Lately I haven’t posted much or been “visible” to my virtual friends and fellow administrative consultants but this has been due to bad health (finally diagnosed so at last I can start to work through it). Now that I am putting that episode behind me, it is time to get some focus again. So many thoughts are rushing through my mind at the moment but I hope I manage to get them down so at least this post is coherent…
After neglecting my blog somewhat, I found myself asking why. To put it simply, I have been run off my feet these past few weeks on other projects and client work, so even though writing was always in the back of my mind, I never managed to find the right moment to sit down and let my mind wonder so I guess now at 11:52 pm my time is a good a time as any.
As the worldwide economic crisis continues, a new trend is emerging. A large number of adults over the age of 30 are finding themselves back in school or studying to get certified and increase their job prospects. Another factor driving adults back to school is a career change; perhaps the industry they’ve worked in for an extended period of time is no longer viable, suffering at the hands of the credit crunch so a change of direction and new skills are needed if they ever hope to re-enter the job market. There are others still who choose to go self-employed and make things happen for themselves and wish to back that decision up with further education. Whatever the reason, it is a trend that is becoming increasingly popular.
Back in September I wrote a piece on Time Management. Good time management skills help you organize your time wisely, get all your work done and keep on your clients’ good side. Going a step further, as a self-employed person, should you set yourself set work hours? This is an interesting question. If you don’t establish some type of schedule or work hours, you’ll have a tough time keeping on top of things.
It seems like a pretty daft question considering that billing is how we get paid but what isn’t such a daft question is deciding your business’ billing structure. There are different options out there and the one that is most widespread is ‘billing by the hour’. This method is mainly used by lawyers and other service providers who punch the clock as soon as the client enters the workspace but is it the best method? Billing by the hour has sparked major debates and there are mixed feelings about the ethics of this form of billing clients. We can take a look into some of the pros and cons so that you can decide which structure suits your needs (and your clients’) best.
