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The NEWORK Centre
Level 2 Willbank House
57 Willis Street Wellington
Phone 499 1048
e-mail nework@xtra.co.nz |
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No 11 October 2003
Income and the Roller-coaster
Few small businesses manage to avoid falling into the feast-or-famine trap, going from complete overload one week to a dearth of business the next. Larger companies also have busy and quiet times but the Neworker portfolio worker is more susceptible to these fluctuations as, being generally a one-person business, he or she cannot delegate any of the workload, and the cost and hassle of employing or contracting part-time assistance adds substantially to overheads and is often not cost-effective.
Riding the income roller-coaster is not only stressful, it can impact significantly on the quality of work presented or the availability of the NEWORKer/Portfolio Worker to regular clients who may expect a rapid response to an order or query, or need work done to deadline at short notice. When the you are under pressure and unable to respond as needed, the business can lose a good client, plunging it back into having to win new contracts when the volume of work drops off. More than that, because the Neworker has typically been expending all their time and energy supplying the goods or services required during the peak time, he or she has not been marketing the business and often has no new work lined up when the busy period is over. How, then, can the portfolio overcome the challenges of having too much work to handle one day, and not enough the next?
It's probably impossible to ensure a completely steady work or income flow if you are self-employed, but there are several steps which can be taken to help even out the workflow and make life a bit easier. Deciding whether the reason you run your own business is just to give you an income - i.e. to be self-employed - or to build a bigger business is a critical part of the equation. It will help you determine whether you would like to use any excess work to grow your business, tactfully turn it away or find ways to deal with what you can't handle. A range of practical things that can be done to manage work and income flow are listed below. Some of them contradictory - having a clear goal in mind will help choose those that will work most effectively for your business.
- Predict busy times, e.g. if the business is seasonal (an accountant who focusses on tax returns or audits)- and prepare for them by having help on standby, or a plan for dealing with overflow when it happens
- Price so you can outsource tasks, subcontract or hire in others to handle additional workload or administrative jobs without giving away all your profit
- Discourage clients who take lots of your time and earn you proportionally less income - and concentrate on winning more business from those who pay well, on time and with whom you can work efficiently
- Market consistently even when you are busy - and especially before predicted quiet periods or well before the end of a project if you have nothing lined up to follow it
- Tap into the efficiencies of automation to gain more hours in the day without it having to cost you money to free up your time
- Educate your clients and customers. There may be times when just knowing when your busy times are can help them plan more effectively, or knowing how long a project takes from start to finish can help to ease the pressure on you
- Offer an incentive to use your services or purchase your product when you are less busy - especially if you traditionally have identifiable periods when business is slack
- Introduce a surcharge for work that has to be done to an unreasonable deadline - it often helps a client decide their work is not so urgent after all!
- Network with trusted NEWORKers/Portfolio Workers/business colleagues to find others who may be able to share your workload when you are busy and pass some of theirs along when you are not (reciprocity)
- Establish a regular newsletter or email newsletter to cross-sell your other services or products to existing customers - it may often bring in a steady trickle of business
- It's tempting to rope other family members in to help for little or no pay - before you do, make sure everyone is happy with this arrangement. It's easy for them to become resentful if they feel their time and labour is taken for granted
- Learn to say no - and mean it - when you really can't take on additional work
- Use down time on strategic planning, marketing or administration which has been on the back burner while you've been busy
- Learn to make the most of the busy times, save some of the extra income, and take time out to enjoy life when business is quiet - recognise that the ups and downs are all part of being in business!
It's easy, isn't it?
Networking
Here is a list of questions you can take along and keep up your sleeve (so to speak) when you are networking to keep the conversation going with someone new. Some will be great as icebreakers or conversation starters, others will be good for continuing a line of conversation started.
Just remember that when you are networking, most of the people you meet will be just as anxious about starting a conversation with strangers as you are& remember when you mother told you the spiders were more afraid of you then you were of them when you were little? Well the same rule applies to strangers.
- Have you heard this speaker before?
- Do you often come to these events?
- Do you know many of the people here?
- So how did you come to be here?
- Do you know what time the speeches start?
- Do you find these events as nerve wracking as I do?
- What do you do? (When you are not & ..)
- Do you have family? Children? - how many? boys/girls? Do they go to school? Where?
- Do you like living in & ?
- What would you rather be doing than the work you do?
- What do you like best doing in the weekends?
- Do you ever get to Auckland/Sydney/Someplace?
- Do you travel much?
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The NEWORKer can be viewed online at the Work & Age Website
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