freelance

Business Owner or Freelancer? I’m in a freaking pickle.

by Marian Schembari on November 2, 2010

Stress alert! And time to ask you fine folks for advice.

I recently hired a business consultant to help clarify my services and direction. After a year and a half of this, it’s time to take what I do to the next level. Apparently the next level is to brand myself as a business, not just a freelancer. To be taken seriously as a consultant, I can’t just be “Marian Schembari, Freelancer” I need to have a company name and brand.

At first, I got really excited. Ooohh, I could have a snazzy business name! Own a company at 23!

The excitement maybe lasted a day, because for some reason, the idea of starting a business just doesn’t sit well with me.

There are a million reasons to stop going by name. First of all, Schembari is a bitch to spell and pronounce (it’s shim-BAR-ee, by the way). Unless you’ve read or heard about me somewhere (which is highly unlikely) you would have no idea what I did from my name alone. My tagline, while awesome when first starting out, gives no indication of what I do.

Basically, I need a full-fledged rebranding.

Except, in the year and a half I’ve been doing this, I’ve grown my blog from a big, fat nothing to (yay! it’s official!) over 11,000 visitors per month. I’ve been in some major print and online publications, guest posted on a variety of sites, and generally made a name for myself. Not as a business, but as Marian Schembari.

I know I can change. Everyone can change.

But let’s do a little comparison…

Branding Is Like Marriage

I’m not a big believer in marriage, but if – BIG IF – I ever do get married, no well in Hellsies am I changing my last name. Yeah, I’m a Big Fat Feminist, but I also can’t imagine being anyone other than Marian Schembari.

I can’t imagine running my business as anything other than Marian Schembari. That’s why I left the corporate world.

It’s the same thing with a business. Sure, it might bring in bigger clients. But do I want bigger clients?

I charge waaaaay less than my competition, mostly because the people that can afford to pay me that amount aren’t necessarily people I want to work with. I’d much prefer to work with a little art gallery than a major museum with a corporate voice. I’d rather help a struggling author than bend to the will of a major (but stuffy) publishing house. I realize I’m making sweeping generalizations, but why does everyone assume every freelancer wants to be BIGGER? More successful.

I’d love to make more money, I really would. But for what?

I quit my job last year so I could stop doing things the corporate way. I run this blog with my own voice, regardless of tension or consequences, because I don’t want to pretend to be someone I’m not.

But I also might be acting like somewhat of a baby.

Honestly? I can’t think of a damn business name. I tried using other words for “social” and shoving the word consulting in there. Talk Consulting. Talk Media. (The boyfriend suggested Bitch Consulting. I love him.) Then I tried working in my name: Marian Studios. Schembari Social Studios. Ugh. Nothing fits. I guess part of it is my complete lack of creativity.

The other part of it is — I’m multi-passionate and, as of right now, there’s no one thing I want to spend the rest of my life doing. But my name will always be Marian Schembari. My business might change, my life is changing every day, but no matter what, my name will be my name.

Does this make sense from a business perspective? Maybe not. So, like any nerd, I made a list.

Pros of a Business Name

Clients with enough money to pay what I’m worth will respect a business more than a lowly freelancer.

It will be significantly clearer to portray what I do.

It’s possible to do both. Matt Cheuvront is the perfect example with his blog, Life Without Pants, and his company, Proof Branding.

Freelance Folder has an amazing post about the pros and cons of both, though it does generally imply business = better.

Pros of Keeping My “Maiden Name”

I’ve built up a “name” for myself already with said name.

I can easily change my career course without giving up my business.

Other people have done it. I realize I’m not Laura Roeder, but there’s a perfect example of someone whose name and business are one and the same.

I posed this dilemma to Twitter, and here’s what some folks said:

Notice how they all pretty much agree with me? It’s because you guys are amazing, generally trust me and believe in my gut. But I also need a kick in the pants. I need someone to disagree with me and someone to agree with me. So I created a poll. Yes, I’m a dork…

Decisions, Decisions

I’m opening up the floor to you. Here’s a little poll I’ve created, and if you have an opinion one way or another, I’d love hear it!

And if you have any suggestions for a business name and/or tagline, I’d love hear those too! If I end up selecting your name/tagline you’ll get some swag. Profile critique, coaching call, whatevs. I’ll be eternally grateful, but keep in mind I’m incredibly picky.

DON’T FORGET! Prices for my profile critiques are increasing to $197 starting this Friday, November 5. If you want in on a critique, get in for cheap while you can. Click here to reserve your spot.

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Walking the Walk vs. Talking the Talk

by Marian Schembari on September 23, 2010

The other day I spent some time on the phone with a fellow social media consultant. We went to school together and recently found each other online, so decided to have a chat. It’s a very new industry we’re in and since we’re both young and relatively new at this, it’s been fascinating to find the right footing. I also don’t know anyone else who does exactly what I do so I can’t tell you what a relief it was to share war stories.

As the good little Internet Queen I am, I of course Googled my new friend before our chat. What I found was a rarely updated blog with a basic design and low-maintenance Twitter profile. So I, of course (and mistakenly), assumed she was a struggling consultant and I would have lots to teach her.

Ha! Not even close. My friend is turning away clients left and right, regardless of the fact that her own online presence is lacking.

I’m reminded of the saying: “The cobbler’s children have no shoes.”

Beware When I Look Busy

Part of the growing success of my site is that I post 2-3 times per week, tweet multiple times a day, continuously update Facebook and LinkedIn and have at least one guest post, interview or feature on other sites once a month. This is all incredibly time consuming, regardless of how many shortcuts I take or time limits I give myself. However, all this work leads to referrals and clients. Problem is, my ideal clients aren’t online yet. Most of you know your shit already so have no need to hire me.

My ideal clients will most likely be met at networking events, through advertisements and referrals, not through a guest post on a popular blog about blogging.

The thing is, I probably wouldn’t have time for all this if I was inundated with clients. Unfortunately, I do have the time to write dozens of blog posts and keep up-to-date with the latest social media news.

Leading By Example

One of my greatest sources of pride is leading by example. Potential clients already know my traffic, my ability to “be everywhere” and know the tricks I’ve implemented have successfully grown my audience in a small about of time. I walk the walk.

My friend, on the other hand, is actually getting paid to walk the walk for other people. She’s so busy she doesn’t have the time to lead by example. She talks the talk.

To be honest, I’d rather be in her position any day. I’d much prefer to pay my bills. To be perfect honest with you all, I can do social media marketing in my sleep, but I suck royally at traditional marketing. I can find clients for other people using social media because their clients are already online. Mine? Not so much.

So yesterday I sent out a tweet asking about “practicing what you preach” and I got two great responses to share with you all:

- From Pop

- From Tori

This post isn’t going to be long, because I’d like to hear what you guys have to say.

Would you be more impressed with a social media consultant who has a strong online presence or who is obviously so busy with clients she doesn’t have time to impress you?

UPDATE: Oh man. Based on the comments, I think my point has been unclear. The woman I reference in this post is AMAZING at what she does and her presence in no way sucks. She is, in fact, doing much better than me and I was hoping for your take on the balance between spending way too much time on perfecting your presence and actually going out and doing your job. My problem has been spending too much energy on the former.

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Some Lessons I Will Never Learn

by Marian Schembari on September 10, 2010

The internet has this sneaky habit of being one of those places that can make us feel completely incompetent. Doesn’t matter if you’re an SEO specialist, social media consultant, professional blogger or bad ass coder, there is always new shit to learn and it makes my head hurt.

It also makes me feel really stupid.

But I shouldn’t feel stupid… What I’m doing works for me. Sure, maybe I’ve never properly SEO’d my site, refuse to keep a calendar, wake up late, stay in my pajamas all day (apparently a “freelancer no-no”), don’t regularly comment on popular blogs or use Google Reader, but it doesn’t seem to have any sort of effect on my business or site. Maybe.

Yet I always feel like I’m missing something. Like when people talk about their stats or subscriber lists, I generally have no idea what they’re talking about. Is that a bad thing or a sign that I’m a rebel without a cause, refusing to play by the rules? Ha. Regardless…

Rules I Don’t Follow

I will not stress about guest posting for major sites. If it doesn’t fit my personality or I have to pull some idea out of my ass then I won’t do it. Guest posting is all the rage now and it’s making me crazy. I feel like I have to be everywhere, pissing myself over writing for The Holy Grail that is ProBlogger or Zen Habits. Except I find myself brainstorming ideas I would never write about on my own site. Topics I know nothing about.

On that note, I have no desire to become buddy-buddy with “popular bloggers.” I’m sure they’re all lovely people, but there are very few out there who respond to emails, comments, etc. I realize they’re significantly busier than I am, so my question is: Why should I waste my time? To be part of the “in crowd”? What, is this high school? Hells to the no. My favorite relationships are with my readers and the blogs I actually read on a regularly – regardless of their popularity or traffic.

I will not advertise my reader or subscriber numbers. I won’t pimp out the size of my mailing list. Why? First of all, it’s not that impressive and secondly, I think that’s kind of lame. We’ve all seen those sites advertising 20,000 SUBSCRIBERS! Then we compare them to the site with 120,00 SUBSCRIBERS! Then we come across a crazy awesome blog with 37 subscribers and we write them off. I don’t know, I just don’t dig it.

I will not think about SEO. Sure, I could use some Google referrals – only 12% of my blog traffic comes from search engine traffic – but it’s one more thing to think about and I don’t really understand it or have the time to learn and to be honest, it’s pretty obvious when a blog is hardcore SEO’d. Yes, I realize doing it well means it’s not obvious and there will be tons more traffic because of said SEO, but I have other things to worry about. I don’t think Hyperbole and a Half stresses about her search engine optimization and she’s “internet famous.” Granted, I’m not Hyperbole, but I think if a blog is good enough, word of mouth will spread it, not carefully placed keywords. I’d rather keep my voice – does that make sense?

I will always include outbound links. Screw bounce rate. If it’s valuable I’ll send you their way.

I will not use Google Calendar to organize my life. Does anyone else have the problem where they think they’ll get all organized and start meticulously adding events with descriptions and times and addresses but then after two days they just stop doing it? Cuz that’s me all the time. I just can’t keep it up. However, I did find an AWESOME Firefox plugin (ReminderFox) that’s so easy to update it’s the only way I remember anything.

Here’s the thing: I do realize the value of these “rules.” I’d love to get more Google traffic and think my freelance life would be so much easier if I could organize my time. But I also think it’s important to know yourself and not spend time stressing about all those things you don’t do or understand.

So are there any rules you refuse to follow? It can be blog related or otherwise but I’m curious to see if I’m the only one…

UPDATE: So many great comments here! If you’re so inclined, share your favorite way to break the blog rules on Twitter. We’re using the #blogrebel hashtag. Join in the conversation!!

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Happy 1 Year Blog-iversary! What I’ve learned, how I’ve changed and a very large THANK YOU

by Marian Schembari on August 9, 2010

Today is officially one year since I bought the domain marianlibrarian.com. It’s been a year since those ads graced the Facebook pages of publishing people everywhere, but as many people point out: social media doesn’t do it all. You need to make relationships with people and talk to them and have the experience to back up whatever you claim.

Let me just say: Thank God for all the people who’ve helped me this past year. I want to take this little birthday of mine to publicly and oh-so-sincerely thank them for the enormous amount of support they’ve given since graduation. So without further ado, the mentors that have brilliantly graced my life this year:

Carin Siegfried. Oh, Carin. How you’ve put up with my whining and complete lack of know-how. Carin, who runs the blog, Caroline Bookbinder, was my first real mentor. We met during my last year at Davidson, where she returns annually to talk publishing with terrified seniors. It was after our mock interview, however, where she turned into a friend and the greatest “career counselor” a girl could have. When I didn’t get a job I wanted and moaned about curling up in a ball and eating ice cream, Carin said, “ice cream is a good thing.” She then proceed to write a 5 paragraph email reminding me how far I got in the interview process and telling me I was better off anyway. The woman is a freaking star and I will never be able to express how important she was while I was floundering.

Debbie Stier. Debbie was the first person to contact me after my Facebook ads went live. One of the emails she wrote said, “If you don’t have a job in marketing in book publishing by the end of the week, I am going to have to leave this industry.” She wrote two blog posts about me, thus increasing my head size, but also making me feel really smart. As a 22-year-old with no publishing experience, Debbie gave me freelance work, referred me to other people in the industry (I landed 2 clients because of her), talked me up and generally made me feel like a fairy princess. Not only did she single-handedly keep me off the streets, but gave me the confidence to start off on my own.

Michael Ellsberg. Michael was another one who contacted me because of the ads. I’ve written about him before because he gives such great advice, but I really want to give him a proper thank you for kicking my ass into gear. His first email to me said, “Why seek an employer? With your drive, initiative, and talent, you could make a successful go as a freelance publishing consultant… If you ever want guidance on how to make this happen I’d be happy to offer pointers. It’s rare that someone has the go-getter attitude that you do and you will go far whatever you choose.” How could you not love this man? (He also recently married the hottest chic around – congratulations guys!)

More Thanks Yous

Obviously, the people that have subscribed to this blog: You rock.

The people that comment: Those emails from Disqus truly make my day.

Twitter followers: I don’t know why you follow me, but I like it. I don’t give a crap what Gen X says, but the relationships I’ve built because of social media have been incredibly valuable.

Changes This Past Year

One year ago I was pissing my pants trying to find a “real” job. I had this image of what I should be doing and in this past year that image has changed. I got a real job, quit that job. Lived in Manhattan, moved home to Connecticut. Moved to London, moving to New Zealand. I was terribly shy, but this blog has made me stranger-friendly.

It doesn’t matter what I started writing about a year ago (careers in publishing) or what I’m writing about now (freelance social media), this little blog of mine has been a place to have fun, let loose, meet people and super-charge my creativity. And I know that no matter what I end up doing or were I end up going, this little blog of mine has a nifty way of chronicling this whole life-after-college-thing.

So THANK YOU, dear Blog. And have the happiest of birthdays!

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“Critique My Profile” Episode 5: Make the most out of linking

by Marian Schembari on July 23, 2010

This week’s episode of Critique My Profile features Desirai Labrada (@Desirai), a Digital Media Designer, artist and all around cool chick who’s looking to land more freelance clients by using Twitter… Check out the video and my tips for her below:

Some actionable tasks for Desirai:

Bio/Background

It’s good in that it tells us who you are and what you do, but it’s a little cluttered. Also keep in mind that most of us won’t know what those acronyms mean.
Pair down your bio a little bit so that the important bits are obvious and we’re not overwhelmed with too much info.
Gorgeous background! It’s so smart for artists and designers to show off their skills with a customized Twitter background.

Tweets:

You obviously know what you’re doing and have a good amount of designer-relevant links and tweets. Keep it up!
Instead of using the retweet button, spend 60 seconds following these guidelines:
- Include the name of the original author as well as the person you’re RTing (only if the names are different obviously). You want to give credit where it’s due.
- Include a comment or question with the RT. This piques curiosity and invites people to participate in the discussion.
Get followers involved in your work. Show us designs your working on, ask our opinion on tiny details to help you work better and make us feel like we’re useful :)
- Remember people are visual and your career perfect for including links to Twitpic images – anything from art that inspires you or designs you’d like to replicate. You have so many options!

What do you guys think? Do you have more tips for Desirai? Leave your comments below! And if you want me to critique your profile, leave your Twitter handle in the comments.

ANNOUNCEMENT: I’m now offering a crazy discounted consulting service called 30 Minute Twitter Strategy for those of you who are ready to take your profiles to the next level. Click here for more info.

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