Furloughed? Time to become self employed?

Is this the right time for you?

Many of you that are furloughed will be contemplating your future work options. Some of you will be contemplating moving into self-employment. I have shared my experience below as it might give you some ideas about the highs and lows of a new way of working. 

I was discussing being self-employed with an associate who has been working as an independent trainer and consultant (sole trader status) for about 18 months. She has an impressive array of qualifications and CV with decades of high powered “C level” experience in the public sector. But she felt a bit lost on how to build her own business. Like me when I started, she had an expectation that clients would somehow find their way to her. 

A few practical ideas

We came up with a few practical ideas that have worked for me and I thought they might be of relevance to others who are starting on the exciting road of self-employment, particularly after a career as an employee. 

Most of us choose what we do because we are quite good at it and enjoy the service we provide. The first thing we need to learn is that we must work on the business as well as in the business. So, time spent on marketing our services, and administrating our services are as important as delivering our services if we want a sustainable business. In the early days that means we usually have to do it ourselves, if cash is tight. A few years into my business I could afford some modest investment and have an excellent marketing person (one-person band like me) who provides monthly support and stimulus for profile raising and updating my website. 

Play to your strengths and identify your niche

The best advice I received from a fellow coach and trainer was to identify and develop your niche. Early on I was so desperate for clients it often feels counterintuitive to narrow your target clients.  Unfortunately, the smell of desperation can cause suspicion to potential clients who understandably think that if he is that desperate to under-price can he be any good. Paradoxically I have found the more I focus (mine is charity leadership) I get requests to do work outside of this focus which I usually pass on to trusted associates or keep the more interesting ones for myself. I enjoyed a 12-month association with a workers cooperative in 2017/18 because of this. They were attracted to the charity and values focus and saw how it would translate well into their organisation. 

 Self promotion is no recommendation

How do you promote yourself (particularly if you are a one-person band)? It feels like crude boasting. Buy me because I am brilliant! Every time I experienced this version of a sales pitch I recoiled, and this in turn eroded my quite brittle self-confidence. 

The first training course I ran was in the attic room at a voluntary council office that I had to borrow a heater for.  I couldn’t not get over the fact that six people had paid good money (￡60.00 each) to be trained by me! 

What I find works for me are two approaches. 

 Firstly, and most powerfully I ask for testimonials from anyone who I have worked with, or who has commissioned work from me. Most people are happy to provide, and they can be quite stunningly brilliant. Often, and this takes courage, you might have to chase, it is not your client's priority after all, and on a few occasions, I have even drafted them for the client to turn into their own words. 

I then use the testimonials as often as possible. I share them on LinkedIn, they are on my website, they are used in my emails to clients or potential clients. I need people to know and be reassured that I provide a very good service. I don’t feel comfortable telling them this “self-evident” truth but it feels good to get someone else to sing my services praise. 

Sometimes there is no escape you have to promote your business in person, at networking events, conferences and other more random places like cafes, train stations if an accidental conversation with a stranger happens. I find to overcome the feelings of mortification due to boasting I act as if I am in a role. When I was CEO of a charity, I had no problem at all in promoting the brilliant work of our service or encouraging people to support us. This was because it wasn’t Rob Legge speaking but the CEO of the charity. In a similar way, when talking about my business I try to do it as the Director of Rob Legge Consulting rather than just little old Rob Legge. Most times it helps me. 

Give value

Asking old clients or ex colleagues for work feels a bit pathetic and I want to shy away from it. I have learnt that I am not asking for work but providing information. I think clarifying your niche helps here as I will regularly drop an email to specific individuals based on charity leadership because it is genuinely useful or interesting. It keeps my name somewhere in the back of their minds and if I supplement it with information about my latest service (new training course) or feedback from a satisfied client (testimonials) it might trigger a request for help. 

Who am I kidding? I have had two instances when a client has responded in the same week saying thanks for the note, I was just thinking of getting some coaching can we meet up. In the vast majority of cases it is more a slow seep rather than a quick trigger and typically it can be six to nine months before I get a response, but this works for me.   

Email campaigns

The targeted email seems to work when potential clients are also exposed to my work through other mechanisms. For example, most working days (I child mind grandchildren on Thursdays) I put a small LinkedIn post explaining who (or which organisation) I am working with and if appropriate what the topic is. Several returning clients and new ones have commented on the posts combined with the emails has encouraged them to contact me at a time that suits them for an issue that they want to tackle. 

Persistence and determination

The final issue we discussed is the need for stick ability. I have a quote framed in my study that says

" Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence"

 It took me nearly three years to be able to know that I was a full time professional coach, trainer and consultant in the charity sector. Before then I took regular temp, jobs including pot washer at a school kitchen, call centre operative during the Christmas period, welfare officer at a local college. At the time my ego suffered but in hindsight much of this was great training for my work as a professional trainer and coach. In my head I was always a coach and trainer. It was perhaps similar if not as dramatic or as attractive as the movie star waiting on tables while waiting to be auditioned. 

It can feel lonely, particularly after a career in organisation where you were part of a team. I still miss the camaraderie and the office banter with old colleagues. However, I don’t miss the office politics and the time draining team meetings. What I have found, which surprised me is that if you ask for help and advice from people doing similar work, they are often willing to share and help. I have learned to “pass it forward” and time after time I have benefitted from giving a little help to someone who has asked for it.   

I hope some of my experiences might be of help to you if you are starting on the road to self-employment. It is hard work; it can be a slog but for me it is the most amazing way to earn a living doing what I love doing with client I respect. 

If you are interested in a coaching session to help you make the transition to self-employment contact me [email protected]