Let’s face it: It takes guts to own your own business. And creativity. Lots of stick-to-it-iveness. A big heart. The ability to manage people, and to hunt for the best collaborators and nurture those relationships. That’s a gift. I don’t know how many of you think of it that way, but trust me - it is. Those of us who choose to go out on our own are WAY outnumbered by those who prefer to have a boss. Of course, I’m not saying one way is better than the other. They’re just different. But that ability you have is precious, and needs to be guarded. A friend of mine calls it the “curse of competence.” Unfortunately, there are…and will always be…plenty of people who want to steal that gift. They are the people who ask for guidance and help, yet never offer the same in return. They are the people who receive your referral and instead of being gracious, they ask if you have more clients you can refer. They’re the ones who want to have long, circular conversations about how to grow their business, but never really take the challenging next steps, and keep coming back with their frustrations. These folks may be good (if misguided) souls, but you can’t let them suck you dry. How do you protect yourself? A couple things I do:
So I’m curious - have any of you run into the same issue? I’m sure you have. How do you protect your valuable time, energy and ideas - your gift?
Comments:
3 Comments posted on "Theme of the week: How do you protect your gift?"
Matt Mayes on June 25th, 2008 at 9:44 am #
Fortunately, I don’t have to deal with this much anymore. But, I’m usually very blunt when someone calls looking for work. I more get people emailing me for free advise on their site, which I tend to limit to a brief email, or, if it’s a popular topic, I’ll refer them to an online resource or write my own blog entry about it. If I start getting the same type of email over and over, I’ll write a response and keep it to cut/paste into future responses (the mac program Yojimbo is great for storing this sort of stuff).
Chris Benevich on June 25th, 2008 at 1:38 pm #
Jenni, I’d like to take this opportunity to address another side of pleas for help. I see myself as a leader who has much expertise to share and, because of my success, to return to the creative community. My approach is to answer listserv questions, take calls from people in my core network even when under deadline, write thorough business proposals that teach a standard of quality, present talks before trade associations, help run the mediabistro.com Chicago monthly parties, post to this blog — it’s all part of how I show I am willing to give before I receive. As such, I set the precedent in my relationships: I demonstrate what I appreciate in others by providing it. Second, upon first direct contact with anyone in my network, I share my definition of networking, “the circle of giving and receiving.” I ask what they are looking for from networking. Is it sharing resources, brainstorming solutions or creative concepts, discussing operational improvements, inviting one another to events, and then, after trust is built, perhaps referring work? My sales cycle may be longer than the here’s-my-card-call-me approach. But, my approach feels more me and seeks to sustain relationships long-term. Third, sometimes people need a little more basic help than I can provide, such as how to go freelance or grow a client base. I’ve done entire talks on these topics and still can’t cover all there is to know! These are the people I tell to join Independent Writers of Chicago and Chicago Women in Publishing, to get a SCORE mentor, and to start combing the discussion boards at mediabistro.com. There are good organizations out there that specialize in helping people focus.
Sundee K on June 29th, 2008 at 1:50 pm #
I’ve recently come across this line and am keeping it in mind: Post a comment
|