I’ve got a very busy full-day of work today and spent most of yesterday preparing. I know that’s true of most people of working age but for me it’s out of the ordinary.
And do you know what, I’m really quite looking forward to today’s firefighting and facilitation. My meeting very first thing will involve breaking the news to a client about the fact a trusted freelancer had dropped the bombshell she is off travelling for five months.
I’ve been using the excellent People Per Hour website to identify a freelancer with social media skills to cover for her absence. You can post specific jobs on it and people who are interested respond with CVs, proposals and portfolios. It’s a site I may well use myself one day if I’m looking for project work to boost my income.
I’ve used it on various occasions in the past but for this role I’ve had the time to promote and explain it properly and was rewarded with a good response from about 60 people. I’ve enjoyed spending part of the last couple of days sifting through the applications and selecting a shortlist. I’ll present my ideas to the client later and I’m confident he’ll be positive about my recommendations.
Straight after I’m off by train to London to my client’s smart offices on the Thames. I’m facilitating a communications strategy session with the boss there and around 10 of her staff. I’ll be leading the brainstorming session trying to get them to think about their aims, messages and audiences.
In particular I want them to think about who they want to influence and what they want to say to them to achieve their objectives. I’ve ran sessions like this for years and often feel a bit nervous beforehand, you never know how you are going to perform yourself and how successfully you’ll get people to engage.
Stock market turbulence
Today, I’ve prepared well, looking forward to the journey – am usually really productive when I’m on a train – and am feeling confident. I really want to make the most of this opportunity to get in front of my client’s staff and get them all engaged so they’ll want to contribute with ideas for social media content, blogs, PR etc moving forward.
A few years ago this would have been a day I’d have dreaded, today it’s one that’s giving me a bit of a buzz.
I looked into selling my business a couple of years back and now I’m glad I didn’t. It’s proving no hardship at all keeping an eye on client work on a day-to-day basis, something I can do equally effectively wherever I am, whatever else I’m doing.
I’m also not having a problem putting in a shift when needed and because I’m less stressed without the pressures of having to cover the costs of overheads – mainly staff and premises – I feel more efficient and creative. The income which mostly pays my wages rather than those overheads is very welcome too.
It’s a few months before the first of my modest pensions kicks in and even longer, at 65, before the another one starts and a further 21 months after that before the state pension arrives.
With all the coronavirus-related vicissitudes of the stock market right now a fairly stable income and work giving me people to see and places to go is providing me with all the balance, security and interest I need.