Category: Marketing

Living Life, Marketing

Survival Mode: Newborn Business is Not Unlike Newborn Baby

Jennifer Mulchandani

In the past few weeks I’ve advised more than one client to blog more often; both to keep up the habit and help their SEO!  And yet, I find I have fallen out of the practice myself.  I am exhausted, exhilarated and just plain busy.  My business is going great.  The logo is done, the website is almost ready, and the client work is fun and engaging.  And I am having the most fun I’ve had in ages.  But I am so busy that some things that were normal are becoming hard to get to, like blogging, laundry and socializing with my mommy friends.

I realized today that this is the sort of fall-out I experienced after the birth of each of my kids.  Survival mode (but this time I’m getting adequate sleep at least!)  There is never a moment of being “done” — my business to-do list is equal or longer than my personal list, and the business is getting more attention than the personal.  Like a dirty diaper can’t go unchanged, a client email or prospect inquiry gets my full attention.

I am NOT complaining.  I chose this.  I love this.  I am giddy that, for the moment, things are hopping.  But I do look forward to the point where my pace can normalize, when the routine will emerge from the chaos.  With a newborn, its somewhere between 6-12 weeks (mine were always at least 12 weeks.)  But with a new business, when does the chaos subside?  I know some business owners who claim it never normalizes, and others that proclaim victory with running their own gig and the rest of their life.  I’m aiming to be the latter.  To schedule clients in such a way that my personal life get its fair due.

So if I fail to blog as often (or family, if your meals are boring and your house a tad upside down), please understand that I am in survival mode.  Drop off  made meals welcome, invite the kids for play dates, and somebody, please, offer to help me with my laundry.

Living Life, Marketing

“Mom, do you have a new job yet?”

Jennifer Mulchandani

7 days on the job market, and my kids have been asking this question for 5 days already!

How long should it take to line up the next gig, permanent job or even limited engagement client?  I find that at times I am on overdrive with desire to know what I’ll do next.  At at other moments, I find I don’t want to rush this.  I don’t want to make a move that isn’t right for me.  I’m caught in a vortex of thrilling excitement to know what is behind door #3 and a deliberate pleasure that comes from creating my own path, and crafting an opportunity that is just right!

Job searching is both a social and introspective endeavor.  The social part is great — I’ll have 3 coffee/lunch meetings this week alone! But the times at home, setting it up, figuring it out, requires a type of soul-searching that I have thus far found thrilling. How often in life do we really allow ourselves to spend hours focusing on what we like to do, how we see ourselves doing it, and then having the opportunity to work towards making it a reality?  I realize that not everybody gets this kind of time to ponder income earning opportunities, and I know that I am fortunate to have at least a short while to get my ducks in a row financially.  Not that 7 days is very long, but it has been a gift.

So what can someone get done in 7 days on the job market?  So far I have:

  • Gone nuts connecting with people on LinkedIn.
  • Updated LinkedIn profile at least 10x.
  • Told everyone I meet that I am looking for work.
  • Re-wrote resume.
  • Written personal emails to a dozen contacts.  Created a list of another 25 to reach out to.
  • Scheduled 3 in-person meetings with contacts to network.
  • Updated blog to include professional capabilities.
  • Created a business card (and put a QR code on it that links back to my LinkedIn profile).
  • Applied to one amazing job opening that feels like a long shot but would be perfect for me.
  • Had 1 interview with a placement firm.
  • Spent some time staring at my wardrobe wondering what people wear to live interviews!

Next up is registering for some in-person networking events, getting a website more flushed out, and hitting “go” on an aggressive outreach campaign to potential clients and employers.  I also need to figure out that clothing situation.

If you need help with marketing, I’d love to talk with you about how I can help you meet your business goals!  Check out my marketing page and let me know if you want to talk.

And if you have ideas to share on job hunting, please comment on this post!