The Butterfly Effect in the Life and Work of a Freelancer

1. The Butterfly Effect in the Life and Work of a Freelancer

2. Structure of the Presentation Part I • Change as perceived in linear and non-linear systems • How to intuit the impact of change ? • Change in Awareness leading to change in behaviour Part II • Mapping the concepts into a Freelancer’s Life and Work • The conflict and resolution between Life and Livelihood • Action Areas, Implementation, Real Life Examples.

3. Background of The Butterfly Effect • In a linear system, output changes proportionately with input • In a non-linear system, output change is not proportional to the change of input Examples of our world view and belief-systems • I would earn twice if I work twice the time I do now [ Linear Systems Thinking ] • A lucky project like this would boost my income heavily [Non-Linear System Thinking]

4. Non Linearity and Complex Systems Examples of Complex Non-Linear Systems • Weather – output as certain event – rain, temperature, hurricane • Our body – output as being healthy • Stock Markets – output as return on investment • Internet – output as number of users / connections • Bidding Sites – output as bagging a project

5. Understanding Non-Linear Complex Systems • The Black Box Model - pattern matching with long and mid term observation of input and output. Stock Markets • The Approximation Model - breaking into small linear models and then making an approximation. The working method of modern science • Searching for the Point of Inflexion - the marketing model – what is the critical mass when the venture breaks even or becomes profitable or becomes a phenomenon

6. The Butterfly Effect In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions; where a small change at one place in a nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state. The effect derives its name from the theoretical example of a hurricane's formation being contingent on whether or not a distant butterfly had flapped its wings several weeks before. [ From : Wikipedia ]

7. The Butterfly Effect – Freelancer In 2006, 2 freelancers came to know almost at the same instance of a Large Corporation looking for a translator in language X <> Y • Both the Freelancers are of the same ability, competence and experience • The difference in bid timing for both was 15 mts. The difference came because the second freelancer was polishing a project, about to be delivered • After 5 years, the first freelancer became one of the preferred vendors and eventually started an agency. The change : Bidding 15 mts earlier…. The impact : Exponential in terms of engagement, opportunity, learning and earning….

8. Freelancer’s Position • Contemporary Freelance Translator is part and parcel of this Complex Non-Linear System • His / Her decision making cannot avoid this system and hence making a change needs to be aware of the non-linear aspect • This awareness gets reflected in change of behaviour.

9. Change of Awareness • I am not only a translator, I am a Business Owner and CEO • There is no one except me who is going to think about the long term growth and change management of my business • My world-view, my learning, my working style cannot be that of a mere worker. Qualitatively It must be that of a Business Owner and CEO

10. Part II : Mapping 2 concepts • Pareto Principle • Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility

11. Part II : Pareto Principle • Roughly speaking, 80% of revenue comes from 20% of clients. 20% change can cause 80% impact - Have you changed your behaviour to make sure that the 20% feel valued as much they should be ? - Do you think you have made changes to make some of the clients making a transition to the high-end range ? - Are you working more and more and not earning proportionately ? - Are you ready to fire some of the low-end clients to add better value to the high-value clients ?* * High Value does not mean high-paying clients only

12. Part II : Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility Translated : There are some work / projects where beyond a certain level of quality, any additional bit of work or effort does not change the total impact or earning. Example • It does not matter much if a courier company delivers the package 10 mts earlier or later on the same day. • For certain projects, it matters little whether the end file is being combed word by word by 3 linguists to provide a certain level of quality. • It matters little for your pricing cut of 25% with same quality if an agency (a Low Cost Factory variety ) has already decided to go to the bottom

13. Lessons from 2 principles • Pareto Principle indicates where to make change [increase input] to have a more significant impact • Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility tells where any additional input is a waste [for an intended outcome] • You have limited time, energy and resources. • Unless you prevent waste, impact will be lesser. • As an Owner and CEO, you are custodian of the business [ rather than business being a means of earning livelihood only]

14. Small Changes -I • Write a Blog post everyday • Send one marketing message everyday • Have 30 mts everyday to keep as CEO time. CEO time = thinking hard on business • With each project delivery, write a note detailing the process of execution / summary of the project • Meeting some colleague / client / Project Manager in person [ I am a living human being, not an email address ] • Write a handwritten note with your marketing message • Try to help someone in social network – sow the seed of fearlessness in others • Teach the aspirant freelancers : It is the greatest investment – Investing on a talented person • Penetrate the obvious : Be aware of not only where a client is but the direction they are moving • Do Research for 30 mts everyday

15. Small Changes -II • When less work, don’t be frustrated or anxious. This is the time surplus of a CEO. Use it wisely. • Be cautious about debt. Debt clutters vision and confuses priority • While quoting : don’t write paragraphs. Write in bullet forms. • Take extra care about subject line – attention span • If you bid, bid early. For a bid, the first 10 bids have the highest chance. Consider Google search ranking…. • Be highly careful about spelling the name of a prospect / project manager. Business is Personal. • Seek permission • Talk, work, negotiate, deliver and confront and resolve like a CEO – The buck of business stops at you • Don’t be an authority figure or Judge for a client – be a friend and solution architect

16. Conflict : Life and Livelihood • Contemporary Time is accelerating the conflict between Life and Livelihood. Freelancer’s Dilemma : If you have more Large Corporations in your portfolio, security increases but there lies a risk of becoming a kind of employee of that timezoneless corporation without employee benefits ! • Don’t be a vendor – be a Solution Architect – Solve the problem of other people Freelancer’s Dilemma : Diversification needs time, money and attention. What If..? • Q: How the business was lost ? Answer : First gradually, then suddenly !

17. Examples, Stories and Anecdotes from Wordsmith Vault • We have a policy that we will always pay on receipt for the first time engagement and will pay for any test translation. The result has been a great competitive edge in terms of trust. • We had made a small promise that we would document some of our early days in the form of a story. In each weekend, we wrote 2 pages. Wordsmith Book of Business became a popular book among freelancers. • In 2008, we found that many freelancer colleagues of ours are good writers. We started an online cultural e-zine : www.pentasect.com. We became a digital publisher and print on demand provider • I sent a mail to Soledad/proz just to enquire about the training. Sheer curiosity. That started a long standing training engagement.