Michelle's Biz Talk posts

Seattle Times reporter seeks biz owners (w/ 5+ staff) for story on holiday gift giving at the office

Hi all, I'm looking for Seattle business owners, managers, employees, or HR folks to talk on the record about how your office is handling holiday gift exchanges among staff this year. (Please only respond if your company has at least 5 employees. No freelancers, consultants, or sole proprietors. Also, I don't have room in the article to cover client/customer gifts, just interoffice gifts for staff.) How has the recession changed this holiday tradition in your office? How is your company handling boss/employee gifting this year? Are bonuses part of the equation? Has your company already set expectations, or is everyone winging it? Would love to hear from you by Monday, 11/16. Leave me a note here with details on where I can email you. Thank you!

Dealing with Nightmare Clients Teleclass Wed 2/25

Hey all,

I just heard that the FreelancersUnion.org still has openings in my teleclass tomorrow (2/25, 7 to 8:30 EST). The description:

Ever deal with a client who constantly changed the deadline, tried to increase or decrease the scope of the project halfway through it, or didn’t know what they wanted and asked for multiple revisions as a result? If this sounds familiar, take comfort -- you are not alone. In this teleclass (phone and PC needed!), I'll discuss how to:

• Sniff out a client’s reputation ahead of time • Chase down missing checks • Set better boundaries with clients who make excessive demands on your time • Close up contract loopholes that could come back to haunt you later • Decide whether a relationship with a client is salvageable • Gracefully let a troublesome client go

Registration: $30 Freelancers Union members (I believe it's free to join the union); $40 for non-members

Register here:

http://freelancersunion.org/events/2009/spring/dealing-with-clients.html

1/15 freelancing Q&A + book event in North Seattle

Hi all,

Happy new year. I hope 2009 is off to a rocking start and this year brings you much success in all your indie endeavors. For those of you in Seattle (or with Seattle area friends to tell), I'm doing my first bookstore event of the year tomorrow to support my latest book, MY SO-CALLED FREELANCE LIFE: HOW TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE AS A CREATIVE PROFESSIONAL FOR HIRE. The details:

When: 7:00 pm, Thursday, January 15

Where: Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park (North Seattle)

Free, open to the public, kids welcome, etc.

More info: http://www.thirdplacebooks.com or http://www.anti9to5guide.com

If you're local and can make it, be sure to say hello! If you're not, check my website (www.anti9to5guide.com) for upcoming events in other locations.

Many thanks, Michelle

Michelle Goodman My So-Called Freelance Life (Seal Press, 2008) The Anti 9-to-5 Guide (Seal Press, 2007) Freelancing blog: http://www.anti9to5guide.com Nine to Thrive blog: http://www.nwjobs.com

When should you work for free?

Hey all, I have a guest blog post in today's New York Times that I thought would be of interest. It's about when "getting paid in promotion" and doing pro bono work is worth it for the self-employed, and when it stinks like rotten fish.

http://shiftingcareers.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/when-to-work-for-free/

Let me know if you have thoughts, questions, objections. I hear I already pissed off one design contest website, not that I'm complaining. :)

Freelancing book reading + Q&A Sat 10/25

Hey all,

Just wanted to let you know about my Elliott Bay Book Co reading tomorrow for my new baby, MY SO-CALLED FREELANCE LIFE: HOW TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE AS A CREATIVE PROFESSIONAL FOR HIRE (Seal Press, Oct 2008).

The details:

When: Saturday, October 25, 2 p.m. Where: Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 South Main Street, Seattle Info: http://www.elliottbaybook.com/ Co-sponsor: http://www.hedgebrook.org Free and open to the public

Be sure to say hello if you make it. And if anyone wants to grab a drink across the street afterwards and talk shop, I'm game!

Best,

Michelle Goodman | www.anti9to5guide.com

(event) freelancing book party + schmoozefest Thursday 10/16

Hi all,

For those who've expressed interest, I wanted to send out a reminder about the launch party I'm having this Thursday (October 16) for my new book, MY SO-CALLED FREELANCE LIFE: HOW TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE AS A CREATIVE PROFESSIONAL FOR HIRE ("sequel" to my 2007 title, THE ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE).

According to the Seattle Weekly, it's "a well organized how-to book about overcoming all those fears that keep us clinging desperately to our cubes." According to my mom, it's "simply the best, funniest, most brilliant-est book ever written." ;)

Details on Thursday's shindig:

WHEN: 6 to 10 PM -- book reading and Q&A from 7 to 8 PM; schmoozing and boozing before and after

WHERE: Office Nomads, 1617 Boylston Ave, Second Floor, Seattle, WA 98122

DEETS: Free and open to the public. Kids and guests welcome. Beverages and light snacks served.

CO-SPONSORS: University Book Store and Office Nomads

MORE INFO: www.anti9to5guide.com/events or www.officenomads.com

MORE EVENTS: www.anti9to5guide.com/events

Thanks so much, Michelle

Michelle Goodman
My So-Called Freelance Life (Seal Press, 2008)
The Anti 9-to-5 Guide (Seal Press, 2007)
Career columnist, ABCNews.com
Freelancing blog: http://www.anti9to5guide.com
Nine to Thrive blog: http://www.nwjobs.com

(event) ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE book reading/Q&A in N. Seattle 4/12

Hi everyone,

You know how Disney's always saying, "last chance to get 'Fantasia' or 'Bambi' or 'The Little Mermaid' before we shove it in the vault for the next decade?" While this announcement isn't anywhere near as melodramatic, this Thursday (4/12) I am doing my last Seattle bookstore event for my book, THE ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE: PRACTICAL CAREER ADVICE FOR WOMEN WHO THINK OUTSIDE THE CUBE (Seal Press), at least for a little while. The book will of course continue to be available through all the usual retail outlets, and I have some other non-bookstore events (read: not necessarily free) in the works for summer.

If you or your friends are the least bit anti-curious (men, too!), come join me for a chat on all things alternagig: freelancing, flextime, part-time, permatemp, small business, travel work, a life in the arts, and more. Bring your questions about how to land clients, finagle health insurance, finance a career shift, squeeze more time from an already maxed schedule, and anything else you're dying to know about working outside the cube. Go on -- try to stump me! If you make it, be sure to say hello. I would love to meet you. Event details:

ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE READING AND AUTHOR Q&A Thursday, April 12, 7:00 p.m. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park (North Seattle) Free and open to the public.
Info: www.anti9to5guide.com/events

Thanks so much, Michelle

The reviews are in:

• "Snappy and practical, this guide to quitting your job at the 'e-mail-saturated, meeting-happy cube farm' will prove indispensable to any young professional itching to strike out on her own." --Publishers Weekly

• LitPick for February/March 2007 --BUST magazine

• "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide is a must-read for anyone who daydreams about smashing the time clock and feeding her soul." --Seattle Times

THE ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE by Michelle Goodman Seal Press | Now in bookstores | www.anti9to5guide.com

ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE does the east side

Hi everyone,

I thought some of you east side Bizniks might be interested in this event...

I'm reading from my book, THE ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE: PRACTICAL CAREER ADVICE FOR WOMEN WHO THINK OUTSIDE THE CUBE, and answering questions about the self-employed life at Parkplace Books in Kirkland, WA, at 7 p.m. this Thursday, March 29th. Men welcome too, of course. The details:

When: Thursday, March 29th at 7 p.m. Where: 348 Parkplace Center (at Third Street South), Kirkland, WA Directions: http://maps.citysearch.com/map/view/10748733 Phone: (425) 828-6546

I'll also be in the SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA next week, reading from the book and answering questions about the anti 9-to-5 life. The deets:

When: Tuesday, April 3, 7 p.m. Where: Habitat Books, 205 Second Street, Sausalito Contact: (415) 331-3344; http://www.habitatbooks.com/ Co-sponsored by Media Alliance

When: Wednesday, April 4, 7 p.m. Where: Borders - Union Square, 400 Post Street, San Francisco Contact: (415) 399-1633; http://www.bordersstores.com/stores/store_pg.jsp?storeID=57

As always, more info here: www.anti9to5guide.com. Thanks so much.

Best, Michelle

THE ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE by Michelle Goodman Seal Press | Now in bookstores | www.anti9to5guide.com

ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE Bellingham event 3/20

Hi everyone,

I'm doing a reading and author Q&A for my book, THE ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE: PRACTICAL CAREER ADVICE FOR WOMEN WHO THINK OUTSIDE THE CUBE (Seal Press), at Village Books in Bellingham, Wash., this coming Tuesday, March 20. I thought I'd pass the info on, in case anyone's in the area or knows someone who is. (Men welcome, too!)

The details:

Tuesday, March 20, 7:30 p.m. Village Books (http://villagebooks.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp) 1200 Eleventh Street, Bellingham (360) 671-2626

The book:

Wage slaves, take heart. Life in the cube doesn’t have to be forever. In THE ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE: PRACTICAL CAREER ADVICE FOR WOMEN WHO THINK OUTSIDE THE CUBE, do-or-die freelancer Michelle Goodman shows hopeful cubicle expats how to transition to part-time, flextime, at-home, outdoor, overseas, nonprofit, or self-employed work. If you’ve ever wondered what life is like without the golden handcuffs, this book is for you.

If you or your pals do make it, please be sure to say hello. If you're in Seattle, San Francisco, or New York and are interested in this book, here are some other events in your neck of the woods:

www.anti9to5guide.com/events

And I'll also be rocking out at BizJam in June. (!)

Thanks so much!

Michelle

THE ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE by Michelle Goodman Seal Press | Now in bookstores | www.anti9to5guide.com

Anti 9-to-5 Salon this Thursday!

Hi there,

I'll be reading from my new book, THE ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE: PRACTICAL CAREER ADVICE FOR WOMEN WHO THINK OUTSIDE THE CUBE (Seal Press), and serving up my best tips on fleeing the cube at Seattle's University Bookstore this Thursday evening.

The skinny:

What: ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE reading and author Q&A

Where: University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, Seattle

When: Thursday, March 1, 7 p.m.

Tel: (800) 335-7323

Web: http://www.bookstore.washington.edu

Deets: Free and open to the public

If you make it to the reading, be sure to say hello. Feel free to bring your freelance-curious friends (men, too)! If you can't make this event but are curious about future dates/locales, many more events listed on my site, below.

Michelle

THE ANTI 9-TO-5 GUIDE by Michelle Goodman Seal Press | Now in bookstores | www.anti9to5guide.com