Member JDM posed his issue -- a prospect is interested in putting on a bootcamp and wants JDM to map it out. As we probed issue it became clear that the actual business outcomes desired were... unclear and vague. Not all that surprising, really, so we brainstormed through the key discovery questions to pose (and how to present them) to get the job done and find out what the client is really trying to accomplish. Nice work, everyone!

During check-in these two important concerns were raised by two members, so we jumped right in! JP is in advanced conversations with a new prospect and seeking ideas about how to price the offer. HH finds themselves in a hyper-active organization and was seeking ideas about time management and how to "get more done in less time" (a common challenge we all face!). Some great issues processing left both JP and HH with solid ideas to explore and put into action. Another timely and valuable community engagement... Description text goes here

Based on our quick check-in process, we engaged around a couple of very critical conversations these days -- first JP updated us on a recent experience with a new collaboration tool (MIRO) for client facilitation; lots of interest from others on checking out this tool. Then TG raised an issue of how to stay focused and manage the many distractions in our lives and that turned into a thoughtful sharing of various techniques and approaches that worked for other members. All in all, a lot of value packed into a tight 45-minute community call.

We engaged in a spirited conversation about how to leverage Company Pages in LinkedIn and whether or not it made sense to maintain them. The pros and cons of having to manage both professional profile pages and a company page were debated; we concluded that while in a few instances a company page might make sense, for most of us Free Agents who are running a company of one the extra bandwidth required to keep a company page active was probably not worth the effort. As with many things in the social media world the general consensus was that quality trumps quantity. No doubt we'll revisit this topic several times as the social media world continues to evolve.

Member JP took us through the steps for thinking through when it makes sense to incorporate as a self-employed professional and if doing so, whether to design your compensation through standard salary or owner dividends. This is a critical step for us Free Agents to really understand when we formally structure our businesses, and there are a lot of moving parts to understand and consider. Hats off to JP for getting us better versed in these critical considerations and providing us a solid starting point for our next steps on this key business imperative.

The community helped two members process specific project opportunities they are pursuing. JP is facing a large prospect company that has two posted opportunities that JP feels can be combined to better fit the needs of the client -- we talked through numerous strategies and action steps to take to engage the client to determine if they are receptive to considering this. Then IW provided background on a posted project that is a great fit and the community weighed in with specific recommendations on how to proceed and clearly showcase the capabilities being presented to the client.

During our call member JP shared the recent "firing of a client" that had been a for poor fit for some while. Further JP shared that they arrived at this action as a direct outcome of a 90-day strategic planning exercise the community members had participated in just a few days before, providing more context to JP about the strategic importance of taking this difficult "client firing" step. The members applauded JP's news in full recognition of how difficult -- and freeing -- it can be when one fires a poor-fit client. Big lesson for all of us!

Member TG has been focused on planning out his new consulting venture and this evening he shared his plan to get our feedback, insights and suggestions. The session generated lots of conversation around target prospect challenges, identifying hurdles in new client acquisition and options for how to reduce specific friction points, possible "white labeling" opportunities, and a whole lot more. TG was pleased with the feedback and promises to update again in the near future with his next iteration of thinking his way through this new venture.

Member IW benefits from having happy clients that are re-engaging him with more projects. His challenge is to ensure his work commands pricing that more fully values his contribution while delivering his services through a 3rd party -- a marketing agency. Our group discussion explored new potential services, service packaging, and retainer-based pricing opportunities that IW can explore in his upcoming conversations with both agency and end-client. We're looking forward to an update in coming weeks as to how these conversations are progressing.

Our first community call of the new year, and after a quick check-in and catchup, we identified member issues for deep diving into in our next session. We ended the call with a new feedback ritual: a quick 1-5 rating on value of the call. Rules are simple -- score between 1 (no value, or worse..) and 5 (brilliant value received), and if you score a 1,2 or 5 you're asked to add a quick comment on your score. Mostly we scored the session with 3's and 4's, with one "5" ("outstanding -- helped me to get on track and lock in my key priorities for the week"). Total feedback loop took maybe 3 minutes... looks like a very promising addition to keep us tight, focused, moving forward.

Members HH and DG shared great news with us regarding new paid contracts landed, and books officially published. Very motivating to have participated in supporting these members as they developed and honed these opportunities, progressed them through their pipelines and converted them into completed projects and paid work. That's the whole focus of our community support ecosystem -- wonderful to hear more success stories!

After a short check-in, we ended up somewhat "off script" sharing some local success stories and insights we have gained into specific businesses around us and their various pivots and revenue/service experiments as they continue to navigate through the impacts of the pandemic. Some members have services which the conversation was directly relevant to, and for all of us it served to illustrate the level of agility & adaptability we all must embrace in our businesses and careers to survive and thrive in disruptive times. A fascinating conversation leaving lots for all of us to think about.

Our discussion centered on how we as members can now use our community currency to build out our business capabilities in a highly cost-effective way -- by leveraging each other's "wheelhouse talents" through transacting the currency we've now put in place. We earn currency by participating that we can then use to engage services from each other. Community members also see this as a big draw to bring more members into the community and provides yet another reason for each of us to actively recruit prospects who bring both the attitude and skill sets that we want to grow and leverage. Win-win-win

Member PC has been working on his website (as a background activity when not consumed with his client facing work) for many months and this evening was the great reveal. PC walked us through his messaging, comprehensive portfolio of client projects, and the specific services on offer. As an early stage Free Agent, this is PC's first public website presenting his own services to prospects. As with all of us, the real challenge was clarifying and tightening the positioning to really hone in and present his "wheelhouse" fully and convincingly. The website reveal was inspiring and produced accolades, awe-inspiring feedback and actionable recommendations. Great work!!

TR presented the key ideas from “Atomic Habits” (2019 book) --- review and resources posted to our members-only resource page). One key idea garnered an active discussion -- the difference between "motion" and "action", which nicely complements our OBT (One Big Thing) ritual in the community. What we often consider "taking action" is too often "being in motion"… for example writing up a to-do list, rather than actually DOING something on the list. Another classic example – reading a book or taking a class to learn "how to" rather than diving into "doing" and learning through hands-on exploration and experimentation. A most important distinction to keep in mind as we all work to build greater momentum.

Based on some general issues members where having with their overall prospecting, we shared insights and “tips and tricks” for using social media effectively for B2B prospecting (primary focus of most community members). Basic takeaway was that social media (in particular with LinkedIn) was excellent platform for research and for initial engagement – but that success was then “pulling them off” social media and using tools like Calendly & ZOOM to engage more deeply and develop collaborative conversations. We are all working to become more effective in our business development activities and so this opportunity to explore was much appreciated!

Member HH questioned whether pursuing a specific certification was a good investment in time, energy and money. We staged a pros/cons discussion with community members coming down on both sides. The big take-away was "it depends" and is really about if/how that certification is viewed by your target audience – the one with the problem that you specifically solve. It's a great research question to take to your network to engage them about the relevance and value of a specific industry or skill certification. Member HH took away some new perspectives and a clear action plan of next steps.

We dived into a challenge several members identified around the issue of preventing scope creep – those projects that seem to never end with clients continually asking for more and driving down our earned rate. Great input and recommendations about tight upfront expectation setting and continual expectation management throughout the project. Some terrific advice around framing that “fierce conversation” necessary with our client to draw a firm line under the project.

One of our newest members SS is ramping up on prospecting for great-fit projects, and posed this question to the community. The really informative and insightful perspectives shared outlined a few “truths” about effective prospecting: (i) you can't be too persistent; (ii) there is a fundamental difference between “corporate time” and "free agent time", (iii) its not about tools but discipline (don't over-engineer it!), and (iv) watch that you're not giving away your value and your time without meaningful reciprocation. One of those conversations that everyone took some insights away from…

Member PV updated us on how our brainstorming session with her a few weeks ago helped her to successfully guide a new client away from a certain course of action that she knew would end up in a “train wreck”. She reports that our input helped her to significantly reframe her value and expertise in the eyes of the client, resulting in new opportunities and a significantly enhanced project and compensation rate for the new year. Well done!

We discussed setting up a system for members to effectively exchange services with each other so as to help each other grow our careers/businesses. Services available within the community currently include writing, accounting, marketing, branding, medical consulting, e-commerce, project management, videography… the list goes on! Very enthusiastic response so now need to really get focused on turning this into a real thing!

Held our first new "streamlined" Sunday check-in with 30 minute maximum length, and member issue-processing now scheduled out for Wednesday calls, whenever possible. New format nice and tight and allowed us to all get on with our other Sunday afternoon commitments!

JP shared the challenge of managing concurrent client projects and how to best manage ongoing scheduling conflicts — because we can’t be everywhere at once! Tips from members included defining our roles as “guides” for our clients, how to communicate with the players, engagement tactics, setting expectations, contract language, forward planning, and much more.