How About a Plan C

You have a deadline to meet and everything goes awry what do you do? Things are in place more or less, but because of glitches, you are unable to complete the assignment. The client is miffed, will not tolerate a lackadaisical attitude. Another problem – you have completed the assignment but cannot deliver the final product because your ride has not arrived. The cab company has a major software problem – they are unable to reach the drivers. How do you ensure that you make it to the meeting with a client who prefers face-to-face dialogue? Skype is not up his alley, he wants to discuss without any buffering and no way will he accept an email! You brazen it out, explain the situation and request another meeting. Lucky for you, he wanted to reschedule as well! Woo hoo you are comfortable. If things went south, you may have been in a mess. That is why it is imperative to have a Plan B or even Plan C in place.

Solution to Home Based Work Glitches

How about another scenario, you take on an assignment, but internet connectivity has broken down because technical errors with the internet service provider. Customer care apologetically advises you to wait it out until the issue has been resolved. This is extremely annoying because you need to use the internet and you have to send in the work by the end of the day. Obviously, the only step is to go elsewhere and use the internet hoping that you will be able to work in an alien environment. The point here is that you cannot expect the client to understand your problem, you have to find the solution. If push comes to shove and you cannot do the work, call the client immediately and explain the situation. If you work from home, chances are there are going to be plenty of problems that you never imagined. Power cuts, the maid has not come, internet playing truant or going slow, kids and family make a noise, neighbors blasting music, etc. When you accept work, you have to take into account all these criteria and ensure that you deliver on schedule. If there are problems, it is imperative to brief the client about the situation and hope that s/he understands. However, no company wants excuses they want a solution to the problem.

Time Management or Lack of Discipline

What IS time management? It is the ability of an individual to manage her or his time effectively. Multitasking is the order of the day and everyone has to take it in her/his stride to get the work completed. If you find that you cannot meet the deadline, let the client know. The worst thing possible is to let the customer believe that you have it all covered, but when it comes to actual delivery and implementation, you look for an escape route. Here is an example. There is a presentation scheduled at 11.00 on Monday. Knowing your penchant for bad time management set the alarm for the meeting at 10 am instead of 11.00. This gives you time to deal with any issues that may arise and you will reach the destination in time. Monday mornings are always highly charged, traffic snarls are a done thing so it is best to leave home earlier. Time is of the essence and one must always remember that everyone has a schedule. An unprofessional is a person who does not give a damn about the client’s time. When you take someone for granted, this can hurt your career down the line. Therefore, if one has myriad jobs to do, like get the breakfast ready, drop the kids to school, shower, get dressed, etc. wake up an hour earlier and get the kids up and about well in advance. In this regard, you beat traffic snarls, get cracking and are able to make it in time for the meeting and strike a chord with the client.

Freelance Transparency

If you goof up, own up to the mistake and never repeat it again. Transparency always pays a key role in any situation. If you are given a job that you may not be able to handle, request for more time. If the client wants the work completed earlier, it is best to drop out of taking on the large volume and messing up. Most of us believe that we are superhuman. Financial reasons also egg us on to take on added work but in the end if we cannot actually do the work, what is the point. Most freelancers like me, like to take on work and hope to deliver. I make sure that I do not take on volumes because it limits my concentration and the work is never constructive. Instead of adding to the work pressure if you cannot deliver, it is best to concentrate on the work that you can. The bottom line is to provide quality work instead of taking on volumes of business that you cannot complete.

Therefore…

In conclusion, when it comes to balancing the beam of work and home, quality is way better than quantity. If you cannot do the job, do not try, because you can end up with more than egg on your face. Bottom line – take on work that you can do, do not try to imitate anyone else. You are your own person and you know your positive and negative qualities better than anyone knows – get going and do something that you want and never something that you think you can do, but cannot.