Networking Freelancers (Photo credit: solobasssteve)
Heard on the street at the New South Digital Marketing Conference in Myrtle Beach, a few colleagues were engaged in conversation that made me realize being in business is a challenge for many.
A woman shared she changed her title from consultant and owner of an army of one to “freelancer.”
She did that so businesses would think she cost less, that her hourly rate was more reasonable, and that they were getting something cheaper for less.
What she did was alter her professional identity to continue to earn a living by being someone she really wasn’t — just a freelancer.
But, let’s define freelancer next to consultant, shall we?
Defining Consultant
When I think of consultant, I think of the Accentures and pwc. They lure in the big clients with boatloads of money and have massively global teams operating in all corners of the world with big budgets.
A consultant in marketing is considered to be a senior professional with years under their belt who commands high hourly rates and takes on projects with higher budgets.
In general, my view of consultants is oriented to trained professionals who know their stuff, who are experts in their respective fields. They take on strategic assignments often with longer-term work bumping shoulders with drivers of companies.
Does that fit with your definition?
Defining Freelancer
The freelancer is someone not inclined to open his or her own business, firm, agency, or other. They will typically not incorporate a company under S-Corp or LLC status. They will work under their personal social security number and pay 16 percent self-employment tax.
The freelancer is usually available at a lower hourly rate and is considered to be more tactically inclined. They seek project and take direction from other supervisors. Their interest is less in running a business and more in the freedom of choice to pick up interesting gigs that pay the bills with a level of mobility.
Do you agree with those definitions?
At the end of the day, you deliver high-quality work that demands equal compensation. When clients and prospects refuse to honor your expertise, then do you attempt to downplay your competency to continue to make a living?
It’s an interesting dilemma…what would you do?
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Whatever brings in clients and customers! Define yourself both ways on line in blogs, social media, and see which bait catches the fish, big or little. Consultants still have to take directions and make the customer happy. Freelancers still have to create great products or services. Marketing includes language, and egos might end up starving us.
shenandoahkeple Hah. Great answer! Only you know how to brand yourself for your business! At the end of the day, you can call yourself late for dinner as long as you deliver what’s on the menu!!
Thanks for coming over!!
I don’t know if I would define the two the same way you do, but in general I would say that the term consultant has a little more cache. I think it depends upon your field, though. When you talk about Designers, even the bet designers usually call themselves Freelancers, not Consultants. I usually use the term Consultant myself, and say that I am “consulting.” But I also sometimes say I am a freelancer. On the copywriting/blogging side, it doesn’t seem to make much difference which term is used. But when it comes to marketing or PR, I think it might make a difference. Also, in certain areas, like SharePoint deployment specialist, you’d always use the term Consultant, not freelance. So, I guess the convention varies by industry.
Neicolec Great answer! You just proved the dilemma we face in branding our professional competency. Do we add a bit more cache and ego, or do we suggest we’re less expensive and just hunting for project work? Which industry are we in where that’s how it works?
All excellent points! And, ahem, thanks for yet another nudge that I need to deliver something your way! IF the offer is still on the table to receive it. Bad on me, Neicole.
Thanks for coming over, too!
We know that I usually really think the words matter, but here, I’m not so sure. I will say that, as a journalist, when someone told me they were leaving their job to go into “consulting,” I typically tried to figure out what they’d done wrong. It usually is a quick way to tell that they were asked to leave.
In the end, I think it’s more about the quality of service and work than about the name.
Kenna
profkrg The conversation I had was so interesting (the one leading to this post), however. A woman who had been a consultant of her own empire having to downgrade her title b/c prospects thought she was charging too much.
It’s a fascinating situation; what’s the solution? How should you brand?
The other day, a subscriber to my newsletter asked me why I wrote my material in the third person…as if I hadn’t written the content myself or someone else was writing about me. I thought really hard about that, and my answer (in the blog post I’m crafting on that topic) is that it’s all about perception. I want people to think there’s a big team around me; I want prospects to think I’m more than an army of one. If I write in the first person about what’s going on in my business, I can’t accomplish that.
Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing profkrg Such nuance that I never consider.
I wonder if the woman you were discussing this with gets positive results for her clients. I’m not sure I would feel I was “paying too much” if I was getting the results I wanted. Just a thought, not an accusation.
Kenna
profkrg Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing The woman I was speaking with is in an incredibly small market. I don’t believe there is enough business to go around for all the consultants seeking business. With that said, I bet client prospects are receiving offers of work from “freelancers” who bill themselves inexpensively from the higher-rate “consultants.”
You should be glad with all this discussion that you work right where you do, Kenna!!
Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing profkrg I’ve got a pretty good gig, if I do say so myself.
An over saturated market causes a lot of these types of problems, I’m sure.
Kenna
Hi Jayme,
What a great, thought-provoking post. And the conversation in the comments just add to it. Language can be so difficult because we all use the same words but can define them in very different ways. Even though we’re all speaking English doesn’t mean we’re saying the same thing.
When we started Jump-Point (the business wasn’t called that then), we said that we did business consulting. Turns out, we don’t do what most people consider consulting. We aren’t freelancers in any of the definitions that I’ve read in this post. Since Troy Claus has joined us, we’ve been slowly expanding to become a full-service “agency”.
All of those words – consulting, agency & freelancer – can be problematic. Sales and marketing are not core competencies for me so finding terms and words that describe our business and what we do has been an ongoing challenge.
In the end, I have always come back to my core values and purpose and our definitions because that is the only place I can sustain anything from. Learning to communicate that in meaningful ways is still an ongoing journey for us. It’s never dull though and it leads to very interesting conversations with very interesting people!
Sharon Gilmour Glover Good to know we’re all in great company, Sharon! Whether we do business in Canada, as solos, as virtual firms, as service providers, consultants, freelancers, or interns, we are in title soup!
My post today also contributes to what you mention — core competency. Hybrid PR is my new moniker to describe my approach to all things marketing from a core PR view. With that said, I’m not sure I can slap a freelancer title on myself and get away with it. And, I really haven’t tried, either!
I’m as confused as the rest of us, and it seems the self-description of services takes meaningful thought.
How’s things at the agency? Tell me what you’re writing about these days! I have a love for business posts; let me know if you need a guest article one day when you’re in a pinch! Thanks for swinging over!
Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Sharon Gilmour Glover I absolutely need a guest post please and thank you. Do you have one I can use for tomorrow????
I don’t know why I didn’t think to ask you for one. In all seriousness, I would love a guest post from you any time you have time to send one over.
Things here are going very well. I am learning to do the technical things that Geoff did which is why the Clarity blog has been quiet – my learning curve and lack of time.
We got feedback from a group of folks saying they’d like a coach to help them with the Clarity program so starting this month, we will have bi-monthly posts from a wonderful woman named Penny Alalouf. I’m excited about that. Penny is a coach (none of us are) and will be writing about all kinds of interesting and different topics. I have a few posts in the hopper waiting for me to get to.
On the Jump-Point side of things, we are growing and it is so very exciting. Now if I could just figure out how to clone the 3 of us…
Hey, how’s your book doing????
Thanks for the offer of a post Jayme. Please just send something along whenever you’re ready.
Sharon
Sharon Gilmour Glover Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Cloning? You got a cloning pill, Sharon? Send it over, darn it!
I will be happy to write for you…I always have business ideas, and b/c my book is published I will write you something about why writing a book is good for the brand and helps executives become thought leaders, etc. What does that sound like for you?
Sounds cool about extending your team to also write for you!
Now, I’m confused about your two brands? Clarity for the Boss and Jump Point? I thought they were the same and the blog was the former?
Very interesting. Something I’m personally struggling with at the moment, to the point I now call myself a freelance consultant! ‘Freelance’ intended to imply ‘available for hire’ and ‘Consultant’ to demonstrate the reality of my experience. Yes, I do copywriting for tiny, weeny business and I love it. But I also consult on, and manage, sustained media campaigns for Fortune 500s, I’m in the process of building a new website at the moment and this particular issue has me a little scuppered. I know the importance of having a niche, a target audience etc. On the other hand, I neither want to undersell nor oversell myself. Market myself as a copywriter and that’ll be all I do. Market myself as a full blown consultant (no additional team members required) and I’m ill-equipped. Very tricky. Interested in more thoughts on this.
ailsa_macleod Now that’s a powerful combo — freelance consultant! I think the process of writing your website is going to be telling for you, Ailsa. It’s one of the hardest things solos get to do b/c you’re positioning yourself as big enough to manage larger budgets and small enough to take on the tiny, weeny.
At the end of the day, we want the mid-tier business with a decent budget so we can do some copywriting alongside a bunch of strategy.
Which means, I’d rather not see you bill yourself as a freelance consultant. Perhaps more like marketing services, perhaps? I’m not sure what else you do in your business and deliverables but that title is broad and allows you to head in either direction — smaller to larger clients.
Your about page will be telling, too. — Years in business, samples of writing, etc. The prospect can determine whether your expertise fits, perhaps?
Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing ailsa_macleod Nice advice. All the ‘consultants’ I’ve worked with are political, media or PR consultants. The ‘freelancers’ I’ve worked with are typically journalists and designers. Thanks for the post.
ailsa_macleod Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Morning! I was just commenting on another post I wrote this week and came up with an observation I want to share with you. I kinda like it as I finally realize why I’m not a freelancer:
When you hire me (yes, my name is on the door and I’m a solopreneur), you also get my team of designers, developers and SEO people who do work for me on client business.
If I was a freelancer, then I don’t bring those resources to the mix; I rely on a company’s existing resources and I just do my job and move on to the next paying gig.
What do you think about them apples? I think it makes sense and might be easy for a prospect to understand, too.