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What is a Typical Independent Contractor
I discovered today I am the typical Independent Contractor.
There was a page of statistics in a recent issue of Success Magazine I was reading and it was all about Independent Contractors. As I was reading them, I realized I was very much the ‘typical’ independent contractor. The article never really mentioned where these contractors work from (ie a home office) which would have been nice to see, but I am assuming that the majority of them do in fact work from a home office.
The stats were based on people in the United States, but as with many things such as this, us Canadians tend to closely mirror the results (with the exception of surveys on the use of the word ‘eh?’ – in a study like that we would definitely come out on top!) So I placed myself right in these results and as I read them I found myself saying to myself: “Yes, that’s me, and me, me too. Yup, Yup” They had me pegged to a “T”.
So, who are these Independent Contractors?
- Well, for starters there are 16 million in the US today and we (you know what I mean) account for $626 billion in personal income in 2010! Billion!
- We are also primarily female (53% to 47%) and we do this type of work because we prefer it as an alternative to being an ‘employee’. Only about 9% of us would rather be ‘employed’.
- Our average age is 30-49 years and we do this type of work more from a need of ‘wanting to do the work’ as opposed to ‘needing a paycheque’. I read this to mean we do it because it is our passion.
- 58% of us are highly satisfied with our situation because we are doing something we like and feel it is making a difference.
- It was also noted that being Independent Contractors is a stepping stone to entrepreneurship and creating small businesses.
I am very much towing the line with all of these statistics, and for those of you who know me, you will say the same. Yup, that is Kathy.
I know that many of you connected to me online or who read my blog are also “Independent Contractors”… so I am wondering? Are you part of this demographic that is expected to grow to 20 million people by the year 2013.
Are you also the typical ‘Independent Contractor’? How do these facts stack up for you? I‘d love to know if these stats ring true for others.
The Networking Benefits of Using a Nametag
I was reading an article in Success magazine about a fellow named Scott Ginsberg. He has some fabulous ideas for networking and how to make yourself more approachable to others.
Scott started his business by a decision he made 12 years ago to NOT take off the sticky nametag he had on at an event: “Hello, my name is Scott”. He left it on and he started meeting new people daily. The first day was 20 people. And primarily because they came over to ask why he was walking around with a nametag on!
This opened his eyes to how people react to certain situations and from this came the foundations of his business and career. He has written several books and his newest is called, “The Nametag Principle”. To this day, he continues to wear his nametag (In fact rumour has it he has one tattooed on!)
I totally understand the benefits of wearing a nametag. When I started my business four years ago I ordered myself a nametag. I hated wearing those sticky ones at networking events and had one created just for me (A holdback to my days at the bank when we all wore a nametag). It has my name, title (At the time it said Virtual Assistant) and then my business name.
I cannot tell you how many conversations this nametag has started. Whether it is my last name, or title (At the time Virtual Assistant was an unknown term and prompted many questions) and even the nametag itself got people talking to me.
Wearing it to an event, really gave others something to focus on and to start a conversation with me (We all know the awkwardness sometimes at networking events… wondering what new things we can come up with to start a conversation.) My nametag gave people an easy out to say hello and ask me a question. Not bad for my initial investment of $11.75.
Reading this article about Scott has also made me think about my own nametag experiences and I think it’s time to order some new ones. I say ‘ones’ because I often wear different hats at events and having ones that fit the situation will be helpful. Sometimes I am the Virtual Assistant, others I am the Online Marketing & Social Media Specialist and then sometimes I am simply @TimeonTaskVA, my Twitter persona.
How about you, have you ever considered getting your own nametag or had some great experiences because you were wearing one? If so, what results have you had – share your good ‘nametag’ stories!
Taking Back Control of your Workday
In the previous post, I gave you a template of a tracking sheet to help you figure out where you are losing time in your day – or rather who or what is controlling how you spend your time.
I left you with some homework to track work/interruptions for a week to determine the top factors (or people) keeping you from staying on task with your planned work.
From this sheet you will have discovered what or who is controlling your day and it normally will be you or someone else in the top spot.
Top Contenders for this #1 place are:
- Co-workers
- Clients
- Yourself
These interruptions can come in a variety of ways:
- Phone calls
- Someone walking in your office
- Skype or other types of Instant Message
No matter the method, they all are competing for your attention. They take your focus from the task at hand and turn it to the Interrupter. In all cases, however, you are giving the Interrupter permission to make you stop what you were doing. This permission is really a choice you have made to stop and divert your attention to the Interrupter.
You chose to answer the phone, to look at emails (especially if your Smartphone is beeping to let you know new emails are in!), to respond to that Skype ping and, yes, even to talk to the person walking in your door.
If your top Interrupter is, in fact, you, then your choice has been to drop one task in favour of another.
Now, I am not advocating being rude to all of these people because, in most cases, the Interrupter is a person. What I am saying is you need to set some boundaries to regain control of your time.
How do you Regain Control?
Regaining control is really a matter of retraining your work habits and prioritizing tasks, as well as letting others know your ‘work schedule’. You regain control with time blocks in your calendar.
*** One note regarding email: If the majority of your inbox is emails for tasks that others look after (that you delegate out), then consider sharing access to that email. Allow the main person responsible to have access so they can just jump on the task as opposed to running it through you. If you have built a team you can trust, this should not be an issue.
Create a secondary, more private email for your own communications and access this in a different way so you are not giving away the private area of your inbox.
What type of Time Blocks?
I like to mark off my calendar for the following areas:
- Start of Day Organization (or as I have written about before, your “Meeting with Yourself”). This is 15 minutes to review your plans and schedule for the day.
- VIP & Intensive Work. Generally this is used for your most intense work of the day and should be blocked off in a time where you know will have less interruptions and in a time slot where you are most productive.
- Email Review/Check In. Setting aside 2 to 4 times a day to be used for checking your email really will help you keep much better control of your day. Email tends to be the worst Interrupter and can easily get you off track by moving on to something new. For a good system on dealing with the emails during this time slot, review this blog post on Email Management.
- Team Support. If you also have colleagues, employees requiring your attention for direction, feedback, etc., then add in a time slot for these check-ins. They can be as disruptive as emails and making time for it helps keep you productive. Whether you work side by side or remotely, make time for these check-ins. Depending upon your setup, you may need one or more spots for this. More importantly…SHARE THIS! Let your team/staff know that this is their time to talk to you to ask questions.
- Regular meetings and appointments. Have these scheduled slots in your calendar so you know when you are free to book meetings or appointments as needed. Hooking these slots to an appointment booking system (like TimeDriver) is even more effective as you can allow the other party to book the best time for them in your available meeting spots.
- Client Work. Set aside a time block for working on projects, client work and the other work that you do in your day.
- New Work. You also want to add in time for new work that will inevitably pop up during the day / week. Give yourself the space to add new items in your day or you will become stressed about when and how you can get that done.
VERY IMPORTANT!!!
If others were your main Interrupters on your tracking sheet, you will need to share this schedule information with them. The people you work with need to understand your limits and that you have made time for them in your day but that it is going to be in a more controlled manner than before.
Subtly share with people (clients and colleagues) that you check your email certain times during the day and will not always respond immediately. You are simply asking for respect of your time. You will have times when you need to choose not to jump up and respond.
Turn off Skype, don’t pick up the phone (that’s why we have voice mail), and stick to your email time. I am not saying always ignore every call that comes in, but watch how fast you are to respond to every call, Skype or email…If you are working in your block of time for emails or team check-ins, etc., then by all means, answer. But, if you are working on your most intense work of the day, most calls can wait.
So grab your tracking sheet and your calendar. See if you can work these 7 steps into your weekly schedule (some may be daily slots and some may only be a few times a week). Leave room for flexibility and try not to make it too blocked off. It may seem like a daunting task to get this organized, but if you can try this for three weeks, you will have formed a new habit and also may find yourself in total control of your workday. This generally means you will get more work done! More work tends to lead to more sales which means more revenue!
Please let me know how your progress is going, share your successes (or questions) in the comments below.
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