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Tools of the Trade – What’s in your bag?

Monday, March 1st, 2010

I recently sent off design drawings for a project and was told by the Master Electrician that they did not have a copy of Lightwright and would I please send the paperwork in a different file format. I converted everything to PDFs of the Channel Hookup and Instrument Schedule and sent them along. This is not the first time such a situation has happened to me.

I am often amazed at the number of people who work as freelance Master Electricians who do not own their own copy of Lightwright. While the program is a bit pricey it has become a necessary tool for the job. The simple creation of an Instrument Schedule or Channel Hookup could be done with any spreadsheet or database program, the specific calculations made by LW allow the job of the ME to be infinitely easier. And given that nearly all lighting designers use it, having one’s own copy is necessary for working with your primary collaborator, the designer.

An electrician would not consider coming to a call without a wrench. It is seen as a necessary part of the job. Lightwirght, like email and a phone, should be considered necessary for anyone directly interfacing with designers. This includes MEs, assistants, and so forth.

The intent of this post is not to rag on a few individuals but to make a larger point. When working as a freelancer there are certain tools that are necessary to have for your job. What those are will vary depending upon what your position is, but none the less you must have the basic minimum necessary tools. Back when I worked as an electrician it was a wrench, a multi-tool, and a pair of gloves. Minimum. Many electricians carry around far more tools. You don’t want to be the electrician who borrows the designer’s wrench. It just looks bad.

I know designers who carry around a huge bag full of tools. I am not that extensive and prefer to keep my carried items as lightweight as possible. Here’s a quick list of what I consider the necessary minimum tools as a lighting designer.

  • Laptop

    • Lightwright

    • Vectorworks
    • All show files for currently active projects
    • An Office Suite that can open and save as XLS and DOC files (I prefer OpenOffice)
    • Photoshop (or equivalent)
    • Illustrator (or equivalent)
    • Desktop email client (the theater may not have wifi, so it’s best to carry your info with you)
    • Calendar
  • Multiple pads of paper for notes
  • Pens
  • Floppy disks and USB drives to back up show files
  • Scale rule
  • Tape measure
  • Pens
  • A light for your tech table
  • A Headset
  • Cell phone
  • A Water bottle
  • Wrench
  • Pens
  • Snacks (focus and tech can get exhausting and breaks are not always timed to your body’s rhythms. I prefer Clif bars and fruit)
  • A Book (sometimes you are just sitting around waiting for scenery to arrive, might as well learn something)

Like I said this is a small list and many designers carry quite a lot more than this but for me I find it to be about the minimum that I can not assume will be provided in adequate quantity or repair by the theater.

A quick note on disks and drives. I recently pulled floppy disks out of my necessary list to lower the weight I carry on my back. Poor choice. I just ran into a situation where the theater had misplaced their disks in a cleaning frenzy and the schedule was so tight no one was free to pick any up until three days of programming had gone by. And this was a complicated show to program. Not the best situation for the nerves.

I almost never have a need for tools like Photoshop or Illustrator, so I use open source alternatives GiMP and Inkscape, but I have the option should the need arise (I also keep a full set of audio manipulation programs on my computer for similar reasons).

You will not need all these tools every day. My tiny designer wrench that is small enough to go in my carryon for airplanes would hardly serve a professional electrician. But when I need to run up and adjust a boom, because the crew of one or two are on lunch, I can do the note.

The wrench I learned the hard way. Getting all high and mighty thinking that as designer boy I would never need to touch a light again in my life, I was left high and dry during one lunch break and the few simple notes did not get done until AFTER the run through. After that, I started carrying a wrench as part of my necessary tool kit. I am sure my list will continue to evolve over time but for now this is more or less what it looks like.

Everyone’s needs are different. What do you consider a necessary tool for your work?

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The Power of Networks

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

I used to think that work came about by talent alone. As if getting a gig were as simple as sending off a few resumes and portfolios and waiting for the phone to ring off the hook with offers. Clearly I knew how good my work was, so of course anyone who saw the work would think the same. While there is some objectivity and I have received a handful of gigs from the aforementioned method the vast majority of work I have had over the years came from my network of friends and colleagues. In fact, I can only think of two instances where I merely sent my resume and portfolio and was offered work.

Right out of NYU I took a job as the lighting assistant at San Francisco Opera. I got the job through one of my mentors. There I met several directors who I have since worked with. Numerous projects I did in the first few years came through classmates of mine or other people I met through school. Of course as projects occur there is a whole new group to interact with. The director, for example, hires me for a show. Then the producers of that show enjoy my work enough to hire me for another project with them. The director on that show likes the work enough to bring me on to a third project. And so it goes.

I have seen many incredibly talented people sit by without work because they felt, as I once did, that it will suddenly appear. It might, but more than likely the next gig will come from a friend or colleague or mentor. Speaking with numerous freelancers across disciplines I have found this to be true although especially in collaborative art forms like theater, opera and dance. There are many mistakes that one could make but one of the most important things to do is simply get out there.

I often joke about how my job really breaks down to hanging out with people all day. While I say this in jest, there is a degree of truth to it. The social dynamic that goes into a work of performance is as important as the work itself. The relationships between the various artists forge insights into the piece at hand that makes the work itself stronger. The lunches and dinners between technical rehearsals are as vital as those rehearsals themselves.

Opening night parties, fundraisers, and so forth, all serve to bring people together and form relationships which thus create a kind of emotional shorthand that allows you, as artists, to cut past the superficialities and dive more fully into the piece at hand.

I know numerous people in the tech industries who swear by LinkedIn, Twitter and the like for networking for jobs. Perhaps that works in the performing arts, although I must say, as connected as I am on-line, by and large I have not known that to be the case. What I do know is that by maintaining and continually building relationships with my friends work comes my way. Networking is not a matter of asking everyone you know for work. It is simply a matter of spending time with people whose company you enjoy.

Perhaps networking as a verb is a misnomer. The network exists. We are simply actors within a preexisting network who, through our socializing, increase and expand that network. Occasionally the network drives work from one person to another within it.

Working in the arts is never easy and the money is rarely good. Just as doing work that you are not invested in is a waste of your, and everyone else’s, time, so too is working with people you do not enjoy. Because so much of the product is the process, to ignore that is to miss a major component of creating the work itself.

I hear people often speak in terms like “exploiting your social network” and other such things. My experience is much different. In fact if you feed your relationships and friendships your network will end up exploiting your talents and keep you busy with engaging and interesting projects. Nurturing those relationships is the key to a healthy career. But once you have the gig you need to prove your worth. That is where the talent comes in.

I am in a curious position right now. After building up my network for 7+ years in New York I suddenly found myself without it. Having relocated from one part of the country to another my network had to be rebuilt. It did not take long to notice its absence and begin working to fill that void.

While it could be said that I am networking, more to the point, I am finding interesting people to spend my time with. I am going out to look at work that appeals to and engages me artistically. While some projects have come my way through this of greater import is making new friends, deepening relationships, and finding interesting and engaging new art.

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The Uncertainty of the Freelance Career and a Love of the Game

Friday, November 20th, 2009

One of the hardest things to come to terms with in freelancing is the fundamental lack of job security. These days it seems like no one has much job security and while it is certainly true that the position of the American worker has become far more tenuous in general the impacts on the freelancer are even greater. As a general rule workers tend to keep their jobs so long as the company is doing well and they do their work. Not so with the freelancer. Organizations they have worked with for years might be doing even better and choose not to rehire them. While it might come down to money, it could just as easily be a matter of aesthetics, or simply the desire to try someone new. In short, contracts might disappear with no discernible cause.

This can be hard. Some version of this scenario often prevents people from taking on freelancing as a career path. They see the tumultuous nature of the work as an insurmountable psychological barrier. That barrier is real. It takes a certain strength to have faith that work will materialize as it is needed. Because, while sometimes one might find their calendar filled with projects a year or more out from the present, it is just as common to have vast stretches of no work ahead. Projects may come along to fill those gaps or they may not. There is no way of knowing, although one can get good at guessing after a while.

I have a certain envy for people with regular jobs. They know months from now, if not years, where they will be working and more importantly if they will be working. While it is always possible that the company will go under, or cut massive amounts of workers, the underlying assumption is that there will be work. Not so with freelancing. While one must take as an act of faith that things will work out, there can be no realistic assumptions about what work there will be, where it will come from, and how much there is.

I have had years where I knew, more or less, what the whole year would look like as early as January. At the same time I have had years that looked solid in January and yet by the end of the year 80% of my projects had fallen through to be replaced by other ones. There is no way to predict the trajectory of one’s work in a freelance environment.

Living with, and learning how to operate under, that level of uncertainty can be like a spiritual practice at times. One is compelled to find deep reserves of patience. Meditation is often a useful technique to allay the fears and uncertainties inherent in the work. It is not easy to live with but becomes easier over time.

By limiting the impact of the uncertainty freelancers can stop using their energy to diffuse stress and can put it towards the work. Many people who freelance do not do so exclusively. Balancing freelance work with some other regular income can minimize the emotional turbulence caused by freelance contract work. Some people marry money. It may sound silly, but having a spouse or partner who will support one’s foray into the world of contract employment can make it a much safer venture. Others are independently wealthy. Many successful freelancers I know come from money and as such the concern over how to pay rent or where the next meal will come from is not present.

There is a common problem which transcends money and that is the work itself. As a freelance artist you are not just providing a product or a service you are providing a piece of yourself. The financial concerns are only one aspect of the impacts of this kind of uncertainty. I know plenty of freelance artists who are independently wealthy, for whom the money is no concern, who still fret at the lack of work. For them, as for most of us, they do it out of a love for the work. One does not become a freelance designer out of a desire for wealth or fame. You become a freelance designer because you love the work.

In the end it is that love of the work which makes possible a career as a freelance designer. It is a love of the work which makes it possible to endure the psychological complexities of managing one’s career as an artist. It is a love of the work which makes it possible to put yourself out there, in front of total strangers, to be critiqued and criticized.

It is a love of the work which allows you to pass through the uncertainty and continue on the path.

Why do you have your job?

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Dirty Money, Starving Artists, and the need for new myths

Friday, November 6th, 2009

One of the most pervasive identity myths that haunts art worlds is that of the starving artist. There are countless examples in popular culture of this archetype including a very good opera about the subject. While the idea that a true artist suffers and through suffering art is born might have a degree of romantic mystique the truth of the matter is that all suffering creates is suffering. The archetype of the starving artist, and her condemnation of anyone who achieves any degree of success as “selling out,” does little more than provide limited solace to an otherwise unpleasant existence.

Archetypes are powerful things. Consciously or not, as beings in the world, we emulate strong and powerful archetypal roles. Not to get too Jungian but I see it as far too common to deny. Personality is performance. In the performance of personality we model our ‘character’ off of good actors (in real life or literature and pop-culture). The starving artist, through its romantic appeal, is a popularly recurring figure. Sadly this figure does more of a disservice to us in the long run, in the same way as the alcoholic writer generally creates alcoholics not writers.

The starving artist type gains value, to a greater or lesser degree, in the idea that money is somehow dirty. There is an air of superiority, by those who don the starving artist type, placed around obscurity. It is as though anyone whose work could be understood by, and thus appreciated and paid for by, more than a select inner cabal of followers is somehow flawed. Because popular/successful is read as bad, money, as a tangible proof of popularity of ones work, is also treated as bad or dirty. There is a belief that the work itself becomes sullied by making money off it.

This is as common in the performing arts as it is in any other medium. Many theater makers working on a small scale will deride the “commercialism” of Broadway plays or the work produced at regional theaters. Rather than examining the work itself the funding for the work comes under attack. Rigorous critique is replaced by a more general barrage against slick stagecraft and well rehearsed acting. Taken at their root these critiques are really about money and the relative access to, or paucity of, its presence in making the work.

While it is true that throwing money at a bad play will not make it better it does not follow from there that all plays with good funding are bad. It is true that people throw millions of dollars into producing total crap while others spend next to nothing to make a true gem. At the same time, those true gems, with a fully financed producer, would potentially become even greater while the well financed schlock would remain schlock.

The archetype of the starving artist and the myth of dirty money have created a false dichotomy between “uptown” and “downtown” theater. Between “indie” and “commercial” plays. Being poor does not inherently make one virtuous and even Jerzy Grotowski conceded that poor theater costs a lot of money. High budgets do not make one good or bad. Powerful authentic art can exist with no money or all the money in the world. But this is not the point. The focus of our critiques should center on the quality and effectiveness of the work itself rather than its funding.

So too our personal narratives would do well to be reoriented away from the damaging myth of the virtue of the starving artist and back towards the rigorous and devoted artists and craftsman. Even a cursory look at the Renaissance shows us that powerful and lasting works can be created from well funded origins. There are many people in pop-culture one might look to who are wildly successful and still maintain a high degree of artistic integrity. Danny Elfman comes readily to mind as one such example as does his regular collaborator Tim Burton. Many artists have made the transitions to the big leagues without sacrificing their artistic integrity.

Poverty is only romantic with distance. It is time to retire the Starving Artist as a myth of a bygone age. A romantic notion, well fit for literature, and hardly worth modeling one’s life after. The reality of the starving artist too easily winds up starved. We need new archetypes for a new millennium. Archetypes that empower us to live strongly and courageously as artists in our contemporary world and beyond.

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What we have here is a failure to communicate – Part 2

Friday, October 30th, 2009

In any interpersonal relationship the ability to clearly and accurately communicate is a necessary skill. When one gets into collaborative projects like theater the need for those skills increases exponentially. There is a degree to which everyone in a theatrical production must rely on and lean on everyone else in order for the whole to work. When any one individual does not live up to their end of the communicative deal the whole process can unravel.

I recently assisted a designer whose communication skills were insufficient at best. She would ask, for example, if something was possible, “Is it possible to print out the lighting cues?” and would get a response to her question, “Yes it is possible.” This is a different question than “Please print out the cues.” One day she threw a temper tantrum about how “nothing I ask for gets done. I have been asking for a cue printout for WEEKS.” Upon checking with with the electrician it was confirmed that in fact not once had the actual words “Print the Cue list” been said.

While this might sound like a minor issue it points to a much larger complex of issues. No one is a mind reader. As such it is only possible to know what is actually said. Working in theater, and lighting specifically, it becomes necessary to be precise with language when any given note may well cost hundreds to thousands of dollars in labor, parts, and so forth. Those carrying out the note need to be certain with regards to what exactly is wanted. Ambiguous requests, or requests for something other than what one wants, will only create conflict and confusion down the line.

Systems have been developed over years to allow for the precise giving of notes from a designer to an electrician such that exactly what is desired gets achieved. The precise type, placement, color, method of control, and so forth can all be described in exact detail so as to avoid any confusion. Part of why this system works is that it leaves nothing ambiguous. Because there is no ambiguity there is no room for misinterpretation.

Ambiguity and miscommunication do happen. But having a system that keeps information flowing without recourse to interpretive wizardry, or decoding efforts worthy of the greatest CIA Kremlinologists, allows for a minimum of miscommunication. One need not resort to temper tantrums over things never asked because everyone is speaking the same language and the same dialect of that language.

Asking for what one wants is the bedrock of good communication and, sadly, something far too many people lack. The equation is simple: use words to accurately describe what it is you would like to communicate. In far too many situations people are unable, or unwilling, to do this.

One factor I have found that contributes to poor communication are feelings of insecurity. Especially in the arts it seems that those who are unclear are also those who are uncertain in their ability or place. As such they use unclear communication as a way of shirking responsibility. If something goes wrong it is not their fault, but the fault of the person who misunderstood them.

While all this may explain why such things occur it does not get at the root problem. Poor communication and smokescreen tactics like tantrums will never compensate for hard work, diligence and competency. WIllful ignorance of how things are done does not absolve one of being unable to work in their chosen field.

Contrasting my recent disaster of a communicator with a designer I assisted a while ago is the difference between night and day. Working for Don Holder and Karen Spahn was a smooth and fluid experience. Notes and ideas were communicated effortlessly because they would follow the one rule of communication: say what you mean. Leaving aside their generally calm and easy going manner, the process was easy because there were no linguistic hurdles, there were only lighting problems.

By communicating clearly and directly they kept the focus on the lighting. Their energy could be fully devoted to the work in front of them on stage since they were not needlessly expending it in frustrated wonder at why no one could read their mind. There was no need for the Kremlinologist. They simply and clearly expressed what was needed and saw the notes carried out to the best of the ability of their crew.

Such a simple thing really. But then it is often the simple things that can trip you up if you are not aware.

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From the Archives: Freelance Finances

Friday, September 11th, 2009

Note:This post is originally from July of 2008. While my system has been modified somewhat since then, the basic structure and ideas are the same.

I left the piece unedited from the 2008 version, but upon a new read am aware how much my writing has improved over the past year.

Enjoy!

Of all the classes I took in gradschool not one of them focused on how how to organize your finances. We had a CPA come in one day and talk about taxes, but nothing on day to day cash flow management. It is surprising since that is rather central to freelancing. And given that this is what a large percentage of their students end up doing, it surprises me there was no discussion of it. I had to make this system up on my own, via some help from talking with friends and colleagues. My system will not work for everyone, it may only work for me, but perhaps some of the ideas will be useful to others about to begin the freelance design experience.

One of the trickiest things I have found freelancing is budgeting my money. The switch from regular to irregular income can be quite a shock to the system if not prepared. It has taken me a number of years to get the system I have working with most major kinks ironed out, but it seems to be doing well currently. Since some months I will be working constantly with a fairly high and regular cash flow and other months are like a river evaporating in the desert I have adopted a system that works no matter what volume my monetary intake is at. Most of it is based on percentages and that allows my budget to expand and contract as the intake does.

Obviously I have fixed expenses like rent, gas, electricity, phone, student loan payments and internet. Thus there is a minimum I must make each month to not go into debt. By and large making those minimums is simple. Everyone has these expenses. They are obvious. There are a few other less obvious expenses that stung me a few times through my not considering them necessary.

For the system to work, taxes, savings and a “dry month buffer” should all be considered necessary expenses. By looking at these as necessary expenses I make sure I have them covered rather than waiting until the end of the month or end of the year only to find out I spent all my income.

Since I do not get W2’s there is no income withholding which means I must do that on my own. I am also under no illusion that I will “strike it rich” as a theatrical designer, so I have an IRA that I feed regularly. Both the taxes and the IRA follow the same model. As soon as I deposit each check for a project I take a percentage(currently ten percent) of that and put it towards my IRA(and to a savings account for taxes). So if I get a hundred dollar check that’s $10 to my IRA. A $3,000 dollar check and its $300. Simple.

The “dry month buffer” is less precise. Rather than a strict percentage I simply try and maintain about 1-2 months worth of necessary expenses in my savings account. This has been the most recent addition to my system and probably the one most needing of refinement. My next major tweak to the system is to make this more precise and methodical.

By doing all this before I even look at balances for necessary spending I have been able to save a decent amount of money on what can, at times, be a very meager income. There are two things that make this successful. One is knowing that almost anyone can adjust -10% of their income. It’s just enough to notice, but not significant enough to truly impact daily life.

One further trick I picked up from a friend of mine who uses a similar system has to do with money for taxes. In March he takes all his savings for taxes and puts it in a 9 month CD. In June does the same in a 6 month CD. And again in September with a 3 month.

It looks like an online savings account actually provides a higher rate of return than a short term CD. So this afternoon I will be opening an online savings account to hold my tax money until the end of the year.

The final element to the percentage system is discretionary spending. I give myself a monthly allowance, alternately called a flexible budget or spending plan, for excess income every month. By again treating it as a percentage of income I am able to allow it to expend and contract based upon earnings. And since all my credit card spending is accounted for in that spending plan I am able to pay off credit card bills at the end of the month(or weekly when I am really on top of things) to prevent that from getting out of control.

This all may fall into the over sharing category for some. But to me I would have loved to have this information at my disposal when I started working regularly on 1099 income. I hope this might help you out.

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Knowing your worth or How I made $300 in five minutes

Friday, August 28th, 2009

Setting your fees can be a difficult thing for a freelancer. Many of us have trouble putting a value on our work. Potential jobs are typically offered at a set fee and we have the choice to take it or not. The impulse to take the job regardless of fee can be heightened during difficult economic times.

When the economy is so uncertain it is tempting to take any work just to ensure there is a flow of dollars into one’s bank account. While such actions might solve a short term concern, the long term impact can be detrimental to future success. The person who hired you may not remember the difficult economy but they will remember the fee. Going forwards you will have a potentially unpleasant uphill battle to get the fee you know you deserve.

Before I continue I must be clear that not all projects can be evaluated on economics alone. Doing so makes us mercenaries rather than artists. Working in a creative field my primary concern is the art. Sadly our society does not fully value art and as such the drive to create beauty must be balanced against the needs of food, shelter, and clothing. So if the priority of my soul is the art, the priority of my body is the fee.

Knowing within yourself what your work is worth is necessary to getting the fee you deserve. Discovering what that is requires balancing your sense of worth and the life you want to live with various external factors. If you want to make $50,000 a year, you have to do twice as many projects if you charge $1,000 than if you charge $2,000. The actual fees you can expect may not make it possible to earn as much money as you would like. At that point you need to reevaluate your lifestyle.

Determining a realistic fee requires looking at five factors.

  1. Market Demand
    Depending on your field there will be a greater or lesser demand for your services depending on where you are. New York has a glut of theater designers. San Francisco has a glut of Web Designers. When a market is flooded there is more competition for each potential project. This increases the likelihood that someone else with your exact skill set will be willing to work for less money than you.
  2. Time in the Field
    It should be obvious that someone fresh out of school would not demand the same fees as a thirty year veteran. That said there are plenty of people new to a given field, without much training, who ask for fees equal to the real masters.
  3. Past Projects
    Even if you have only been around a short time you may have landed a few big projects in that time. While the theater tends to judge based on what you did last week rather than what you did last decade your history speaks to your aesthetic judgement. Technology moves fast but talent builds slowly. Solid projects, even if they are old, can speak volumes about one’s creativity and insight.
  4. Contacts and Networks
    The people who speak highly of your work are speaking of your worth. Fifty people your potential employer has never heard of do not hold the same weight as one highly respected veteran.
  5. Talent and Skill
    You might find it odd that I leave this for last but in many ways it is the least important. Until someone has worked with you, your talent is little more than images in a portfolio and words in a recommendation. As a mentor of mine once said, “You have not been hired until you have been hired back.” The value of your work shows up when you get hired again.

Knowing your value gives you a place to bargain from. You know how much you want and how much you will settle for. These maximums and minimums are necessary to have in mind when negotiating a fee. Without them you are guessing.

I recently negotiated a project that was paying a weekly fee. I knew what I had previously made on similar projects so I added to that as my maximum. I also knew how much I would be willing to settle for. The producer offered just below my minimum. I countered with my maximum. Five minutes later we had settled on a number $150 above his initial offer. Over the two weeks the project will last that five minutes made me $300. Not bad!

It was not too long ago that I would have just accepted the initial offer and been done with it. Not only have I gained a greater sense of my own worth generally but this particular project filled the five requirements perfectly. The talent pool was relatively small, I have sufficient experience with the work, I have done similarly high profile projects in the past, I was recommended through mutual friends, and I am good.

Every project is unique. Yet having a clear sense of your own value will make your position in the fee negotiation process strong. Knowing your worth reduces the two hurdles of the bidding process. Overbidding keeps people from hiring you. Underbidding keeps you working harder than you need to make enough money.

Knowing your worth not only puts you in a position of power with regards to your work, it gets you the work you should be doing.

I hope you found this article useful. Please let me know in comments.

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Why Networking Always Fails

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Networking and social media are the buzzwords of the day. It seems like even people with full time jobs as someone else’s employee are jumping on the bandwagon. It’s a marketing bubble, the hysteria has reached the masses and soon the bubble will burst.

Why will the bubble burst?

Because no one likes a marketer. No one enjoys having their dinner interrupted by someone calling to chat about the newest deal they can get on a credit card they don’t need. And if you don’t enjoy a phone call, why would you enjoy reading about someone’s newest venture when all you really want to do is catch up on the latest baby pictures your cousin just posted? You don’t. It’s that simple. No one does. Well, perhaps the marketers themselves but even many of the social media avant garde have called it enough. Twitter autobots are being mass unfollowed after being purged by the service itself. Because even the marketers don’t like the marketers. Soon all twitter will be is a series of robots marketing the latest book to each other on how to gain more twitter followers.

But I digress.

What I wanted to talk about here was networking. This is one of those words that used to make me cringe whenever I heard it because I had seen so many bad examples. I never “got it” and always thought there was some trick which I kept missing. I would hear people say “so and so is a good networker” or “you have to be good at networking to make it.” I always thought it was some specific set of tasks and actions that one had to do. All around me I saw example after example of “networkers” who literally turned my stomach. From the man who couldn’t be bothered to look at you if you were not “someone,” to the young woman who would quite literally turn away from you mid-sentence when someone more important came along, I found these “networkers” sickening.

And they were. They were playing the game. And the game works for some people. These people may well make far more money than I do. Obviously to the “important people” a lot of this behavior goes unnoticed as they receive only the funny, seemingly gracious, behavior. But I do believe it has an impact. The radical inauthenticity in this kind of behavior will eventually catch up with the people engaging in it. What good is money if you suddenly wake up at the age of 65 and realize your entire life has been a hollow lie? A deathbed conversion won’t do much to make up for a life ill spent.

So, while this particular brand of networking might fail in the short term and certainly fails in the long term, why does everyone recommend networking? Because the successful ones don’t “Network.” Successful networking is not about saying the right thing. It is not about telling people about the right projects you are working on. It is not even about talking to the right people.

Networking is about Authenticity. Networking is about utilizing one’s network to get work. The efficacy of that ability lies directly in the strength of the individual connections within the network. These individual connections are nothing more, nor less, than simple human relationships. Being false and inauthentic might gain you points with other false and inauthentic people, so if what you want is a group of friends, none of whom are real or expressing their true thoughts, feelings, and opinions, than you should continue networking in a forced and inauthentic manner. If what you want out of life is a robust group of friends and colleagues with whom you share strong personal connections, you should strive for authenticity.

The goal in life is not a goal at all. Life is about the journey, about living. There is no pinnacle of success. Human growth and self-development can always continue. We can always improve ourselves.

Along with authentic action, or right action as some refer to it, our next best tools are humor and good will. This is not, in any way, a matter of forced smiles. This is about being light and playful. Humor means not letting the work become so heavy that there is nothing beyond the weight of it. And humor goes far. It teaches others that we are not merely work machines, but real human beings with a rich emotional life. In the world of social networking, on-line or off, that real humanity is what sells, not some prescribed notion of being business-like.

So too does good will go far. If one is only around networking events, parties, facebook and so forth in order to sell, you quickly become a tele-marketer, that person that no one likes. If, however, you are not only asking for the occasional gig, or promoting your work, but more often providing value, helping people with problems and otherwise putting yourself out there as a source of use and value, the work will come to you. We are not playing “the game,” we are interacting with our fellow human beings.

For all the newsletters, facebook mentions, portfolio updates, blog posts and so on that I send out, every project I have ever worked on, with one notable exception came through a friend of mine who I was not mining for work. The people I help out, who I am friendly and authentic towards, are the ones that hire me or recommend me to someone new. Everything about networking that sickened me never got me work. Everything about spending time with interesting people, being authentic, funny and inquisitive, has not only brought me work, but brought me repeated work as well as new clients and collaborators.

The lessons of networking are like the lesson at the end of War Games, “The only way to win is not to play.” We need to throw out the rules and guidelines, if not the whole game, and simply be our authentic selves. Through authentic right action our network will provide us with the opportunities that we desire.

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Income Averaging for Freelancers – 7 Tips for starting out

Friday, August 14th, 2009

One of the things I discussed in my recent series on finances for freelancers is the use of averages to determine spending and salary. I thought the point could use further explanation as it is a central concept necessary to understanding the unique challenges freelancers face. While many people have irregular income, the way it manifests for freelancers can be uniquely tumultuous. Further, this is particularly tricky when just starting out.

The fee/income structure of your field will determine how useful averaging is. At the extreme are freelancers who get a single lump sum, while others will have regular payments throughout the project as various phases reach completion. I will be using my own field, theatrical lighting design, as an example throughout this discussion. Obviously your mileage may vary.

Lighting design fees are typically based around project phases and as such come in large irregular chunks. I tend to get three checks on any given project. The first check is delivered upon contract signing, the second when the lightplot is delivered to the theater, and the third at opening. Because of this structure I may, for example, sign several contracts at the beginning of the year thus leaving me with a large stockpile of cash in January. After that signing I may not have any projects completing in February, so while my income for January is quite high, my income for February is negligible to non-existent. March might be somewhere in the middle with a plot or two completing and a show opening.

As you can see, the variance month to month is quite profound. Obviously I can’t base my life and budget around the minimum I make in a month as I would then be trying to live off $500 a month and that is simply unrealistic. Trying to base my living off of the highest month would be unsustainable as it would land me in piles of debt once I hit a low period. Add to this the fact that every year has a slightly different rhythm to it, I need to find a way to look at the big picture and make my income assumptions, as well as budgeting plans based on something larger than a monthly unit of measurement.

What is critical with a system like this is taking the long view. Monthly projections will not get you very far. During boom times you will be living large or paying off debt and during bust times you will be scrambling and accumulating debt. By looking out at your income over several years and noting what a typical average month looks like, you will have enough data points at your disposal to make strong informed decisions.

Some systems suggest budgeting for your income based on the month you make the least amount of money. This might be fine if we are talking about someone whose income only fluctuates 10-20% each month. But with any profession whose income is as irregular as mine and most other freelancers I talk to, averages make far more sense. If you have any real track record for your income, at least 3-5 years, it will be a simple process to know what a typical year looks like and make your calculations from there. With a few years worth of data one can make assumptions based upon a large enough pool of information that a realistic monthly average will emerge almost naturally.

All this begs the question what to do when just starting out. How do you manage this in your first year when you have no data to fall back on? Below are a few points to consider when making the leap from employee to freelancer.

  1. Ask around
    Talking with people in your field can be a great way to get a sense of what things will look like, realistically, for those first few years. Specifically talk to those a few years ahead of you. While someone at the top of the field can be wonderful as a hero, they won’t necessarily have practical help for where you are right now. Someone two years out from you will.
  2. Build an emergency fund
    Save up at least four months of income to spread out over the year. As you adjust to the boom and bust cycles of each month this will help you get by and feel comfortable and secure.
  3. Don’t do it all at once
    In my first two years as a freelancer I worked a full time job for four months out of the year as resident lighting assistant for the San Francisco Opera. This allowed me to stockpile cash and thus ease the burden of the next eight months.
  4. Create multiple income streams
    If you are a designer, can you also assist? Do you know photography, graphic design, or some other skillset that could get you work beyond your preferred niche? Do it.
  5. Don’t specialize
    Be receptive to projects outside your ideal aesthetic range. Take them on as a challenge to discover a broader array of aesthetic viewpoints. Not only will you learn a lot, but you will have access to more work.
  6. Don’t be afraid to fail
    I made just about every mistake possible my first year freelancing. The biggest was forgetting that I was responsible for tax withholding. It took a few months of scrambling to get together the money to pay that bill. I still mess up, but I take every error as a learning experience and constantly upgrade my system.
  7. Have fun
    Too many people get so frightened over the money situation that they pass up fun and exciting projects that may not pay as well. I got into freelance design in order to have the flexibility to take projects that are artistically satisfying. If I wanted to sit at a desk and be miserable in order to make money, I would get a full time job.

Gathering as much information as possible about the business aspects of your field is as important, if not more so for a freelancer, than is having the skill set necessary to do the job. The skills will get you the work and get you hired back. The financial knowledge will keep you from going bankrupt in the process.

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Automating Finances for Freelancers

Friday, August 7th, 2009

The final element to discuss in our ongoing conversation about freelance finance is Automation. Unlike salaried employees we freelancers can not automate everything, as monthly intake varies, but we can do a lot.

Last week we explored targeted savings accounts as a means of minimizing the impact of large purchases. The ideas in that essay provided us with the necessary foundation for this last step and deserve a quick recap.

With targeted savings accounts we put in place a system that will even out the impact of large purchases by proactively averaging out the costs of those purchases over time and saving it in advance. These accounts differ from emergency funds in that they focus on known irregular expenses rather than unexpected expenses or income loss.

Going through our budget we find all those elements that should be in targeted savings accounts and set the money up to transfer at the top of each month. There should be a delay of a few days from the auto-deposit of your salary to avoid overdrafts. Once these accounts are set up to auto-transfer we can sit back and stop thinking or worrying about them. Pulling the stress and concern over purchases out of our day to day life leaves us with greater mindshare for exciting things like designing, or making more money.

Automating your savings is 90% of this process. We could set up accounts for things like a new car or computer, a down payment on a house, a vacation or any other big ticket item we want. Also smaller items like dentist visits, a new phone and so forth could have their accounts automated in this fashion. By savings I am including not only the of save-to-spend items included in the targeted accounts but also retirement savings, IRS contributions, etc. Again, the key to this is breaking these larger purchases down into smaller, more manageable monthly increments.

Another aspect of automation is monthly expenses. Electricity, phone and similar bills can all be routed through credit or debit cards to ease the stress of bill payments. In fact many credit cards themselves can have auto-pay set up for the account balance at the end of each billing cycle.

A word of caution. This step is the roof to the financial house we have been building over the last several weeks. Like a real house, if the walls or foundation are weak the weight of the roof could cause the whole thing to collapse. Overdrawing your checking account to pay a credit card bill will land you with enough fees to make you cry. Especially once the credit card adds fees for the processing of non-existent funds. Use this system wisely and at your own risk. It can be a powerful tool, but like anything powerful, there are risks involved.

Automation is the final step towards creating a smooth and stress free economic life as a freelancer. The economic realities of how we work is inherently complicated by uncertainty. If we are not actively engaged in a current project we are planning an upcoming project or tracking down future clients. We never know month to month or year to year how or when our income will come to us. While this system can in no way solve that problem, what it can do is minimize the impact of that uncertainty in our lives.

This system is not simply about managing money. It is about designing your life. Do you want your choices to be made out of fear and desperation or out of a proactive will to live the life that you want? Will you be like most of the world and flail about once an economic downturn hits? Or rather, will you be like Norway, using your strong foundation to gain economic advantage?

The choice is yours.

For more reading, a great explanation of one method of automating finances can be found here.

Good luck! Please feel welcome to share your thoughts in comments.

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