This article on Research Live by Roger Sant, VP at Martiz Research, is an excellent example an organisation realising the value of respondents and treating the more like customers.
Definitely worth a ready, and good to see more organisations taking this stance in the industry.
Link to Article- http://www.research-live.com/comment/lets-let-respondents-decide-what-matters/4003484.article
Any bad blood at a previous organisation might very well have ruined such an amazing opportunity proving that building bridges is much more prosperous than burning them.
I saw this trailer a while back for the movie Lemonade, and must admit that it caught me
The tag line said it all for me- “It’s not a Pink Slip. It’s a Blank Page”.
It reminds me of something my first boss would always say to me. “A problem is just an opportunity in disguise”.
Peter Harris, MD of Vision Critical in Australia (and on Twitter @peteraharris), wrote an excellent blog post that summarises the issues with research and how we can learn from of all people ‘Vanilla Ice’.
His blog post- Stop, collaborate and LISTEN, focuses on the issues with research and those that do and do not use it- and those that should.
In addition to this he talks about needing to break out of the ‘traditional’ way of thinking for researchers and moving to the idea of ‘Listening’.
Full blog post here and definitely worth a read- http://peteraharris.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/stop-collaborate-and-listen/
Well it’s nearly 12 months since I braved the market, through caution to the wind and decided to start working for myself.
Like many in a similar situation, I went through the roller coaster of emotions. One day it would be the best decision you have ever made, the next- career suicide! Add in the fact that we had our second child on the way in 2 weeks, and things start to get really interesting. There has definitely been no shortage of advice nor a shortage of people to give it. Most has been incredibly useful, with the odd piece of ‘my god what were you thinking’.
Raz Chorev sent through this article from the Wall Street Journal- How to Succeed in the Age of Going Solo. There is some excellent advice in the article, from getting your own work space to joining business networks.
Probably the one thing that was missing from the article was a very simple piece of advice- don’t be afraid to ask for help. Sound’s simple, but when you decide to go it alone, it is often a hard (or even embarrassing) thing to admit and ask for. Start with people in your own network. You will be surprised at how wiling many are to lend a helping hand, or refer you to a professional resource that they might be using.
For me is was the financial and administrative side of the business that was taking a lot of my time. Perhaps the fact that I failed accounting first time around at university was a sign of things to come! First thing I did was chat to my accountant- Mr TaxMan (yes that’s his alter ego and you guessed it- phone number 1800-Tax-Man, gotta love him just for that).
Next was to reach out to friends on Twitter asking for sites/ software that people would recommend to help manage quoting/ invoicing. Many recommended Zoho Invoices, and I am extremely happy with it. Lets me do all my quoting and invoicing online, as well as managing reminders for late payers.
There are hundreds of other situations that you can get help for, and entire industries are popping up to service these exact needs. Virtual office space, desk shares, virtual assistants, time management and copywriting- the list goes on.
For all those that have taken the plunge and are going at it on their own, just remember that you don’t need to do it all alone. The sooner you can identify your own weaknesses, the sooner you can get on with the job of building a successful business.
The year did not start off the best by any stretch of the imagination. I had a regular meeting with a manager and his first words (first day back) were ‘your position has been made redundant’. For anyone else that has ever been in this position you will know what I mean when I say that it is like the world stands still and you are looking back at yourself. The sheer shock of the statement, coupled with the timing was the timing, was a real head spinner.
To give a little more perspective to my situation at the time, I had just taken our business unit through an audit process that had taken me the better part of 2 months to prepare for. We passed with flying colours just prior to the Christmas break. There was also the rather large issue of our second baby on the was in 3 months, and facing a situation with 2 parents not working was a scary fact.
At some point several weeks later I made the decision to start my own business within the research industry. It is something I probably jumped into a lot quicker that I should have, but from what everyone says it’s the only was to do it. Had I not, I would still be contemplating things. Setting up a company and having a second child in the same few weeks is not really something that I would recommend to most, but it was just another step in a wild ride for 2009.
In March we were greeted with our lovely baby daughter with a smile that just lights up a room. Even when I was sitting up for nights on end figuring how I would pay the bills (and I still do at times), her smile at those night feeds and early morning wake ups would make it all worthwhile.
Towards the middle of the year things started to settle down with Demi sleeping better and the business taking on that magical second and then third client. It is amazing what a different feeling it is when you have more than one client, you go from a virtual employee to a business.
The support that I received from family and friends throughout the year has been without a doubt a life saver. The other groups that have been an amazing source of motivation and inspiration have been the people who attend the @CoffeeMornings. I started attending only this year, and have met such a vast array of people that have really helped replace an office social environment that I miss.
It was at this meet up that Gavin Heaton (better know as the Servant of Chaos) asked me to participate in the Man Week campaign being conducted by Triple J and the Inspire Foundation to help men talk about their feelings and to combat issues faced by young male- specifically depression and suicide. I started with this post, and then a second post for the Man Week campaign, and ended up culminating in The Perfect Gift for a Man book.
If you asked me at the beginning of 2009 if I thought I would have my own company and have contributed to a book to help change peoples lives, I would have told you to switch to decaf.
It has been extremely hard work with the business in the first year, but is has also been incredibly rewarding. Having control over my environment and knowing that when I work harder I seen the fruits of my labour, is a very satisfying thing. Instantly becoming the Director, Sale Manager, Marketing Manager, IT Manage, HR Manager, CTO, CFO and Receptionist is a bit of a culture shock as well.
So now I am sitting on the couch at what is almost the end of a VERY interesting year. New child, new business, new life and more. It all started with bad news at the beginning of the year and has ballooned into nothing but positive energy.
Ask you self- if the same thing would happen to you next year, what would you make of it?
Kevin Purdy over at Life Hacker has put together a great list of downloads and tips for those of us who are out and about with our laptops more than most. There are apps for both PC and Mac, and I highly recommend taking a look.
If you are anything like me, you are always looking for another tip and trick to make working remotely just that more enjoyable.
Check out the article at- Top 10 Downloads For A Road Warrior Laptop
I started writing this post from a cafe up the road from my house whilst waiting for my Chiropractor appointment. I needed to go to the bank and post office so figured I would just stay out and get some work done. Searching for a cafe to work from I suddenly remembered that it was Melbourne Cup day and every place had a special lunch running thus making free tables somewhat of a scarcity. I finally found a small cafe/ deli around the corner with decent coffee and planted myself there for an hour or so.
As always my first priority is to find some open and free wifi to connect to and get some work done- this is where things got interesting. There were several networks locked down, and the only one without security was of all things the RTA traffic routers at the intersection. To my astonishment there was no security on this access point and I was freely able to connect and access the web. I could have tethered my iPhone for some 3G access, but this is cumbersome, and in many cases the wifi will always give better access and stability. I have gone to some decent lengths to be able to work more freely without it costing me (much) more. I even downgraded the OS on my iPhone so that I could use tethering for 3G access when WiFi is not available.
This got me thinking about how hard it is to get decent web access when out, and why cafes still do not see it as an advantage to offer such a service.
There are a few VERY smart cafes in the city and the east that have put in wifi to varying degrees. Some have a cumbersome log in procedure whilst others simply have the network wide open. Others are doing an interesting experiment and offering the access outside of peak times (lunch and dinner) to promote trade in those periods.
Whatever the decision, I can simply say this- if there are 2 cafes in an area I need to work in and one has wifi and the other does not, guess where I am parking myself!!!
Just a little food for thought for cafe owners looking to drum up some extra business.
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