I’ll readily admit that I don’t really understand Klout, but this screen shot tells you a lot about it. It appears that I’m influential in a state that I’ve visited three times, a food that I rarely eat, and a country that I’ve never been to. I know that plenty of people look to Klout…
Category Archives: work
We Need To Talk About Your Pants
Why on Earth would I be talking to you about your pants? Have you looked at your wardrobe lately? There is a professional guy who comes to my coffee shop nearly as regularly as I do. He shows up with his computer and cell phone, always in a freshly pressed shirt from the cleaners. But…
2011 in Review
I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at 2011 and examine the kinds of work I did, and in what proportions. Not surprisingly, the medical device market seemed to be the best funded in 2011. The most technology-influenced sectors, high tech and healthcare IT, combined for approximately 30% of my business,…
There Is No Such Thing As One Size Fits All Pricing
A guy walks into a car dealership. “I want to buy a car,” he says to the salesperson. “How much does it cost?” “Well,” says the salesperson. “That depends. A luxury car or an entry-level subcompact? Do you want air conditioning? Satellite radio? GPS? Heated seats? Leather-wrapped steering wheel? Automatic or manual transmission?” The guy sighs….
Inspiration Comes in Many Forms
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the boost of inspiration that I expected to get from my annual pilgrimage to the Creative Freelancer Conference. As it turns out, I didn’t get what I expected. Usually I leave this conference with a to-do list that’s close to a mile and a half long. But this year,…
Inspiration, Coming Soon
Next week, I’ll be attending the 4th annual Creative Freelancer Conference in Chicago, and let me tell you, I can’t wait. Sure, CFC teaches lots of useful skills and gives insights into important aspects of small business ownership, but the real value is in the people, the ones who inspire me and kick me in…
PowerPoint is Misunderstood
Last month, I was griping about PowerPoint. Honestly, it’s hard not to. But I’m coming to understand that it’s not the software that’s the problem, it’s how we use it. A client asked me to “put together a canned PowerPoint” that they could distribute to a broad audience. This slide deck would require slides (obviously)…
Yes, I’m in Sales
Recently, at the request of one of my colleagues, I bought the Strengths Finder 2.0 book and got the access code for the test. For those who aren’t familiar, you spend about 30 minutes answering a bunch of questions about your approaches to life and work, seemingly innocuous things that will ultimately result in the…
Book Review: The Creative Professional’s Guide to Money
Creative professionals are in a strange, unique and interesting position. We’re not plumbers or electricians who show up with parts and tools to fix your emergency. Nobody has a design or content emergency (not that they know of, anyway). How do you price a service with intangible value? What is your personal philosophy about money,…