Article: Insider Tips For a Successful Solo Career
By Josh Hyatt, Money Magazine
Hanging out your own shingle in a field you're expert in can be a great second career.
Being your own boss has a lot of advantages, but making the transition from the traditional corporate world takes a little bit of research and work. Here are some important tips to help you land a successful solo career.
1. Give yourself financial padding
Most people need to set aside a year's worth of income before they cut themselves loose. You'll know within eight months whether you're developing a sustainable business. To boost your survival chances, make sure your entire income does not flow from any single project.
2. Don't confront the isolation alone
Every so often, Phil Zwieg will be working at his desk, "and I'll look up and wonder, 'Where is everybody?' " he says. "There's no phone ringing all day, no formal meetings, no interaction with people."
That's a tough switch for Zwieg, 60, who started as a strategy consultant last July after taking early retirement from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, where he was vice president of information systems.
He breaks out of his isolation tank by teaching two college courses and scheduling speaking engagements. "Having no organization is different," admits Zwieg of Muskego, Wis. "I'm still adjusting to it."
3. Be an advertisement for yourself
Sure, everybody you've ever met considers you a role model - just like Mom said. But that doesn't mean they'll slap down $150 an hour for your (alleged) wisdom.
Start by approaching your former employer if you saw a niche where consulting help might fit. And reacquaint yourself with your network of contacts. You'll also have to get used to proudly displaying your name tag at formal get-togethers and finding subtler ways to spread the word at golf games.
It's worth spending money on classy letterhead and business cards, says Pam Lassiter, a career adviser and author of The New Job Security. "You want to inspire confidence. You don't want to look as if you're just between jobs - even if you really are."
4. Coolly calculate your worth
Figure out what you were earning per hour as an employee, and then add in the costs of vacation days, holidays, sick time and benefits. There's administrative overhead too - if you rent space, say, or need nifty technology.
Depending on the industry, you'll want to tack on a profit margin of about 20 percent. After trial and error, your pay before expenses should be at least double, if not triple, what you made as a W-2 drone.
5. Remember, you can't bill out every hour
It's reasonable to expect that you'll spend 20 percent of your time on administration (writing proposals, sending out bills) and another 20 percent on marketing.
"The most interesting challenge is that you need to be involved in every detail of the business," says John Stevenson, who has spent a year setting himself up as a turnaround consultant in Plano, Texas.
He was previously chief information officer at the U.S. subsidiary of Sharp Electronics. "When you're an executive, other people take care of budgets and presentations, " he says. "But to do it on your own, you've got to develop a really broad set of skills."
6. Trust, but verify
One of 30 clients is going to turn out to be a deadbeat. As for the rest, make sure you come up with a document that heads off expensive spats by spelling out your obligations. The contract should protect you against "scope creep" - projects that grow, blob-like, beyond their original dimensions - and quantify how many revisions the fee covers.
You can find a standard contract online, but you'll want to customize it. Marketing consultants, for instance, will need to insert a clause that defines their role as content providers who aren't responsible for how their information is used or for any product defects. Have a lawyer sign off on the final document.
7. Don't worry about job security
There isn't any. Your most lucrative work can dry up in an instant.
Ask Geary MacQuiddy, a personal assistant who started her Boston firm, Domestic Diva, last year. A former organizational consultant for Capgemini, she works for people in transitions, whether they're adjusting to a divorce or greeting a newborn.
She recently lost her best customer. "He went back to his wife and didn't need my help anymore," MacQuiddy says. "Guess that's just an occupational hazard for me."
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Things to Consider in a New Job
Things to Consider in a New Job
If you are interviewing for a new job, you expect to be the one being asked questions. But there are also some questions that you should ask to make sure the work environment will suit you if you are selected for the position. First, ask about the office atmosphere. Learn about your prospective manager's working style and how your peers interact with each other. Is the office culture relaxed or does it have a more corporate tone?
Next, ask about what is expected of you. Will you be required to travel or to frequently work overtime? Seriously consider if the balance between work and your personal life will fit your lifestyle. Also find out if there is room for growth within the organization. The position you are pursuing may be a great foot in the door, but will you be able to be promoted to your dream job if the opportunity presents itself in the future?
Once you have ascertained all of this information, determine if the position is what you would actually like to do. Lastly, pray about the opportunity. "...pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." (Philippians 4:6)
If you are interviewing for a new job, you expect to be the one being asked questions. But there are also some questions that you should ask to make sure the work environment will suit you if you are selected for the position. First, ask about the office atmosphere. Learn about your prospective manager's working style and how your peers interact with each other. Is the office culture relaxed or does it have a more corporate tone?
Next, ask about what is expected of you. Will you be required to travel or to frequently work overtime? Seriously consider if the balance between work and your personal life will fit your lifestyle. Also find out if there is room for growth within the organization. The position you are pursuing may be a great foot in the door, but will you be able to be promoted to your dream job if the opportunity presents itself in the future?
Once you have ascertained all of this information, determine if the position is what you would actually like to do. Lastly, pray about the opportunity. "...pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." (Philippians 4:6)
Bio-Med Innovation is quietly growing in Orange County
Innovation is quietly growing in Orange County
Most people don't know technology sectors are strengthening
By JAN NORMAN - The Orange County Register - Monday, October 17, 2005
Orange County has the greatest concentration of medical-device
companies in the world.
That's a true statement, but when Gary Augusta wrote it in a recent
article for tech magazine Red Herring, five editors questioned its
accuracy.
"You would have thought I was making it up," said the executive
director of the OCTANe tech group in Irvine. "I'm not sure people know
what we have here."
That anecdote illustrates Orange County's lack of reputation as an
innovative center, but it's also an encouraging sign. Unnoticed by
outside experts, Orange County is making strides toward becoming a hub
of high-growth innovation, even though its past efforts have fallen
short.
The county's future will depend on such strides. Although Orange
County has a diverse economy and low unemployment now, its future
economic growth and the high-paying jobs required to afford local
housing depend on innovative technology, business and academic experts
said. At present, though, the county is experiencing a four-year slump
in its venture capital funding and a drop in its share of investment
nationwide.
Experts agree that, to become a nationally renowned hub for
innovation, the county needs a more supportive community of
experienced entrepreneurs, more transfer of university research into
the marketplace, stronger leadership from pillars of the community,
and expanded private equity investment. The county is making progress
in each of those areas:
ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNITY
In recent years, Orange County has experienced an explosion of new
technology-related groups - from the American Electronics Association
to Women Executives and Entrepreneurs. So far, though, they aren't
coordinating efforts.
"If just the nonprofits understand what each other is doing, they can
make connections to benefit everyone," says John Garcia, founder of
Angel Strategies, an investment firm in Tustin.
The proliferation of new organizations is a plus for Orange County,
says Tim Cooley, a founder of Partnership 2010 that tried to
coordinate business, education and government strategic planning in
the 1980s. "You want as many portals as possible for budding
entrepreneurs who are not connected to the right bankers, attorneys
and service providers."
The medical-device industry, for example, benefits from such groups as
the American Electronics Association and Life Sciences Industry
Council. It also is strengthened by entrepreneurs like Robert
Rosenbluth, founder of MicroVentionin Aliso Viejo and past president
of Advanced Surgical Intervention Inc.in San Clemente.
Another positive sign for the county is the return of business
incubators – organizations such as those of the late 1990s that
provided entrepreneurs with low-cost space, low-cost services and
mentoring. Rancho Santiago Community College District and South Orange
County Community College District plan to open incubators in 2006.
At the same time, the county has seen growth in social networks that
appeal both to top technology executives and to fledgling
entrepreneurs. The Harvard Business School Association of Orange
County draws hundreds of people to its annual Entrepreneurs
Conference. And the Orange Coast Venture Group has twice sold out its
VC in the OC Conference - created to call attention to the fact that
Orange County does have venture capitalists and venture-backed companies.
UC Irvine and the business community are trying to strengthen their
ties. Broadcom Chairman Henry Samueli gave $20 million to the
engineering school in 1999. Irvine Co. Chairman Donald Bren gave
$20million to the School of Information and Computer Sciences in 2004,
and Paul Merage, creator of Hot Pockets snacks, gave $30 million to
the graduate school of management this spring.
Also, the campus is working to improve its cooperation with companies
that want to license its technology, says David Schetter, head of its
Office of Technology Alliances.
Since 1994, when the University of California turned over to each
individual campus the management of its research portfolio, UC Irvine
has more than tripled the number of annual patent applications, to 122
last year, and tripled the annual number of patents it won, to 23.
At this point, UC Irvine's achievements in commercializing its
technology are still modest compared to UC campuses in Los Angeles and
San Diego. As of the end of 2004, UC Irvine had given 54 licenses to
companies to commercialize research, compared with 137 at UCLA and 204
at UC San Diego.
But longtime technology supporter Nick Yocca of the Irvine law firm
Stradling, Yocca, Carlson, Rauth sees progress. "Up to a couple of
years ago, UCI was an ivory tower, but I think that's changing," he says.
Investor Luis Villalobos says the campus and business community
demonstrated four years ago that they could work together to bring
innovation to Orange County by winning a state grant that created the
California Institute for Telecommunications and Information
Technology, called Cal(IT)2 at UCI with links to UC San Diego.
LEADERSHIP
The medical-device industry has benefited from the presence of such
giants asBeckman Coulterin Fullerton and Edwards Lifesciences in
Irvine. It also has been strengthened by major companies spinning off
new ventures, such as Baxter Internationalcreati ng Edwards
Lifesciences and Allerganin Irvine spinning off Advanced Medical
Opticsin Santa Ana
But the larger technology and investment communities pin their hopes
for business leadership on the Orange County Technology Action
Network, or OCTANe. (See related story.)
OCTANe, however, is intentionally limited to the biotechnology and
information technology sectors. It was the Orange County Business
Council, rather than OCTANe, that took the lead in creating the
upcoming Innovation Week – Oct. 26 to Nov. 3 – which will spotlight
the broad scope of technology in the county.
PRIVATE EQUITY
Like other regions, though a year behind some, Orange County is
starting to see the return of venture capital. Locally, the rebound
wasn't evident last year, but during the second quarter of this year,
local companies received $240million in venture investments, triple
the amount a year earlier and the county's best showing since 2001.
Indicative of medical devices' importance to the county, 21 percent of
those second-quarter investments – $50.5 million – went to
medical-device companies.
Those numbers don't reflect the money coming from many venture funds
that don't publish their investments, says Garcia of Angel Strategies.
He and Angel Strategies made a personal commitment last year to fund
more Orange County companies, investing $12.5 million and becoming the
second-largest equity investor in Orange County firms.
Local companies are receiving financial attention from more than
venture capitalists, who have focused in recent years on later-stage
companies. Tech Coast Angels, founded in Orange County, is the most
active investor in early-stage companies, according to
PricewaterhouseCoop ers. Those young companies can provide the
springboard for the next round of technology growth and
venture-capital investment, says Tech Coast Angels co-founder Luis
Villalobos.
Several new venture funds have raised capital to invest in Southern
California companies, although not specifically Orange County ones.
And the business council and OCTANe are trying to put together a
venture fund for Orange County firms.
Success will depend on building the right culture, says economist Anil
Puri, business dean at Cal State Fullerton. "Centers of innovation
must have a climate that promotes innovation and tolerates failure. In
Orange County it will come down to collaboration by all the players."
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/money/abox/article_718057.php
Most people don't know technology sectors are strengthening
By JAN NORMAN - The Orange County Register - Monday, October 17, 2005
Orange County has the greatest concentration of medical-device
companies in the world.
That's a true statement, but when Gary Augusta wrote it in a recent
article for tech magazine Red Herring, five editors questioned its
accuracy.
"You would have thought I was making it up," said the executive
director of the OCTANe tech group in Irvine. "I'm not sure people know
what we have here."
That anecdote illustrates Orange County's lack of reputation as an
innovative center, but it's also an encouraging sign. Unnoticed by
outside experts, Orange County is making strides toward becoming a hub
of high-growth innovation, even though its past efforts have fallen
short.
The county's future will depend on such strides. Although Orange
County has a diverse economy and low unemployment now, its future
economic growth and the high-paying jobs required to afford local
housing depend on innovative technology, business and academic experts
said. At present, though, the county is experiencing a four-year slump
in its venture capital funding and a drop in its share of investment
nationwide.
Experts agree that, to become a nationally renowned hub for
innovation, the county needs a more supportive community of
experienced entrepreneurs, more transfer of university research into
the marketplace, stronger leadership from pillars of the community,
and expanded private equity investment. The county is making progress
in each of those areas:
ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNITY
In recent years, Orange County has experienced an explosion of new
technology-related groups - from the American Electronics Association
to Women Executives and Entrepreneurs. So far, though, they aren't
coordinating efforts.
"If just the nonprofits understand what each other is doing, they can
make connections to benefit everyone," says John Garcia, founder of
Angel Strategies, an investment firm in Tustin.
The proliferation of new organizations is a plus for Orange County,
says Tim Cooley, a founder of Partnership 2010 that tried to
coordinate business, education and government strategic planning in
the 1980s. "You want as many portals as possible for budding
entrepreneurs who are not connected to the right bankers, attorneys
and service providers."
The medical-device industry, for example, benefits from such groups as
the American Electronics Association and Life Sciences Industry
Council. It also is strengthened by entrepreneurs like Robert
Rosenbluth, founder of MicroVentionin Aliso Viejo and past president
of Advanced Surgical Intervention Inc.in San Clemente.
Another positive sign for the county is the return of business
incubators – organizations such as those of the late 1990s that
provided entrepreneurs with low-cost space, low-cost services and
mentoring. Rancho Santiago Community College District and South Orange
County Community College District plan to open incubators in 2006.
At the same time, the county has seen growth in social networks that
appeal both to top technology executives and to fledgling
entrepreneurs. The Harvard Business School Association of Orange
County draws hundreds of people to its annual Entrepreneurs
Conference. And the Orange Coast Venture Group has twice sold out its
VC in the OC Conference - created to call attention to the fact that
Orange County does have venture capitalists and venture-backed companies.
UC Irvine and the business community are trying to strengthen their
ties. Broadcom Chairman Henry Samueli gave $20 million to the
engineering school in 1999. Irvine Co. Chairman Donald Bren gave
$20million to the School of Information and Computer Sciences in 2004,
and Paul Merage, creator of Hot Pockets snacks, gave $30 million to
the graduate school of management this spring.
Also, the campus is working to improve its cooperation with companies
that want to license its technology, says David Schetter, head of its
Office of Technology Alliances.
Since 1994, when the University of California turned over to each
individual campus the management of its research portfolio, UC Irvine
has more than tripled the number of annual patent applications, to 122
last year, and tripled the annual number of patents it won, to 23.
At this point, UC Irvine's achievements in commercializing its
technology are still modest compared to UC campuses in Los Angeles and
San Diego. As of the end of 2004, UC Irvine had given 54 licenses to
companies to commercialize research, compared with 137 at UCLA and 204
at UC San Diego.
But longtime technology supporter Nick Yocca of the Irvine law firm
Stradling, Yocca, Carlson, Rauth sees progress. "Up to a couple of
years ago, UCI was an ivory tower, but I think that's changing," he says.
Investor Luis Villalobos says the campus and business community
demonstrated four years ago that they could work together to bring
innovation to Orange County by winning a state grant that created the
California Institute for Telecommunications and Information
Technology, called Cal(IT)2 at UCI with links to UC San Diego.
LEADERSHIP
The medical-device industry has benefited from the presence of such
giants asBeckman Coulterin Fullerton and Edwards Lifesciences in
Irvine. It also has been strengthened by major companies spinning off
new ventures, such as Baxter Internationalcreati ng Edwards
Lifesciences and Allerganin Irvine spinning off Advanced Medical
Opticsin Santa Ana
But the larger technology and investment communities pin their hopes
for business leadership on the Orange County Technology Action
Network, or OCTANe. (See related story.)
OCTANe, however, is intentionally limited to the biotechnology and
information technology sectors. It was the Orange County Business
Council, rather than OCTANe, that took the lead in creating the
upcoming Innovation Week – Oct. 26 to Nov. 3 – which will spotlight
the broad scope of technology in the county.
PRIVATE EQUITY
Like other regions, though a year behind some, Orange County is
starting to see the return of venture capital. Locally, the rebound
wasn't evident last year, but during the second quarter of this year,
local companies received $240million in venture investments, triple
the amount a year earlier and the county's best showing since 2001.
Indicative of medical devices' importance to the county, 21 percent of
those second-quarter investments – $50.5 million – went to
medical-device companies.
Those numbers don't reflect the money coming from many venture funds
that don't publish their investments, says Garcia of Angel Strategies.
He and Angel Strategies made a personal commitment last year to fund
more Orange County companies, investing $12.5 million and becoming the
second-largest equity investor in Orange County firms.
Local companies are receiving financial attention from more than
venture capitalists, who have focused in recent years on later-stage
companies. Tech Coast Angels, founded in Orange County, is the most
active investor in early-stage companies, according to
PricewaterhouseCoop ers. Those young companies can provide the
springboard for the next round of technology growth and
venture-capital investment, says Tech Coast Angels co-founder Luis
Villalobos.
Several new venture funds have raised capital to invest in Southern
California companies, although not specifically Orange County ones.
And the business council and OCTANe are trying to put together a
venture fund for Orange County firms.
Success will depend on building the right culture, says economist Anil
Puri, business dean at Cal State Fullerton. "Centers of innovation
must have a climate that promotes innovation and tolerates failure. In
Orange County it will come down to collaboration by all the players."
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/money/abox/article_718057.php
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