimately, increase a company’s bottom line.

Good business sense is for a company to recognize that its employees are its number one asset, something not to be discarded when things get tough but kept in place in order to build a strong, committed body of workers.