STARTUP KEEPS THOSE WHO WORK SOLO FROM BEING SILOED

MADISON MAGAZINE

START-UP CITY FEATURE

BY BRENNAN NARDI

"MADISON STARTUP KEEPS THOSE WHO WORK SOLO FROM BEING SILOED. THE JILLS CONNECTS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS". 

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Megan A.C. Boswell’s teenage daughter, who gave her mom and her mom’s business partner Corinne Neil tips on how to use Twitter. That’s where I stumbled upon THE JILLS OF ALL TRADES, read about the venture and discovered that it is a Madison-area startup.

Naturally, the smart and savvy duo eventually mastered the art of tweeting. I’m grateful for the ease and efficiency of social media in discovering unique, local people and products—and then making those one-on-one connections. I’m from Generation X and old enough to remember life before the digital age, when networking and community building happened via the newspaper and at Junior League. I also recall a time when an amazing concept like THE JILLS, an online platform for independent contractors to connect with companies that need highly skilled, on-demand talent, would have been dreamed up in a larger city, likely on a coast, and even more likely, a product of “the Jacks.”

Thankfully, Boswell found her way to the Midwest through American Girl. She spent 14 years as head of global design and development before launching a brand strategy and design business for two and a half years to allow more time with her kids. Neil enjoys a successful career as a curriculum and content developer. Unlike Boswell’s corporate career, Neil’s solo career offered a flexible schedule and a healthy life-work balance. One of the challenges for Neil was the time, energy and sometimes anxiety associated with landing the next gig, and the one after that. Also, freelance work can be isolating, and Neil began to yearn for a more networked and sustainable lifestyle, while still retaining the variety and autonomy she loves most. So she started talking to Boswell and other friends about what it might look like for all of them to thrive in their careers without sacrificing quality of life. A lightbulb switched on, and THE JILLS was born.

In 2015, THE JILLS focused on customer development and was accepted into the startup accelerator Madworks, where they put their ideas to the test in the company of peers and mentors. Madworks companies receive support through the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic, a resource for fledgling companies without the capital to finance expensive but essential legal counsel.

Megan A.C. Boswell (left)  and Corinne Neil foundedTHE JILLS to connect high-quality talent with great gigs

Each Madworks company receives a $5,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation after completing the 10-week program. THE JILLS used it to launch a website with plug-in tools—and still have money in the bank. Armed with the tagline “Work Solo-Not Silo,” the company sells monthly ($35) and annual ($365, or a dollar a day) memberships to join THE JILLS community and gain access to an online roster of project-based talent, project opportunities, networking meetups, marketing and promotion and curated tips and trends. THE JILLS distinguishes itself in the marketplace with a broad talent spectrum (from writers and graphic designers to Ph.D.s, lawyers and software developers), no job bidding or transaction fees and direct communication between the Jill and the client. Both members and nonmembers can also earn cash rewards
for referrals. 

What’s also sustainable and scalable, the founders hope, is the community-driven platform on which THE JILLS is built. The plan is to grow THE JILLS around the globe but anchor the membership to geographic hubs that promote team building and relationships. Future growth also includes a suite of administrative tools for members to manage their work more efficiently and effectively. 

“We’re not saving the world,” concedes Boswell. “But we’re saving time through community, collaboration and convenience.”

 I beg to differ. Just imagine all the Jills who could save the world one project—and one less commute—at a time.

Original Madison Magazine link

International Women's Day-EVERYDAY

THE JILLS honors and champions #InternationalWomensDay, today & EVERYDAY.

Today for #InternationalWomensDay and everyday we honor & recognize ALL women who have shaped our world for the better.  Find your voice. Use it for good. And help lift & encourage others to do the same. Now go change the world. We believe in you.👊🏼

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TECH + THE Pay Gap Paradigm Shift

Something big is going down.  You can see the cracks and feel the reverberations. Change is in the air, as women use, make, create, and build technologies to power a pay gap paradigm shift.

Yep you heard it correctly. Women are harnessing technology to power their paychecks. 

Now, the stats are still lousy when it comes to pay equity.  According to the AAUW report, The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap, "in 2015, women working full time in the United States typically were paid just 80 percent of what men were paid." The reports also suggest that progress toward pay parity is slow and that it has stalled in recent years suggesting equity may not be achieved until the year 2159!  The report also identifies larger gaps in pay for women of color and notes that as a women ages the pay gap grows. 

Dismal. 

However, in her article for the Harvard Business Review, How Technology Can Help Close the Gender Gap, Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest, offers hope. Krawcheck deftly draws conclusions about how access to information (specifically information on companies' gender practices) , online social networks and communities, and value-driven decision-making are bridging the pay gap and leveling the playing field for professional women. She suggests there is a lot happening that is moving women in the right direction for pay equity. 

Good news for us all.  The timing, it seems is at a critical pace for women to know about, explore, and utilize the infrastructure and the ecosystems that are currently creating a much needed equalization of power in the workplace and beyond. 

Throughout the article, Krawcheck details numerous technology resources that women can access to help close the gender pay gap (which you should totally check out) and she identifies the growing number of options for women in the workforce as making significant impact on the gender pay gaps. She highlights the increasingly viable option of entrepreneurship for women and notes the importance of being able to hire on a project by project basis as a contributor to the success of startups and young companies. Krawcheck also predicts a very near future "in which professional women work for, buy from, and invest in companies that align with their values."  Vicki Saunders' organization SheEO is one that is already creating this future with their approach to investing - Radical Generosity - where up to 1000 women contribute $1,100 to create a million dollar fund to invest in women-led ventures. Nicole Yeary, also exemplifies these ideals with her Chicago-based company, Ms. Tech, whose member platform 'helps business women do tech, and tech women do business'. 

Women empowering women, does indeed seem to be a theme for bridging the pay gap.  

And this is, indeed, why we founded THE JILLS OF ALL TRADES™. Because forming an ecosystem and shaping an infrastructure where women entrepreneurs can help women entrepreneurs lift and link each other, complete projects together, find community and get stuff done... well that has the potential to change everything.

JOIN THE JILLS. FIND A JILL. REFER A JILL. And start to power a cycle that spurs a workforce revolution and help us all work toward bridging the gender pay gap. 

Xero Out

Okay, first things first, if you're using the same bank account for your personal account and your business account - STOP. Get a business account and stop mixing your money. 

Whew. Now that's cleared up, let's talk about a robust and affordable online tool for keeping track of the money in your business account. 

Xero.

For less than $10 a month, you can have this amazing online accounting software that will keep you on track with invoicing, and payments, and reconciling your accounts. You can code expenses and track mileage. It'll print reports galore.

And if you're not versed in bookkeeping or accounting, fear not.  The interface is intuitive, and even when you're not even sure what you're supposed to be doing, there are enough tutorials, and online help and chats to get you into the swing of it. 

So give it a whirl. You might find those weekly 'money dates' have a brand new zip to them. 

Ladies, Let's Stop Being So Polite About Money

Let's stop being so polite about money. Seriously.

Let's start asking each other where we make money and where we don't; how we save money or why we don't. Let's start telling each other what we don't understand about money and start helping each other take control over our thoughts, emotions, and actions around money. Let's get confident in asking for money and knowing our value. Let's be clear about what we charge for projects, how we manage cash flow gaps, and who's lending to whom. Let's talk about how we access health care, and how we pay for college, or professional development, or awesome software, client coffees, dinner dates, and that dang trip to Cancun. Let's be clear about what we expense, and how we keep track of it. 

Let's make this the year to let go of fears and anxiety around money and exchange it for awareness, transparency, collaboration, and information. 

Because by shying away from the cash chit chat, we're adhering to a code that disempowers us.  

And in order for us to lead a workforce revolution.  We need to be empowered. 

So let's start some money chatter right now.

Here are a few actionable first steps for entrepreneurs of every sort, from side gigs to solos, to startups and small businesses: 

1. Get a separate bank account for your business. This is the first step to getting your business financials in order. Whether you take on a project or two a year or have a full-time operation with employees and contractors, it is never the right decision to mix your personal account with your business account. Keep them separate and pay yourself from your business account into your personal account. Even just one side gig project demands a separate account. 

2. Same goes for credit cards. Don't mix personal and professional. If you cannot yet get a business credit card, then simply dedicate a personal card exclusively to your business. 

3. Understand money in, money out. You need to know exactly what money is coming in and what money is going out. It seems basic, but it is so often unexamined. This cannot be guess work or estimates. Look at it. Understand it. Reconcile it. When you really start to look at your transactions you can begin to truly understand the cost of a project and what you're actually earning. You will be able to make informed decisions about how to best operate your business and allocate your time. The best ways to understand 'money in, money out' is to track it. There are several online accounting software programs (at THE JILLS OF ALL TRADES™ we love Xero) that can help you do this, but so can a self-created spreadsheet, or a big 'ole paper ledger. Whatever your approach start tracking now. 

4. Schedule a money date with yourself every single week. Avoidance around money is all too common. For some of us, the task is arduous. For others, the fear of what we might learn can paralyzes us. At times, it's frustrations about what we have to pay in student loans, or health insurance, or rent that keep us from simply facing our cash. And too often, we are just busy, so we put it off. But the truth is, when you start to look at your money routinely, it indeed becomes routine. It gets easier, less time consuming, and you, as a result, become more informed and more confident. So make a money date every week. Put in on your calendar, and block 15 minutes to check in with bank statements, reconcile your accounts, follow up with invoices, and make payments. Practice will help you feel better as you make financially informed decisions for yourself and your business. 

5. Pay yourself first. If you did the work, then you need to pay yourself for it. How much you choose to pay yourself will depend on what you learned about the true cost of your projects and what you charge for them. And remember there is a cost to running your business and taking care of yourself. Know what you truly earned and pay yourself. 

Women in the Driver's Seat: The Jills 5

Quick 5 minute reads to keep you up to date on trends, tools, and tips for the solo professional.

Sheila Herrling, SVP, Social Innovation at The Case Foundation, shares her insights, along with substantial data, to support what she sees as the biggest trends in social good - women, women, women. In this post, Sheila explores Women as Investors, Women as Consumers, and Women as Entrepreneurs to reveal why our economy, and our social fabric, depends on investing in women. 

Biggest Trend in Social Good? Women in the Driver's Seat | Sheila Herrling | The Case Foundation | January 17, 2017

Chicago-our kind of town

We're on a mission. 

WE WANT WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF EVERY SCALE TO LINK ARMS AND WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO LIFT EACH OTHER HIGHER SO WE CAN POWER THE FUTURE OF WORK. 

And as the snow falls fluffy and white this morning, I'm remembering the busy year we've had working toward that mission. 

So last summer we headed to CHICAGO. 

And what a day we had! 

There's not much to not love about the Windy City, but on the particular day the sun was shining, Lake Michigan was glistening, and we had a schedule chalked full of dates, and coffees and 'lunch and learns' with some really incredible women. 

First stop, Chicago's 1871, a hub of digital innovation and a buzzing hive of activity and energy, to connect with Nicole Yeary, founder of Ms. Tech, and join her community of tech savvy gals and wicked smart female founders to meet and greet and talk social media marketing tips at the Ms.Tech Mastermind event. 

Later we would connect with Lakshmi Shenoy, Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at 1871 and Co-facilitator of WiSTEM, a sixteen week curriculum-based program that connect women to capital, community, and technology based resources. We chatted about women in S.T.E.M. and about our powerhouse of postdoctoral JILLS, like Sarah Caudill, Clarissa Muere, Sushma Kommineni, who are leading and shaping a path for women in STEM both in academia and in industry. We were amazed and delighted by the work being done at WiSTEM and left energized to have connected with other women creating paths for a women's workforce revolution. 

And we couldn't possible stop in Chicago without taking the time to meet up with our Chicago JILLS.  Lisa Ghisolf fought the traffic to enjoy an afternoon tea with us at The Mart, where she shared her experiences being a veteran solopreneur for her company, Gizmo Creative Factory. We laughed until we cried with her talented storytelling that had us living and loving the travel blogs she writes. 

WeWork Grant Park was the perfect ending to our day, where we relaxed, toured the amazing facility, had our first introduction to the WeWork community, and were completely smitten with the people, the architecture and the impeccable design of this gorgeous work space. 

'On Wisconsin' as they say and we headed home to Madison.

But after our whirlwind day, we definitely left a part of our hearts in Chicago. 

Ms. Tech founder, Nicole Yeary

Work Solo- Not Silo

So here's the thing.  Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there.

Even when you're not totally ready.  Even when you don't have everything figured out. Even when you don't have a business name, or your perfectly branded logo, or the right software package, or any money.

Yep, it's true and it can feel like you're about to drink a cold cup of sick. Your hands might get sweaty, your tummy is probably churning, you're likely riddled with fear and anxiety. But you need to do it.  You really do. Because even if you stumble all over your words, and your audience looks confused, or even worse patronizing, you did something really, really important.

You took the risk to fail. To mess up. To get it all wrong.

You, despite all the potential for complete disaster, did it anyway.  And that is the first, critical step. In fact, it might be the only step, and it's one that you have to keep doing over and over again.

So go ahead and put yourself out there.  You'll never get your business name right or your logo perfected or know what software you really need or get any money if you don't take that deep breath and put yourself out there.  You're going to need to talk to your customers and tell them what you're doing. You’re going to need to talk to your customers to understand what they need. You're going to need to try out language on real people before you can really figure out what works and what doesn't.   You're going to need to get feedback, and lots of of it, if you're going to carve your own niche.   And you can't do any of that in isolation.

Working independently shouldn’t mean working alone.

Find your people.  Know your tribe. Build your community. Collaborate. Connect.

Work solo, not siloed. 

The Art of a Designing a Portfolio Career

Co-Founders of the recent startup, THE JILLS OF ALL TRADES™, Megan and Corinne have been building portfolio careers over the past 25 years that have taught them to work smarter, live fuller, and carve their own niche. Here they share some of their learning.

Find a community. Working solo is great, but not if you’re siloed. The promotional power of a community will put a spotlight on you more than you can independently. So find your people, know your tribe, meetup, chat, join a board, volunteer, play a sport, coach, take a class.  It’s imperative for your personal and professional growth that you find a place of belonging - somewhere you can make a contribution. It is foundational, and can be the basis of establishing meaningful work.

Foster collaboration, not competition. There’s no corporate ladder to climb and no glass ceilings to shatter in your portfolio career so embrace this new work paradigm and shift the metaphor. There’s only space for one person at a time on that ladder anyway! Instead start lifting and linking others, and let your work life have the breadth and exploration of rock climbing, not ladder climbing. Mountains offer more; there’s more to see, more to explore, more to discover. So help someone find a new path, reach out your hand in someone’s aid, support a colleague from the bottom as you watch their ascent. Why? Because it feels great, and it’s more likely that they’ll do the same for you. You know what they say about that rising tide, all ships float. Plus those blue skies while you’re climbing together are just so much better than any ceiling, glass, or otherwise.

Connect by knot-working versus networking. Think about it. The best work comes when we don’t even feel like we’re working.  The idea of knot-working is to truly build authentic relationships in authentic ways, well beyond passing out business cards at happy hours and adding people to LinkedIn. So make friends.  Share your work. Tell your family about what you do. Display it. Write about it. Let others engage in it and engage with you. The power of personal connections is what builds sustainable professional relationships, so give knot-working a try.  It might be exactly what you want from your portfolio career.  

Establish an accountability partner. For real.  Having weekly check-ins, on the phone or in-person, can totally change the time you spend working. Set goals together. Create timelines.  Make lists. Then support each other. Offer feedback.  Learn to receive suggestions and critiques. And be generous to each other.

Set boundaries. You’re juggling this portfolio of work presumably so that you are empowered to determine how you work, when you work, and what projects you want to take on.  Portfolio careers are all about reconfiguring the work + life equation over and over to create the best you. In order to do this, take the time, every year, every month, or whenever it makes sense to write down your personal policies for work and your rules for engagement.  Seriously, write them down. Post them predominantly. Return to them often. Share them with your accountability partner. Then stick to them.  

The portfolio career truly offers the promise of establishing the right work life balance for you.  But be patient, good work takes time to build.

Build The House Before You Pick The Paint Colors: THE WHO, WHAT, WHY, HOW, and WOW of you.

There is so much to think about as a new business owner. From bank accounts to business entities, logos to managing social media, and about a million other pieces in between. it's enough sometimes to make you feel like there's just too much to do to even get started. 

But don't get caught up in that kind of thinking.  And don't start with the paint colors. 

Start instead by understanding the business of YOU. Take the time to figure out your WHO, WHAT, WHY, HOW, and WOW, and you'll have the necessary foundation to build out the rest of your business. 

WHO: Determine exactly who it is that you help? We all want to imagine that we can help everybody with our special talents and skills; that our door is open to everyone and anyone. But really understanding who you want to work with, and who your talents help the most, will allow you identify target customers. Taking time to do this work, helps you create your niche and the business you really want. 

WHAT: Clearly define what it is that you do. What exactly are you doing that helps the target customers you defined. What pain point are you alleviating? What gain are you offering? What assets do you have? What activities are you performing?  Being able to articulate the work that you do is essential. If you offer a variety of services, can you providing an overarching label for all of them. Considering your defined customers does it make sense to elevate one of your services? What about personal satisfaction

WHY: Ask yourself why are you helping these people and it can't just be to make money? Okay, it can be to make money, but that won't be enough to sustain you or your business. So don't be afraid to dream big on this one.  How might the world, the community, your country change if you can successfully do your work for your target audience.  

HOW: Articulate how you help these people? Different than your 'what', explain the way you work. Think first about speed, quality, and cost. Then consider the ways in which you interact. Are you highly personable and relational? Do you work seamlessly in 'the background'. Do you always make a deadline? Are you thought provoking? Do you challenge the status quo? Are you big picture, or small details?  Be authentic about you 'how'. Trying to be someone else inside your own business is likely to lead to unhappiness for you and disenchantment for your customers. 

WOW: Know your WOW! It is the combination of your WHO, WHAT, WHY, and HOW that makes your WOW.  This is where you can begin to define your 'special sauce'. Think of how you can combine all this thinking into a sentence or two.  I do 'this' for these 'people' in 'this' way so that 'this' can change for them, and 'this' can happen in 'our society/ community/ country/ planet'. Write it out as many possible ways as you can dream up, let it simmer, then see what version seems right for now. Practice your wow statement on family, friends, and clients. Practice in front of a mirror. Practice in car. Practice with your pets. Try on lots of different versions. The point is to get really comfortable with your WOW statement. You'll revisit this statement over and over in the lifetime of your business as you change and grow. And this is exactly what you want. 

You definitely don't have to have every piece of the puzzle figured out before you can start as a solopreneur, but knowing your WHO, WHAT, WHY, HOW and WOW can get you started. 

And it'll likely help you figure out your paint colors too. 

VETERANS DAY

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Susan & Elizabeth- Historical Jills

Regardless of your party, celebrate your right to vote.  

On this historic election day, we are proud to stand with our pioneer Jills, who led the way for our voices to be heard and our choices to be made. 

👊🏼 Susan & Elizabeth- you ladies rock. it. out. 

THE JILLS

#womeninhistory

#suffragettecity

Spend Money to Make Money

Our JILLS have great things to say and we're so happy to share it! 

Belinda Wasser is the founder of Rocket Girl Solutions and a guest contributor to THE JILLS NEWS. With over 25 years of experience in business workflow and logistics, Belinda offers up practical advice on running your business so it isn't running you. We're proud to have Belinda as one of our JILLS OF ALL TRADES and welcome her expertise in working with solo professionals and small business owners as their part-time business managers. Belinda loves taking care of the daily details and minutiae so business owners can get back to the work they love doing!  Our JILLS have great things to say and we're so happy to share it in THE JILLS NEWS. 

Our JILLS offer up some of our best tips and in this post, Belinda reminds us that we need to rely on the skills and talents of others to truly build our businesses. 

Belinda Wasser, founder of Rocket Girl Solutions

Authored by Belinda Wasser

I was in Rosie’s on Elm Street last Thursday, enjoying a few quiet minutes at the end of the day with my friend Jennifer. We were talking about the usual things – business, kids, weather and more business.

And then she said, “It seems like you have no problem spending money to make money.”

I don’t, but I was definitely surprised to hear her say that. To me, this isn’t just a good approach; it’s the only approach that really works if you want to grow your business.

Here are some of the things I had mentioned during our conversation which prompted her to say what she said:

“Debbie Faye is working with me on improving my speaking presentation.”

“I hired a business coach, Jane Pollak, to help me reach my goals for the year.”

“I’m working with Scarlett DeBease to update my wardrobe.”

“I’m interviewing new accountants to help me organize my business.”

Later, as I was driving home, I realized how happy I am about what has now become my standard approach: Paying wonderful, capable people to help me work better, faster and smarter.

In other words, instead of doing everything myself (the way I did for years), I surround myself with experts. That’s real leverage.

Unfortunately, lots of solo professionals don’t see the world this way. To them, spending money (especially if things are feeling financially tight) feels like an extravagance. What I’ve found, though, is that you have to spend it to make it!

When is it time to get help?

In almost all cases, the answer is: Sooner than you think! In my experience, people wait way too long to bring in support, often putting it off until things have gotten really bad with missed deadlines and worse.

So, here are two questions to get you started:

1. Are you doing work you’re not really qualified for?

   Tinkering with your website, doing your own taxes, setting up an email newsletter are all business essentials best handled by experts. Maybe you’re good at some of these things, but many people aren’t, resulting in poor quality work that takes a lot of time to complete.

2. Are you doing work that’s below your pay grade?

   There’s nothing shameful about putting together your own client gifts or running down to Kinkos to make a bunch of copies for tonight’s presentation. But much of this work can be done less expensively by somebody else. If you’re spending time on this, you’re not spending time doing higher value tasks.

Simply put, you can’t build much of a business if you’re not willing to rely on other people. Find others to support the high quality – high paying! – work you do best and pretty soon you’ll also be spending money to make money.

Our Founding Mothers & the United State of Women

We Didn’t Set Out to Be Entrepreneurs. Why Steadying the Scales of Work-Life Balance Compelled Two Women to StartUp.

Megan and I did not necessarily set out to be entrepreneurs.

Megan build an amazing career in fashion and design, climbed the corporate ladder to executive positions in prestigious organizations, shaped brands that changed an industry, traveled the world, was granted patents, was featured on Oprah, made movies, and even dreamed up experiential cruise ship voyages. She earned a top salary, and was beloved by her staff and colleagues. Her nurturing and generous spirit extended through her leadership where she taught many, especially women, to fully embrace the ampersand and be powerful & feminine, direct & kind, humorous & focused, collaborative & independent.

As life changed, as it’s so apt to do, Megan did too.

Children grew, relocations happened, new interests developed. There was downsizing. And Megan found herself contemplative and eager for a brand new dress to wear, one that could bring her closer to a work-life balance so she could soak up more time with her husband, 3 teenaged children, and her extended family living in different states.  She eventually styled her own independent and successful brand strategy and design consultancy business, and after nearly 30 years of leading multimillion dollar projects and being 'traditionally' employed, Megan was now using her talents and skills so she could work when she wanted, how she wanted, and on projects that mattered to her. A flexible schedule with a variety of projects and hand-picked clients suited her as an encore career.

My career story was much more of an 'adapt and go' kind of set-up from the beginning. I loved to teach, I was good at it, and I used it to satisfy my taste for travel, spending the early part of my career in both the Middle East and Europe.  When I moved to the US from Canada, I found myself in Austin, TX where I decided to redirect my talents for teaching and writing to an educational publishing company instead of the classroom, and exchange my evenings of grading papers for night classes to earn my massage therapy license - something I’d wanted to do since high school.

But before long, I too, decided to step out of corporate and embark on what I know see as my portfolio career working as an independent: writing, teaching, and educating. Because besides being wearied by the corporate ladder that only one person can climb at a time, there also came pregnancies that were tougher than imagined, relocations, and superhero mom and dad manoeuvres to ensure one of us was always home with our boys - a portfolio career made sense to me.  There just wasn’t a name for it then.

Together, Megan and I have a very unique 360 degree view of work. We know both sides of being an independent and working in corporate. We see the possibilities, opportunities, and struggles of both.  We know stay-at-home parenting, we know being working mothers. We’ve lived re-entry and are always re-entering so we can routinely adjust the work + life equation. Megan shattered glass ceilings. I stayed off the ladder. We know the merits and downfalls of each.

And we know the world of work is changing. And so do you. You’ve seen the statistics; read the headlines. 70% of us will work freelance in the next 10 years.  Lifetime employment is over. The gig economy is the new economy.  It’s a Freelance Nation. Our work will come from our alliances, not recruiters, and not employers.

So no, we didn’t necessarily set out to be entrepreneurs.

But after nearly 30 combined years of trying to steady the scales of work-life balance, we’re compelled to be. 

We’re turning directly to the problems felt by both the independents and the hiring clients in this gig economy and creating a solution.  And it is our combined 360 degree view, and our lifetime of experiences that make us uniquely qualified to take on the challenge. We’ve lived the problems, see a path to a solution,  and know it’s time for us to step up and lead a workforce revolution.

Join us on our journey.  

Because we know in our core that when women come together,  link arms, and lift each other up we have the power to change everything.

Baby, GET BACKED

Ahem.  I'll admit it upfront. 

Reading a book about investors, finance, venture capitalists, or funding has never been very high on my list.  I'd rather curl up with Jane Austen, or laugh my guts out with David Sedaris, or get lost in some historical fiction about France or Spain or London. 

So the decision to read, Get Backed, was rather brave on my part - A sort of 'stretch' project that felt safe because the book had a cool shape, lots of graphics, and what looked, at the onset, like more words than numbers, and more stories than graphs.  So I took the leap.

And you should too!

Whether you're a business of one with no plan to expand, a new startup ready to scale, someone with a nugget of an idea or someone who wants to learn how to connect to an audience, this little gem of a book is for you. 

What it tells you about your customers makes it worth the read.

What it tells you about developing relationships makes it worth the read. 

What it tells you about pitching and presenting makes it worth the read. 

How it makes you think about your business and your opportunities makes it worth the read.

What it tells you about presentations and design and storytelling makes it worth the read. 

So go grab yourself a copy of Get Backed, by Evan Baehr and Evan Loomis.

The layout, the examples, the practicalities, and the information provided will give you a laser focus on how you can better connect with your people, communicate your vision, create the best slides ever, and ultimately fund and finances your ideas - all of your ideas. 

Take Time To Prep

Our JILLS have great things to say and we're so happy to share it! 

Belinda Wasser is the founder of Rocket Girl Solutions and a guest contributor to THE JILLS NEWS. With over 25 years of experience in business workflow and logistics, Belinda offers up practical advice on running your business so it isn't running you. We're proud to have Belinda as one of our JILLS OF ALL TRADES and welcome her expertise in working with solo professionals and small business owners as their part-time business managers. Belinda loves taking care of the daily details and minutiae so business owners can get back to the work they love doing!  Our JILLS have great things to say and we're so happy to share it in THE JILLS NEWS. 

Our JILLS offer up some of our best tips...

In this post, Belinda offers up her thinking and some strategies on setting up efficient systems to run your biz!

Authored by Belinda Wasser

I hate to cook.  In fact, I don’t even like eating that much. If I had my way I would be more like a car – hungry every few weeks for fuel, but that’s about it.

Luckily for me, my husband Michael does all the cooking at our house. And not just everyday cooking, I might add, but amazing and healthy delicious cooking. So even though he was willing to cook this past Sunday on Father’s Day, I decided to step up to the plate and give him a break.

Jill & author,  Belinda Wasser-Rocketgirl Solutions

Since the kitchen is kind of a foreign country to me, it’s not surprising that I got into trouble pretty quickly.

I didn’t set up the basics before I got going, so before I knew it, my hands and the counter were covered with “chicken juice.” I couldn’t get the supplies I needed from the cupboards without contaminating the whole place with salmonella, so I had to stop and wash my hands about a thousand times.

While it wasn’t quite “a disaster,” my time in the kitchen was inefficient. It took me a long time to get ready and a long time to clean up, and dinner was about an hour later than planned.

Michael, on the other hand, has a system for cooking.He knows what to do before he gets started, and he’s very meticulous with the prep work.He puts on his apron, gets out all the ingredients and, from what I can tell, doesn’t start the actual cooking until everything is prepared, sliced and diced.

He’s so organized about it that everything is ready at the same time, no matter how many things he’s cooking or how many people are eating.

In the midst of my cooking troubles last weekend, I realized that, for many small businesses, this is what it feels like when they don’t have the basics in place.There’s confusion, extra work, missed deadlines, and almost always missed opportunities and additional cost.

In short, it’s all about the prep work.And whether you’re starting a new business or you’ve been running one for decades, here are three important ways to get your prep work working for you:

1. Organize Your Contacts. No matter what your business, always remember that it’s people who hire you, buy from you, and refer you.For many businesses, contacts are the most valuable assets, so it’s critical to get them organized.

   When I work on client databases, I begin by pulling together everyone the client knows, without editing people out.In my experience, anyone you know can refer someone to you, so don’t exclude them.

   Find a system that’s easy to use and allows you to categorize each contact. I use Outlook.It’s simple to use, I can easily export my information when I need to, and it easily syncs with my iPhone and iPad.

   Once your contacts are organized it’s much easier to keep in touch and build your LinkedIn connections, Facebook friends, and Twitter followers.

2. Organize Your Work. One of the first things I do when I take on a new project or client is set up a folder in Outlook to store related email.

   Next, I set up a folder on my computer to store all of my electronic files, and a physical folder for the rest.I even have a dedicated spiral notebook for each client or project (see more on that, below…).If the project is complex and has lots of moving parts, I keep a detailed project plan at my fingertips so I can jump from project to project quickly.

   You don’t need to use my approach, but you do need to have an approach.Decide what works best for you and put it into action.

3. Organize Your Financials. This one is a biggie so get professional help if necessary. One of my clients, for example, was having trouble tracking where the money was coming from.I suggested that he deposit each check separately to make it easier to match deposit records with invoices when reconciling accounts.

   Keep a notebook in your car to record your mileage and take a few minutes to make notes on your receipts so you can efficiently deduct your expenses or pass them through to clients.Make the time to reconcile your bank and credit card accounts monthly or hire someone to do it for you.

Remember, while it may feel overwhelming at times to manage the intricacies of running a business, much of that stress is often due to a lack of clear and efficient systems.

Take the time to set yours up in these three important areas and you’ll have more time to do the work you love.

Oh, gotta go! Dinner’s on the table and (thankfully) I didn’t cook it!  - Belinda Wasser

We ❤️ WeWork

Coworking just makes good sense.

Shared spaces, shared resources, community, collaborations, and connections.

And it makes even better sense when you’re coworking membership extends beyond the walls of a single building to office spaces, hot seats, and conference rooms across the nation and around the globe.

And that’s why we love WeWork.

With locations throughout the United States into Europe, Asia and the Middle East, we can’t say enough good about the opportunities this presents for entrepreneurs with businesses of any scale to be lean and agile, to grow organically, to build community, to learn and grow, to find mentors, and to connect with talent.

Cofounders Corinne Neil & Megan A.C. Boswell

Add to it, WeWork’s penchant for honoring the history and the architecture of their buildings with an incredible sensibility and style, their ultra flexible membership options, their education programming, and we cannot imagine connecting with a better organization for the location of any business.

And that’s why THE JILLS OF ALL TRADES™ is excited to join the WeWork community.

We cannot wait to shine an even bigger light our JILLS MEMBERS while providing the WeWork community with a one-stop shop for on-demand, specialized talent.

How is the Gig Economy Going to Work? And Be Sustainable.

Although the statistics are hard to pin down precisely, the Freelancers Union tells us approximately 34% of the current US workforce is ‘freelance’ - equating to 54 million people in the United States. With estimates from the likes of Robin Chase and Fast Company suggesting that in the next 20 years those independent workers will rise to 70-80% of us. Liz Ryan reports in a recent Forbes article that we need to  “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee. Employment is Over”.  And in a LinkedIn post, Reid Hoffman, agrees that ‘lifetime employment might be over”, and offers that “lifetime relationship remains ideal” suggesting that our work will come from our alliances.

It likely means that you and your partner and your friend and your brother and your sisters will be working on a contract by contract, project by project basis consulting, creating, and collaborating with each other, with previous colleagues, with new startups, with anchor businesses.  It means you’ll be marketing yourself, operating your own business, working from spaces you chose, and hunting up your own work.  You will be empowered to carve your career how you will like. It means you will be responsible for your own success.

With this ‘new’ economy on the brink of exploding, one has to wonder, how exactly is this going to work?  And be sustainable.

Companies like Uber,  Fivver and TaskRabbit, are evidence of a ‘gig’ economy and are built on leveraging excess capacity showing us how the sharing economy can and does make our lives more efficient and possibly more profitable. But we cannot ignore that  Uber is routinely under scrutiny for under or de-valuing the independent workers, and Mattermark suggest that the company itself is not profitable. Fivver operates on the premise that you can get work ‘done’ for just five bucks, and TaskRabbit focuses on easing the daily tasks in your life like cleaning your house, fixing your repairs, and completing your grocery, laundry and mail deliveries - none of which seems to fit a professional model for being ‘employed’. Add in campaigns like that of the Freelancers Union, which is blogging and tweeting that #FreelanceIsntFree as they create the world’s longest invoice of unpaid bills, and it can make stepping into the world of independents seem rather daunting.

Yet there are others recognizing where this economy could go and all that it has to offer. In her June article How the Gig Economy Could Save Capitalism, Rana Foroohar begins to explore new directions for the gig economy and offers up the potential benefits of a shift from big employee/employer systems to smaller more entrepreneurial system. Her article considers the future of what she describes as community based capitalism and suggests the need for new thinking on labor laws, regulatory systems, and crowd-based capitalism. Faisal Hoque reminds us of the “value of small” in his Fast Company article while painting the global picture of the gig economy and describing the future of work as one where we can work how we actually want to work. He sees the future of a robust freelance economy where both independents and companies gain mutually and beneficially.

The world of work is clearly changing and there is a growing need to establish the necessary infrastructure to support this new workforce . As we move through this transition, where almost half of us will work as solo professionals in the next 10 years, let us be thoughtful and intentional in how, as independents, we can lead this new economy in ways that are positive and profitable and most importantly sustainable for us all.

Time Out Before Burn Out: THE JILLS 5

Quick 5 minute reads to keep you up to date on trends, tools, and tips for the solo professional.

Kate Shea reminds us of the importance of taking some ‘time out’, especially when we’re burning the midnight oil and juggling multiple projects. With some helpful strategies and some solid reminders of what we need to work our best, Kate’s blog, and a break, might be just what you need to ramp up and get some work done!

Making Time for Relaxation (even when you’re overworked) | Freelancers Union Blog | August 23, 2016

It's a MAD, MAD World

When you're starting a new venture, or a new adventure, finding a community of support is critical.   Because when you're stepping out in a new territory, you're going to need to find experts, and mentors, and people who have walked a similar road before. You'll need advocates and evangelists, accountability partners and coaches. You'll need to nudge your way to the center of a web of networks. you'll need a group of peers to share the highs, the lows, the missteps, and the wins. You'll need to create structures for collaboration.

You'll need to make sure you don't take all of this on alone. 

Madworks program director, Louis Condon with JILLS cofounders, Megan & Corinne

We are forever thankful that we found a great community of support as we began to move THE JILLS OF ALL TRADES™ from an idea brewing in our minds as we collaborated in our basements, to an organized, thoughtful venture. The Madworks Seed Accelerator provided us 10 focused weeks to get our legal ducks in a row, secure some funding, set goals, get feedback, access new networks, and connect with a cohort of peers who made us laugh, extended us needed criticism, welcomed our ideas, championed us when we lost our footing, and made us feel like we were not alone on this crazy ride. 

It really is a mad, mad world out there, folks. Find your people. Know your tribe. Build your community.