When you listen to this track Spinning Around by Jump5 you’re going to wonder what planet I’ve been on for the last month – not posting an’ all. However, if you listen to the words and don’t watch the vid you might get a clue to the context of this content.
Having many projects (services) in this current economy is a good thing. If all our eggs are in one basket it leaves us open to the plug being pulled and our livelihoods draining away pretty quickly.
However, it is still important to niche the markets and deliver the solutions to specific needs. Therefore there is a need to focus on individual projects (services) to ensure that marketing efforts are not wasted. Focusing on multiple markets can seem like a paradox; finding a method to identify quality focus time is the key to this.
In the life of any project there are times when it will need your undivided attention for an imbalanced period of time – however if you stop spinning the plates of other projects that you have underway, they are likely to slow and fall off.
Identify the spin resolution for each plate, recognise the effort required to keep it spinning then start to build a portfolio of time required to keep all plates in the air. Even items like online book sales which are considered residual income will need marketing messages sent out a regular basis.
Returns focus attention! – A one page project plan can keep the focus on the project, the vision, the market and some short term (financial) objectives.
Schedules remind! – Everyone has their favourite method of diarising, mine are annual, and weekly programmes kept on the office wall and a month to view diary. If you know it takes 5 hours a week to spin your plates plan in five hours along with the admin time. What’s left is then devoted to the most important project development.
Returns are measurable! – be aware how much each plate is earning you and how much profit it makes, annually, and know when the ‘monthly’ peaks are. The plate will need a spin before a peak comes into play to ensure the maximum return.
Flexibility is important! – The above are there to help you not to be that rigid that you can’t take on a new opportunity. Not all the plates you are spinning will generate the same returns. If you want to put a plate to one side to devote some time to another potential project do it! Or give it to someone else to spin.
New plates need more attention! To get a new plate spinning you have to spend a disproportional amount of time on it than others.
This isn’t about juggling, as not all plates need the same amount of spin. Each depends on its size and revolution. The important thing for any freelancer is to look at different ways to set up multiple streams to make the income more stable in an unsteady economy.
