Well, my first week of "self-employment" wrapped up around noon on Friday. This certainly feels worthy of discussion.
To clarify, I have always done some kind of consulting. It feels "new" to me now because I'm actively trying to build this up to be my full-time pursuit, rather than a side-line.

In short – it's great so far! Lovin' it and the opportunities and possibilities seem endless. This feels like the best job "fit"  I've had for ages. Feels "in the zone".

Monday, Feb. 11: Conducted two hour training session with my replacement at old job via webinar/conference call. Kept things professional and "cool" when he started to ask probing questions about the stability of the company, of the boss, the communications protocol (such as it is). The communications protocol is something like this: Boss – read my mind. If you can't read my mind, you are an idiot. However, I kept my mouth shut and my answers neutral. Best he find out on his own. He's super nice (not an advantage in this case) and quite smart.

Spent the rest of the day making notes in prep for a meeting later in the week, preparing for a meeting on Tuesday, writing an e-mail to ask more specific questions regarding a newsletter quote I was asked to prepare, and making notes on the website overhaul, perpetually in progress.

Tuesday, Feb. 12: A very exciting day. I had a meeting with a new client for paid work! The background: I've known A for several years as we are hockey buddies. A has run her own business, quite successfully, for 24 years. Her partner, both in business and in life, is M. M is the money gate-keeper. A is the creative life force.

I had dinner with M and A a few weeks ago and they asked me to help them set up the frame work for the sales person they just hired. They haven't had a full-time sales person for several yeas, and neither A nor M are comfortable supervising such a person. What should the commission structure look like? How are objectives set? What kind of support should he expect?

Happily, I've done this kind of work repeatedly and I have all the requisite materials – Excel spreadsheets, worksheet to show the flow through from lead generation to closing, etc. So we booked this meeting over dinner.

Later that evening, they asked about my rates. I thought M was going to have a coronary. She couldn't dash out of the restaurant fast enough.

Uh oh.

I got an e-mail from M the next day, stating that they were going to proceed on their own with the project of  documenting their business processes, but could I please help them with the sales project? No problem.

So, that is what I went up to their office by the airport in the middle of a blizzard to do. The basic scenario is that A is a fan of mine and M is, well, skeptical. Or at least she was … the two and a half hours went brilliantly. I provided them with a ton of value, materials and resources. My preparation was right on the money and I totally knocked the whole thing out of the park. It was relaxed, congenial and, at the end, M was printing off financial reports and shoving them in front of me and asking me questions about what she should do about this or that. A took six of my business cards  for distribution throughout her extensive network. I was flying high when I got out of there.

I had a few odds and sods to wrap up between phone calls expressing joy and rapture re.: the success of my morning. For example, my former boss/current client 's son's resume. I actually finished this the previous week but felt compelled to review it one more time after he sent me a very gracious thank you note. I found three typos and a font discrepancy – gasp! So these had to be fixed. My company sponsored a hockey tournament the weekend previous and there were a few details to wrap up on that.

This was also dog-care week for me. When I got home, through the blizzard, it became clear that Freddie was unwell. Diarrhea and vomiting … not good. Why, oh why, would she pick a blizzard for tummy upset? So … I bundled her into the car and we made our way to the vet. (She's fine – seems a temp thing.) On the way home, still in a blizzard, my cell phone rings. I had my headset on, as I was driving, and I took the call. It was my former boss/current client pressing me to complete a PowerPoint that I didn't realize was a rush. Why is it a rush? Because she has decided to take Thursday (Valentine's Day) off and, at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, has determined that she needs the PowerPoint first thing Wednesday so she can review it with her staff that a.m., rather than on Thursday which would have made more sense for about 10 reasons. So, several hours on Tuesday night were spent finishing off the PowerPoint. I can't say it was my best work.

Wednesday, February 13: Phone rings around 8:30 a.m. It is the admin assistant from the organization where I have an 11:00 a.m. meeting set up to discuss a project they may need me for. She apologizes and asks if we can postpone (again) to Thursday as the fellow I'm slated to meet can't make it in from Oakville. This actually works better for me – no sweat. From 9:00 – 10:15, I was on the phone with my business coach, a goddess. The woman really knows her stuff. Every phone call / meeting is inspiring. The rest of the day was spent as follows:

• prepared a detailed breakdown of the previous day's meeting in e-mail format, including links to all resources discussed. Prepared an invoice.
• prepared a detailed, blow-by-blow estimate for a quarterly newsletter (see e-mail on Monday) for an independent transportation consultant
• began work on a standard engagement agreement template for future clients. I have several of these from years past and need to cut, paste, format … etc.

Thursday, February 14: As a Valentine's Present to myself, I booked a trip to Barbados. Actually, this is a working vacation. Seriously. In addition to needing a mental shift between "old" work life and "new" work life, I have several of my own planning projects that need my undivided attention and they won't get it unless I go somewhere and focus. This website, for example, will NEVER get done if I don't buckle down to generate content. Given the number of blizzards we've had, warm is better than cold. Will I be able to focus on a beach in the Carribean? I suppose this remains to be seen … stay tuned … I leave early March.

I continued work on the standard engagement agreement template (yawn). I prepared and submitted my invoice, and an lengthy explanatory e-mail, for former boss/current client/crazy woman.

My re-scheduled meeting took place at 2:00 p.m. and I think it went really well. At some point in the discussion, I shifted from "consultant candidate" to "confidante" and the guy was telling me stuff he probably shouldn't have been. I think that is a good sign and I expect to be asked back for deeper discussions.

I went for a massage at 4:30.  Played shinny at 8:30 p.m.

It was a good day.

Friday, February 15:  A three and a half hour meeting with one of my favourite people to work with, my web gal. She is actually my graphics gal, but she is now going to take over my website fully – yay! Excellent meeting covering all the known issues and future planning for my site, and looking at my pipeline of potential client projects currently on the burners. Thought I should give her fair warning. 🙂

I called it a week around noon, doing some housework and then bundling Freddie into the car for the trip to her other  Mum's.  Not too shabby for the end of week one …

• Billable hours with two different clients
• "HOT" business prospects with four different clients
• "warm" possibilities with one client
• "back-burner" stuff, that might or might not pan out … six clients
• my own planning for my business moved forward
• planning for a specific service that I want to offer by the end of April is in place
• I really had fun at my consulting appointment – was totally in the zone for that 🙂

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