Vanya Wryter Consulting Services

Tag: remote work

  • Work-Life Balance: Do you enjoy your job?

    Work-Life Balance: Do you enjoy your job?

    Those who love their job as if it were a hobby are lucky. This is even more true if their income is their ideal amount and their coworkers are great to be around. I certainly think of my job as something I could do even while on vacation and not consider myself as working. However, we need to draw the line somewhere–at what point is work intruding on personal time?

    Daily writing prompt
    Do you enjoy your job?
    View all responses

    Let’s weigh in on the question: What is work-life balance? How do you define it? Whether you have a work-life balance and whether you view clear boundaries between the two depends on how much you love your job. Here are some rare points of view to consider.

    Remote work has made it easier to blend home life and work life into one room (or house). Employers and clients may have the expectation that you’ll respond to messages or complete work tasks between 9 a.m. to … well, 9 a.m. the next morning. 

    As someone who manages projects, I’m answering work messages from morning til evening and on the weekends sometimes. Apps on smartphones have made it easier than ever to blur the lines between the office and personal time as we receive notifications even when away from the office.

    The constant plug-in to workplace communication and work tasks can be exhausting. People need a break from work to recharge and return to their tasks with fresh eyes. But is it bad to blend work and home life together?

    Some people love their career enough that working is as enjoyable as watching Netflix or playing video games. I’ve met some of these people (so they do exist).  

    If you enjoy your work as much as you’d enjoy a hobby, then is working extra hours synonymous with workaholicism or overachieving? Does it make a difference whether you’re designing a graphic for a client or painting a picture to hang on your wall?

    Some self-employed people live in their business. They are always reading or watching videos for self-improvement, or brainstorming new ways to increase their income or expand their products and services. Would this be considered overworking? It depends.

    Everyone should be learning new things, whether it is a new hobby, new skill, or general-interest knowledge. People challenge themselves with fitness goals, reading goals, or social goals. How is investing more time in your career or business any different, if you love what you do, and if you still have time for friends and family?

    If you enjoy what you do, then perhaps a job or business is no different than investing time and energy in a hobby or pastime. With this perspective, would work-life balance be… “balanced”? 

    Of course, whether you have a spouse or children affects how much time you need away from work. If you enjoy traveling or socializing with friends, these interests also affect how much time you need to recharge from work. And of course, if you’re an introvert who prefers more “me time” away from your work and coworkers, that’s important too.

    What are your thoughts on work-life balance if you have a job or career that you love?

  • How to Negotiate and Secure a Retainer Fee with a Client

    How to Negotiate and Secure a Retainer Fee with a Client

    Repost from 2022

    Are you a freelancer or contractor constantly looking for new projects or clients? Do you have a roller-coaster income that changes from month to month?

    If your answer is yes, then consider negotiating for a monthly retainer. A retainer contract is an agreement between a freelancer and their client for ongoing, monthly services for a set fee. The client pays monthly for your services in advance.

    The benefit to the freelancer is consistent, guaranteed income. The benefit to the client is secured services with someone they can depend on.

    The client prefers to work with a freelancer or contractor with the needed skills, but finding a freelancer-client relationship that is the right fit takes time.

    Freelancers with a high-demand skillset and sharp negotiation skills know how to negotiate and secure retainer agreements with their ideal clients.

    Benefits of Retainers for Freelancers

    A tremendous benefit of a retainer fee is a guaranteed, steady income. Freelancers who work project after project face a lot of unpredictability with cash flow and budgeting.

    They need to negotiate a 25 percent or 50 percent downpayment at the start of a project and remember to request a final payment when a project is incomplete. When working with new clients on projects, they also deal with unpredictability. Bad clients might not pay on time or at all, citing bad freelancer work as an excuse to withhold their pay.

    With a retainer, the freelancer’s monthly income is stable. Instead of constantly searching for new clients and projects, you have more time and energy to dedicate to your retainer contracts. You aren’t frequently checking your bank account to ensure you have enough funds for unexpected expenses.

    Retainer contracts are similar to the steady income of having a job.

    Just how steady is a retainer fee income? If you have just three retainer clients, one paying you $3000 a month for services, another paying $2500, and a third paying $1500, you would have an income of $7000 at the start of each month.

    When you can focus your energy on providing quality services to ongoing clients, you can also build your reputation and take on more retainer work… if you have the time.

    Benefits for Clients Who Are on a Retainer

    Just like how freelancers enjoy the stability of a steady income, clients prefer the stability of reliable, high-quality services. It takes time for freelancers and clients to build rapport and find the perfect fit. A client likes to do things a certain way and prefers to find someone who understands their brand and their approach to projects.

    To close a client on signing a retainer agreement with you, you need to be clear about what benefits you are providing them. These benefits should match what they are looking for.

    They may need marketing services, website maintenance, content writing, or graphic design, to name just a few examples. They will expect their services to be delivered on time and at their desired quality.

    They anticipate you to be available for a specific number of hours per week or per month and dedicate your time to their projects and meeting their business goals.

    Unlike a per-project client, a retainer client won’t need to wait weeks or months until a highly skilled freelancer can work on a project with them.

    Another benefit you can offer a retainer client is extra value services, such as a few bonus hours of meetings, a report, free consultations, or a discount on a smaller, one-time project.

    When Should You Negotiate a Retainer with a Client?

    A client with an ongoing need for your services is a great candidate for a retainer agreement. For example, retainer clients may require services such as cold calling, daily social media engagement, or regular administrative assistance.

    You may have started with one project with the client and decided you both work well together. They value your work and see a need for you to continue providing services at a fixed budget on a monthly basis.

    You may have liked working with the client on the project:  they pay on time, are clear with expectations, and don’t micromanage your every decision. The logical next step is to propose a retainer fee for steady, ongoing work with this ideal client.

    On the other hand, proposing a retainer agreement with a new client can intimidate freelancers. You haven’t built any rapport with a new client. They haven’t seen your skills at work, and you don’t know if they would be a dream or hell to work with. Should you even suggest starting with a long-term partnership?

    One way to begin working with a new client is a short term project. For example, you build their website. Upon completing the project, you propose a retainer fee to assist with website maintenance and future IT issues.

    Another way is to find retainer clients through referrals. A new client recommended by one of your clients would be more likely to trust you before working with you. Similarly, you would be more likely to trust a new client if a client referred them to you.

    That referral will help you close a retainer agreement with a new client from day one.

    Why Should Clients Pre-Pay Before Seeing Results?

    From the freelancer’s point of view, clients who pre-pay are serious clients. You know they aren’t going to ask you to provide your services,  then disappear without paying. Also, if they pre-pay, you know they are invested in the results.

    However, before you pocket that pre-payment, you must convince them of your value. To do that, you first need to establish rapport with the new client and make them confident that you have the skills they are looking for.

    Have a portfolio of past work and a list of testimonials or references to show the client. Your portfolio should have examples of the skills they need.

    Be clear about what services and value you will provide, from monthly deliverables to monthly results. Show that you understand their pain points and how you will solve those challenges for them.

    Explain that a pre-payment is needed to reserve your time for them because you’re currently taking on new clients and have limited availability in your schedule.

    Common Objections to Monthly Retainers

    A new client may object to starting with a retainer agreement for many reasons. Find out what is holding them back.

    Are they unable to pay the price you are asking for? Are they concerned about your skills because they haven’t worked with you before? Or are they worried that you won’t deliver the results they want?

    If the concern is price, work with their budget and decide what you can offer them for that price. Some freelancers offer services at various pricing tiers. You can add more value to your services at the price point you agree on. For example, adding some hours of free consultation or additional services.

    If the concern is your skills and the results, suggest a paid trial period. At this point in the discussion, you’ve already shared with them samples of your past work and testimonials from clients. They’ve seen your skills, and you can negotiate your value for your price.

    Emphasize that with a retainer, a set number of hours each month of your time is dedicated to providing services to that specific client. They will have peace of mind if they need work completed on time.

    Steps to Follow to Close Your Client on a Retainer Agreement

    Closing a current or new client on a monthly payment model can be done in person or online. It may be easier to close a client in person because you can build rapport and trust first. However, with the global economy and remote work, it’s also possible to close a client in another city.

    First, introduce the idea of a retainer agreement at your in-person or virtual meeting. This can also be done over the phone but with fewer visual cues. (Some people find it easier to judge a client’s reactions based on facial expression and body language, not just verbal cues.)

    Then, clarify the details by email and written contract. Some points to cover:

    • Meet with the person who will make the final decision on the retainer agreement details.
    • Discuss what they think your expected deliverables, volume of work, and expected results will be. What are the client’s goals? Be prepared to discuss the value of having a retainer agreement.
    • Confirm what monthly services you will offer and suggest additional services that you may provide.
    • Discuss your flat monthly fee for these services. If you have a package of services that you offer at tiers, share these offers. For example, Tier 1 is $1000 for x, y, z services, and Tier 2 is $2000 a month for x, y, z, and a.
    • Explain how a retainer agreement works and include the benefits of having a retainer agreement.
    • Follow up with an email proposal with your rates and retainer options. Include any add-on services. Set a date for the follow up on your proposal. Then formalize a retainer contract for yourself and your client to sign.

    How to Keep Your Retained Clients Happy

    Managing expectations keeps both clients and freelancers happy. When you’re working on the details for your retainer agreement, clarify what you expect from each other.

    For yourself: What day of the month do you expect to receive your monthly retainer? What is the specific amount you’ll be paid? How will you be paid? For example, through an app, etransfer, or third party service?

    For your client: What deliverables will they receive? What results will they see? If they aren’t detail-oriented and don’t track results, you can keep track of that data for them. Report on your progress and results. Have you met the monthly goals set out in your contract?

    Keeping a record of what you’ve accomplished for your client demonstrates your accountability. It’s also effective when you need to raise your rates because you can show that you are worth the value you deliver.

    Also, your happy client is more likely to provide testimonials and refer other clients to you. Negotiating retainers with a referral is much easier than a cold lead who knows little about your skills and value.

    Key Takeaways

    Negotiating a monthly retainer agreement is the best payment model for a steady income for freelancers and contractors.

    You benefit from regular cash flow, so you can focus on providing value to your clients instead of constantly looking for new projects and clients.

    Clients prefer to work long-term with someone they trust who provides the value and skills they need to meet their business objectives.

    You can negotiate a retainer agreement with an existing client after the end of a project. Or you can negotiate a retainer agreement with a new client on a trial basis.

    Continue to provide value and reliable service to your retained clients. Keep them updated on your progress and results. In the long term, you will have a reliable income and your clients will have the value and skills they can trust.

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  • 3 Ways to Connect with People and Communicate Online

    3 Ways to Connect with People and Communicate Online

    Daily writing prompt
    In what ways do you communicate online?
    View all responses

    Why communicate online? You may think it’s less personal than interacting with people face to face. True, you don’t get the same sense of what a person is like when you aren’t in the same room as them. But it has become one of the best ways to connect with people around the world. 

    As someone who works remotely, I’ve made friends in other cities, and found work opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible without the communication technology that we have. Technology has also allowed us to instantaneously send and receive information, and make human connections that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

    To celebrate how online communication has improved my life, I’d like to share some ways I communicate online.

    Interactions with coworkers with apps and video

    Remote work has made it possible to run a business online. Meetings are run on Zoom, WebEx, and Google Meet. This is the next best way to connect, other than with in-person meetings. It’s possible to run an entire team that lives in different cities and time zones.

    You can also share work tasks and collaborate using various apps such as ClickUp, Slack, Telegram, and Asana. Yes, some of those apps are difficult to use and sometimes confusing, but it also makes tracking project milestones and deadlines for several people in one place easier.

    Online chat groups in online communities

    Meeting in person is one of the best ways to connect, but it isn’t practical to coordinate a meeting of like-minded people whenever you need the advice of people with experiences and backgrounds similar to yours.

    Groups on Facebook, Discord, and Slack, for example, allow people in the same profession or with similar interests to discuss topics. In these groups, people from different cities and time zones can post their advice or opinions about topics such as how to handle a difficult work situation, how to write a resume, how to deal with relatives, or where to buy a product for your pet. It’s like reaching out to a human encyclopedia of knowledge.

    Voice, video, image, and chat messages with friends and family

    Long-distance calls are expensive. Sending postcards and letters take days, if not weeks. The best way to communicate with friends and family in other cities and countries in a cost-effective and quick way is online. 

    You can make group video calls or audio calls using apps. As long as you have internet, you don’t need to worry about long-distance costs. You can send text, photos, and voice messages instantly. While having dinner, you can send a photo of your meal to share your moment with your family, even if they are in another state or province. 

    It’s like your friends, family, and coworkers all live in your neighborhood. The world is more interconnected and a much smaller place because of online communication.

    Key Takeaways

    Online communication has greatly improved, to the point that we can create and maintain connections with people who live far away from us. Technology allows us to be part of a larger community that supports each other. Online communication also offers many more ways for us to keep in touch with family and friends who live far away.

    What do you think about online communication?

  • Remote Work and Office Humor

    Remote Work and Office Humor

    This time of year, one of two things happens: work slows down as people prepare for the holidays, or work speeds up as people cram in projects before it’s time to leave work for the holidays.

    Recently, it’s been incredibly busy for me, so I think a good laugh about work is overdue. Humor helps the time pass more quickly as we count down the days until the holiday break.

    Here is some random humor that I was sent recently. Please credit these jokes if you know who created them.

    Ten Random Jokes to Make Your Workday

    1. My memory has gotten so bad it has actually caused me to lose my job. I’m still employed, I just can’t remember where.
    2. How do you make an employee smile at work? Compliment their work.
    3. Why did the scarecrow get promoted? Because he was outstanding in his field!
    4. During a business meeting yesterday, someone asked me about my background. So I told him about my education, career, family, hopes and dreams. Turns out he was asking about what was behind me on our Zoom call.
    5. The new “Reply All” button is unmuting your mic during a Zoom call.
    6. My favorite conference call game is “Guess the Background Noise.”
    7. Why did the pen get promoted at work? It had the write skills.
    8. Why did the employee bring a map to work? To navigate through the workday.
    9. What makes a spider such a good computer programmer? It knows all about the web.
    10. How do you make a manager laugh during a meeting? Tell them you finished all your work early.

    And one more….

    1. Working from home is all fun and games until your chair and bed start merging into one.

  • Argh! How to Set Boundaries and Get Respect

    Argh! How to Set Boundaries and Get Respect

    Let’s empower ourselves. Social media and technology have made it too easy for strangers and toxic people to ignore our boundaries and invade our personal and professional lives.

    Family may ask you for a favor, not realizing (or caring) that you’re tired and need some space. Work may ask you to do extra work, in the evening, when you’re getting ready to call it a day. Strangers can send you unwanted messages via social media. 

    Only you can set some boundaries and create for yourself a peaceful, safe space. Here are some tips for saying “No” and feeling good about it.

    Personal Life Boundaries

    1. Clear Communication 

    Effective communication is key to establishing personal boundaries. This may be easier said than done, depending on how comfortable you are with telling people that they want you to do something you’re not comfortable with. 

    For instance, a friend might ask you to help them with something on a day you planned another activity. The activity might not be life-changing but it’s important to you and you don’t want to reschedule. Ask your friend questions and see if you can reach a compromise so you both can be happy with a new plan. 

    2. Prioritize Self-Care

    Friends, family, coworkers, and strangers can do or say something that presses against your boundaries. For example, a coworker asks you to work later because you’re the one without kids to take care of. Or a stranger cutting in front of you in line, although you had been patiently waiting there first.

    Even after you insist on your boundaries and say, no, I can’t work later, I have plans, you might feel bad. It’s important to prioritize self-care and de-stress. Watch a fun movie or listen to your favorite music. Treat yourself to a spa day (even if it’s at home), or play your favorite video games to “detox” and get the negativity out of your head.

    3. Learn to Say No

    Saying no is a life skill when setting personal boundaries. Decline invitations to events you don’t want to attend. Say no to responsibilities that will leave you mentally or emotionally drained. Refuse to do things that compromise your values.

    It’s okay to say no when a friend or family member asks to borrow something sentimental and you’re afraid you’ll never see it again. You may be scared of their anger, but in the long run, you may be angrier at yourself if they conveniently forget to return your precious possessions.

    Professional Life Boundaries

    1. Establish Clear Work Hours

    Define your work hours, whether you work at an office or remotely. Let your coworkers and supervisor know when you are available. This boundary is especially important with remote work, especially if your coworkers work in different time zones. If they start earlier than you, your workday may start with catching up on messages. If they work later than you, you may be bombarded with work requests during dinner or just as you’re logging off for the evening. Set expectations that you’ll answer during your office hours or within 24 hours, and your stress level will decrease.

    2. Prioritize and Discuss

    Everyone has limits to their professional boundaries. Sometimes taking on that one extra task can push your limits because your last task was stressful enough already. Instead of staying quiet to keep everyone happy, speak up. Tell others that you have a lot on your plate already. Which task should you prioritize? Your current tasks or the new one? Can someone help you so you aren’t overwhelmed? 

    3. Clarify Expectations

    Clarify your coworker’s expectations. Be clear about your tasks and roles on a project. Most importantly, write those tasks and deadlines down. This prevents others from adding more “small requests” for you to complete by the deadline. It will also avoid misunderstandings and conflicts in case the other person expects you to do more than you planned to, or conflicts because you overlapped tasks with another person. 

    Key Takeaways

    Setting personal and professional boundaries is fundamental for your mental health. Don’t hesitate to say no to requests that will make you uncomfortable, and communicate with the other person about how you can reach an agreeable compromise.

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