The curious writer always asks him or herself: “who writes these?”. Whether Mr./Ms. writer is looking at a shampoo bottle, or at the local convention’s truss exhibits. It is these markets that often starve for writers, but there is not clear path to the client’s door. Usually these jobs are sucked up by PR or Marketing companies, who may or may not work with freelancers.

The easy route to a possible client’s heart may just be that local convention though. Next time you float from booth to booth, instead of giving your rehearsed-sounding 2 minute introduction, give your feedback on those banner stands instead. At a mining convention last year I caught the eye of a client this way, and it is just one of the many unconventional manners of client-fishing modern freelancers should learn to embrace!

A mystery shopping company can provide these spies-for-hire at attractive rates. It may seem odd inviting a spy into your organization, but consider how much valuable information you could obtain. Especially if you are suspicious about a particular employee’s customer service skills in your absence, his or her conduct or whether the employee may be the cause of poor team dynamics. Finding out the source of your business-sores can save a lot of money in the long run and it is in fact not illegal.

It is right up there with keyboard logging and scanning emails for profanity or illegal web surfing on company computers. I too wish this was not necessary, but sometimes having the information up front means the situation can be corrected and nobody needs to suffer (i.e. be fired).

Today give away is giving away a software package called statplus, a statistical software package promised to be quite powerful. It is a package I can frankly use, so I will consider downloading it a bit later. The only problem is I will have to download it to my PC, because it is not compatible with my Mac.

In between Christmas shopping and working, I’ve been looking for interesting places to go. I love sun and beach as much as most people, but I generally prefer a more interesting vacation.
Martha’s Vineyard vacation rentals caught my eye as a result. Although other locations on “weneedavacation.com” are equally interesting. That’s what I like about these vacation rental places though, you find places you never thought existed!

The site also has a summer photo contest, great way of trying to win your next vacation.

Brought to you by Martha’s Vineyard vacation rentals

Yesterday I was at a silent auction to which I had donated two products from a business I am involved in. The silent auction was visited mostly by people who have either influence, money, or both. Basically, a fantastic way of tapping into this potential market.

If you own a business, consider donating to high-profile silent auctions, but make sure your business cards or brochures are included. This way, even people who do not win your item in the auction have an opportunity to pick up a brochure, business card or flyer.

It’s cheap marketing! and it works!

I have taken some precaution though, and I do have some extended coverage. However, a for a good friend of mine in Illinois dental insurance is not part of her coverage at all. Recently she slipped, fell, and broke a tooth. It cost her over $500 to get everything patched up. Money she cannot afford to spend on something unexpected. Her reason for not having insurance is not that she could not afford it, she was confused with the different options and prices. Now she is shopping around for reasonably priced insurance, because as a freelancer she too is not covered at all.

Eventually, and I am not sure anymore how it happened, my friend literally said:
“Just start writing, just start and stop making excuses.”

He said this, I believe, after I mentioned I was stuck somewhere mid-book because I am entirely unsure of what format to use, in which person to write and whether to keep it as a social commentary or heavily based on personal experience. I am leaning towards personal experience, although a more non-fictiony type of approach would be infinitely easier to write.

So, I really have to stop pondering, and just continue writing…

Art is also a great idea, but it has to fit in your budget. Park West Gallery has a great selection of art available. It’s the world’s largest art dealer, and I like that you can browse the site by artist name. So, if you have a known favorite, then it is easy to find that particular artist’s pieces. I spent a few hours just browsing different artists and different objects, and although in most cases it is out of my self-imposed budget this Christmas, the pieces are really wonderful.

Brought to you by Park West Gallery

Unfortunately, when I took the item home and tested it (because I was skeptical it was as good as was written on the package), it turned out the specs were actually WRONG! What company in their right mind misrepresents their product so grossly? Imagine how disappointing it would have been if I would not have tested it and given as it? The quality was just completely unacceptable in this day and age, and frankly the price was far too high for the specs it turned out to have outside of the box.

I have a problem with misrepresentation, especially with products. The silly thing is, it may be a simple type-o on the product packaging, which would turn the 11 (amazing) into 1.1 (more like the real thing was).
Ever thought type-o’s are not a big deal? They can alienate customers and cause losses in sales…

So, my new found knowledge of ball-valves consist of knowing that they have a round closure element (i.e. the ball…) and rounded seat in which the ball portion of the valve fits perfectly. This perfect fit provides a tight shut off.

The potential client also gave me a quick run-through Zycon which is an online directory of industrial, manufacturing, and distributing businesses, products, and services. It is a true haven for anyone looking for materials or services in this industry, which can be found through the alphabetical listings. I really wish we had something like this in the sciences as well, and perhaps we do? In any event; Zyco is a great example of what a directory should be like in all industries.

Writers do not always realize that in order to provide a service for certain clients, they need to become fully acquainted with technical processes or terminology. It’s often fun to do, but if you are not interested in learning something new, it is better to stick to what you already know well.