How am I perceived?

I read an article recently about whether you really are a strategist, and one line really jumped out at me:

If you are a strategist, then quit talking about it and do it.

This brought me back to a conversation I had with a senior woman in my profession that I wanted to share here. I've been having a lot of these discussions in the past couple months, trying to get a better handle on my career goals.

This one woman, who I've known for many years but with whom I haven't worked in more than five years, was illuminating about how others in my profession in town view me. She asked about my recent work, and seemed a bit surprised to learn about the senior level of work I've done in the last half decade. Of course, my career has advanced a great deal since last I worked with her, and my projects and clients bear that out. But in her mind, I was not necessarily at that senior level.

She suggested I conduct a "perception audit" -- find out what people think of me. It's a common tactic for public relations, to gain a benchmark of understanding of how the client is perceived by their target audiences, stakeholders etc. But I had never thought of applying it to myself. But when the lightbulb went on, I realized that perhaps I wasn't trying hard enough to project the career image of myself to others that I held in my own head. I've always looked young, and because I've been a freelancer for so many years, I haven't had job titles to build public perception of how my career has grown.

Then there's my physical image. I tend to be a casual person, and I am not a big one for dressing up if I don't have to. But my colleague made the point that it's not about suits and heels, but about how I carry myself and the confidence I project. And I think it's true that when I look more professional and senior (not in age, but in career responsibility), I act that way just a bit more. And that may improve how others view me.

If I want to find either a job or better freelance security, to make the money I think I deserve it will have to be 'senior' work. So it's important that people like her view me at that level. I'm going to do a bit more asking around on this topic when I do more of my 'career goals conversations' from here on out, and I've already begun to dress up for ordinary meetings, if only to boost my own self-confidence.

How would you go about doing a perception audit for yourself, or your own "brand"?

A celebration trip

My husband, not one for surprises, surprised me last month when he announced that he'd arranged for his parents to come to town to stay with our kids for four nights so we could go away as a celebration trip for my big 4-0. He didn't plan the trip or anything, but that in and of itself was a very lovely gesture (are you listening, men?!). Since my actual birthday (March 18 in case you were wondering) falls during a school holiday, which raises the prices and the anxiety of my kids if they were left on that week, we're going two weeks before the big day.

Anyhow, we're off next week for a four night getaway to Sedona, Arizona.

It will be the longest we've ever gone away for without the kids, and while I'm nervous about my in-laws surviving the boys, I'm excited about the trip. Any advice from anyone who's been to Sedona of what to see or do?

Money -- how to charge more

As a freelancer, I've had good years and bad years when it came to money. The last two or three years have been very good years, with some long-term, lucrative contracts. But the last quarter has not been that good. I command a pretty good hourly rate from most of my clients, and when business is good I have no trouble naming that price. But in the lean months, I'm always tempted to drop my rate to find more work. I know bigger business call it "cash flow" or "loss leaders", but to me it's just a lower rate.

I found this article about charging more as a freelancer very interesting. It's got a lot of great advice about believing you're worth the high rate and why clients won't question it if you believe you're worth it. But the final comment was most interesting:

You’ll have a much easier time convincing clients that you’re worth it if your work is outstanding, or if you increase your potential to do outstanding work by building your skill-set and capabilities.

Part of charging your dream rates is a personal transformation into the kind of freelancer you’ve always dreamed of being.

In light of what I learned last week about passion and its relationship to money, this last sentence got me thinking a lot.

Triathlon update

I thought since I've started talking about my triathlon training that I'd keep posting periodic updates.

I found a great website, Beginner Triathlete, and my personal trainer has helped me put together a plan based on the site. Turns out I was training a bit too hard some days, then not hard enough others. I'm using the site's plan as a model and working with it as much as possible.

The weather has gotten better here so I've finally gotten outside on my bike. Of course, the only time I could bike on the weekend was when I had to take care of my five year old, so the bike ride involved pulling about 60 pounds behind me (well, really he was on a third-wheel attached to my bike, but since he didn't add much power, it was like pulling him). And even though I picked a flat route, it was hard. I'm really beginning to think the biking part of the tri might be the toughest part.

But undeterred, I even got out for a run Monday night with my run clinic. it's good to have people to push me along.

26 days till 40!

Searching passion

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days -- assuming anyone is actually reading what I'm writing. It's kind of strange to put this out there without really knowing if anyone is following. But I started this more to help myself by putting it all in writing and committing to the process, so even if no one is reading, I'm still writing.

Anyhow, in my last post I explained how I figured out how important it is to figure out what I'm passionate about. The problem is, I'm having a lot of trouble with that.

I've spent a lot of my career as a generalist, and while there are a lot of clients I've really enjoyed and others that really speak to my heart, I'm not really sure where my passion lies. And it's been pretty heart-wrenching to realize that at 40, I don't know where my professional passions truly lie. I have some ideas though, and have been doing a lot of mulling over. It's why I haven't posted for a few days.

For some people it seems easy to find their passion. But for me, it's been a big soul searcher, and I'm not close to an answer yet. I guess I'm grateful at least to know that once I figure it out, the rest might be easier...