Do you have a vision of what your perfect day would look like? If you’re a parent then perhaps it’s a fun day with your family – no stress, no work to do. Or maybe it’s sending the kids off to school with smiles on their faces, leaving you to spend a few hours doing whatever you love.
Whatever your perfect day looks like, how far from it are you right now? Do you get to see the kids off to school moderately happy? Do you get to do something that you love? Do you get to pick the kids up from school and share their highs and lows? If these are the things you crave in life, but you’re not getting them, you’ll be pleased to hear that they could be closer than you think. And many more joys could be waiting for you too, once you take the step into consultancy.
How valuable is your time?
We all put a value on our time. For most it is an hourly rate. Whether you’re a solicitor, a plumber, a hairdresser or an IT technician. Most people are paid for the hours they show up to work, and that relationship between time spent and payment received is fixed in our mindsets. There aren’t many jobs that pay out irrespective of how many hours you put in. In fact you may not technically regard them as jobs, as they kind of break that familiar paradigm.
So it’s time for you to discard that tired old paradigm of how you should be rewarded for the hours you give, and instead look at your compensation in terms of how much value you add. This is the realm of the liberated mind, which eschews those outdated notions of what work is and how it should be done. This is the land in which smart people are rewarded for their input based on the value of their contribution, not for their skill in self-publicising or corporate brown-nosing.
However we’re not talking about a distant utopia here. We’re talking about work that is happening right now, all around you. It’s not the people who started a bakery business that went national, or the property developer that strikes the big deals and smugly drives a Bentley; it’s the consultant that services clients and makes big differences to their business, regardless of how long it takes them.
Break the habit
So many of us are stuck in the mindset of having a fixed fee for the time we work, but it’s crazy and doesn’t have to be that way. Instead we should look at the value a consultant adds to sales income through targeted advertising. A few hours’ work developing a marketing push for a product might result in tens of thousands in increased sales. As the consultant that recommended and implemented the marketing idea should you be rewarded with three hours’ pay, or with a more representative figure?
This is the pricing model which will allow you to manage your time more efficiently. As soon as you break away from the fixed relationship between time and money you free yourself and your time.
How busy do you want to be?
An inspiring entrepreneur and lady boss, Charlene Lull, manages her time very strictly and manages to make all the time she needs to raise her kids and nurture her relationships. She follows a regular routine which involves marking out specific times for specific activities. This really works for her as she works across several business interests as well as a non-profit, and so she needs to be efficient in how she services each one. However what is at the heart of Charlene’s time management is the time she needs to be with her three kids. It is a priority and so she allocates that time accordingly.
Charlene is busy, for sure. Some might say her schedule is relentless. But she is incredibly ambitious and driven; that’s her jam. Maybe your jam is to run your own consultancy and be there for your kids, and to make time for your friends during the week too. Or to devote some time to working with a local charity. Whatever it is, you can do it if you make the leap to becoming a consultant and running your own time. No boss. No clocking in and out. No office politics. Just whatever you want it to be.
Charlene is a member of the Social Media Mafia; a network of social media consultants committed to furthering the profession and spreading the word. Through the Social Media Mafia Academy we give you all the skills and knowledge you will need to change your life, and change how you work. Sign up now and take control of your time.