FreelancerPro Interview: Making Companies Work for Your Freelance Business

Jon Reed is a knowledge goldmine, having published his own business books and running his own business. He may not freelance in the sense that we are all used to, but his perspective on dealing with corporations is especially valuable for contractors.

The author of Free From Corporate America: A Tactical Guide for Success on Your Own Terms has a lot of advice to offer when it comes to tackling the mindset of corporate America.

Read on to find out more about how you can embrace the benefits of corporations while still maintaining that freelance freedom we all love.

Tell us about your career, especially in the publishing arena. Do you consider yourself a freelancer? Do you employ others?

I have been involved in a range of publishing endeavors both online and in book form. In was one of the first in the field of technical recruiting to use the web as a means of publishing newsletters, and that eventually led me into developing online communities and serving them with niche content. I have published quite a bit of music journalism and cultural commentary online and I was once the founding editor of an arts and entertainment newsletter in the Northampton, Massachusetts, area after I graduated from college. I suppose that was where I got hooked on publishing, back then, it was that feel of fresh newsprint in your hands and your name in the byline. In book form, I have self-published three books: The SAP Consultant Handbook (1998), Resumes from Hell (2003), and Free From Corporate America: A Tactical Guide for Success on Your Own Terms (2009).

I own my own “S Corporation,” and consider myself both a self-publisher and an independent consultant. I’m definitely a freelancer but I prefer to bill “corp to corp” and in addition to freelance assignments, I try to build income-generating business assets (websites and books). While I’m certainly a freelancer, I try to push myself to build real business assets and not just go from assignment to assignment. I also cultivate long-term client relationships whenever possible. I do hire individuals to support my efforts, all specialists who contract to me independently. I’m also proud of a longstanding paid internship program which has brought students in my area into the entrepreneurial life and the art and metrics of web business.

How did you get into publishing? How difficult was it to set up a publishing career? Did you have previous publishing experience?

My very first experience in publishing was writing reviews for an underground heavy metal magazine when I was a sophomore in high school. It was love at first print, I suppose.

In more recent years, beyond web-based publishing (including blogging), I have moved into print on demand (POD) publishing. I love POD because you don’t have to worry about stocking inventory and can focus on the business and marketing aspects of putting your work out there. I am actually the moderator of the POD publishing group on Yahoo and have served in this capacity for more than five years.

My first POD title was a re-issue of my SAP Consultant Handbook in updated form in 2002. Since then, my two most recent books were also published in POD form. I’ve had some decent financial success with my publishing ventures, but I would add that one of the biggest positives about putting out a book is the credibility it brings to your particular field. That has been especially true of my SAP book, which led me to a number of SAP industry clients and business connections. Even though blogging is all the rage, there is an additional credibility factor that comes into play when you put out a book.

So, what’s your typical day like?

I have a role as in industry analyst in the Information Technology field, so my first step every day is typically to check on all the RSS feeds I follow to make sure I am on top of key developments. Twitter is a way I communicate with those in my field so I’ll usually hop on there as well. The rest of my day is a mixture of phone appointments, webcasts and quiet times when I focus either on client deliverables or developing more content for my websites or books.

What would you say are the secrets to maintaining an entrepreneurial living for the long-term?

In no particular order:

• Remain lean in operating costs but don’t be afraid to invest in tools or assets that will give you a competitive advantage.
• Aspire to world-class excellence in a specialized area that larger companies can’t easily fill; and
• Outsource everything beyond that specialty to trusted business partners.
• Don’t just chase lucrative markets; focus on “monetizing” an area you are passionate about as this will be your life.
• Don’t be content to be a billable expert – productize your knowledge and create income-generating assets.
• Use the Internet whenever possible to market test ideas prior to major business launches.
• Become a thought leader in your field and create visibility via web presence and trade shows.
• Stay on the cutting edge of emerging trends and ruthlessly refine your focus as needed.
• Provide a level of personalized customer service and interaction larger companies can’t typically match.
• Continually invest in your own self-education.

Tell us a little about your book. What kind of tactics do you recommend people use to get “free” from the corporate mindset?

My book was inspired by the level of employment instability in the corporate world and my desire to see more people freer to make good life choices without being hounded by economic fears.

Essentially, the book is a tribute to the entrepreneurial life in the age of global labor sourcing. This does not necessarily mean quitting your job or leaving corporate America; it means engaging with that world from a place of greater economic power and on your own terms.

A couple things set my book apart: it’s a practical guide written particularly for those who are already strapped for money and time. It’s about how to take those gradual first steps even when you feel overwhelmed. I also don’t promise some happy world of riches just by following some formulaic steps. My book sometimes has a harsh realism about the obstacles we will face; I hope that’s a comfort to those who find that “get rich quick’” books can be unrealistic and tone deaf to the struggles we all face.

You advocate for breaking free of that mindset, but don’t things like professionalism still apply?

Yes, professionalism is always a factor in what we do. Freelancers may have to achieve a higher level of professionalism to be competitive; there is no slacking off in the freelancing world.

I can’t agree more! Go on…

Breaking free from corporate America is not about being unprofessional; it’s about creating a life that is closer to the one we dreamed of when we were younger. It’s about knowing that if we get a pink slip next Monday morning, we have a great industry reputation and side projects in the works that can help carry us forward. I believe it’s also about remaining bold and true to ourselves.

For example, when we are clinging to our job like a life raft, we don’t feel like we can speak up about important new ideas or perhaps an unfair policy. We’re muffled by our job insecurity. Being free from corporate America, to me, is not necessarily about drinking Tequila on some island beach, though that sounds pretty fun right about now. It’s about changing the terms of engagement. It’s about creating a marketable set of skills that gives us more creative fulfillment and a stronger, more independent voice in everything we do.

How can freelancers still get corporate jobs, which are known to pay more, but still maintain their independence?

Well, there are a couple ways. Once you become a true specialist in your field, you may be sought after to the point that you can “contract” back into companies more on your own terms financially and otherwise (such as working from home more of the time). Alternately, you can take a corporate job but still maintain some side projects and other industry roles. One of the big messages in my book is this: Just because you are working full-time for a large company, you don’t have to concede as much as we’re conditioned to. For example, I know people who have permission from their companies (and I mean the green light from legal and all that stuff) to speak at industry shows (for compensation), to run their own web events and seminars and even run side businesses in other fields. Others own rental properties.

What’s your top tactic for getting and retaining clients?

For getting clients, maintain a visible and consistent web presence but also attend trade shows and if possible speak at those shows when you can. Strive to become a “thought leader” in your field and find a role you are known for beyond company walls. And on retaining clients, deliver quality work on time, document your work in measurable ways, and be upfront, direct, and positive in all your communication. When all else fails, outwork your competition.