Going Solo – how to do it right

‘Going solo’ – two little words which inspire excitement and fear in equal measure among most people who’ve ever thought seriously about quitting employment and becoming self-employed.

Whether you’re a freelancer, consultant or nascent small business owner your early days can very often feel like you’ve jumped out of the frying pan into a very hot fire.  Goodbye wage-slavery, hello where the hell’s my next meal coming from!

Or, more likely, an initial influx of work followed by a realisation that your negotiation skills, rates, marketing and much else needs to change and change fast if your new found freedom is to become a sustainable way of life.

That’s exactly what Swiss blogger Stephanie Booth discovered when she quit her job as a school teacher and went solo as a social media consultant. 

And it’s her own journey that’s inspired her to set up a one day conference specifically aimed at freelancers from all over Europe and particularly those working in an internet or web-related sector.

Going Solo, takes place on 16 May 2008 in lovely Lausanne, Switzerland.  Sessions look very practical and the speakers include some of the web’s best known freelancers: Suw Charman, Dennis Howlett and Stowe Boyd to name but a few.

And … I’m really pleased that SmallBizPod is a media partner for this event.  I’m sure many listeners of the podcast and readers of this blog could benefit from attending and if they’re anything like me from some fresh Swiss air in a beautiful location too!

Keep an eye out for a special episode of SmallBizPod on freelancing too.

Alex is the founder and editor of SmallBizPod, the UK's first podcast dedicated to small business, start-ups and entrepreneurship. Alex writes about topical small business issues, entrepreneurs and anything else that catches his eye here on the small business blog. http://www.smallbizpod.co.uk