Thought that might get your attention! Well perhaps not quite world domination but I do believe that us working mums are ideally positioned to build our businesses and actually gain something positive from the economic crisis we find ourselves in.
Something positive to say in amongst the doom and gloom and the “Don’t panic Mr Manwering!” type attitude the media can’t seem to get enough of? Well actually yes and it makes a nice change doesn’t it?! I’m no authority on the economy and I certainly don’t wish to position myself as an expert on surviving the credit crunch (although, as a marketing consultant, I can certainly help companies develop marketing strategies to raise their game and differentiate from their competitors) but when I look around and talk to colleagues, contacts and friends it seems to me that the people booming while others flounder are the freelancers and small work-at-home businesses.
I am a freelance marketing consultant and work-at-home-mum and the work that I do often requires me to use other freelancers to deliver client projects. I use specialists for particular types of work that require skills that I don’t have or I don’t have the time to do myself including graphic designers, web developers, PR specialists, telemarketers, photographers, administrators etc. I use freelancers because it’s a cost effective way of doing things, it allows me to use the people who will be particularly suited to the client and the project and I know that they will deliver and not de-value my own brand because I have worked with them many times before and trust them to do a good job. These are the people whose businesses are booming!
In a climate where companies are laying off staff and even going under, all the freelancers that I work with have never been so busy and that is exactly what is happening in my own business. This made me wonder why and the conclusion I have come to is that it’s down to the flexibility and affordability that a freelancer brings to organisations of all sizes.
People who run a business from home, and that includes us WAHMs, are equally as qualified, experienced and resourceful as larger companies offering the same products and services but we have an enormously powerful bargaining tool at our disposal and that is the cost saving that we can pass on to our clients. We don’t have expensive offices, big staff bills or fleets of company cars to maintain and this can make a huge difference to the fees we charge and at the end of the day, the service we provide is just as good as any of our more sizeable competitors.
I personally think we also offer extra flexibility and a more personal service. Because we are always the central point of contact and we work on every client project personally we know the client and the project inside out and we build a relationship with them. We’re also prepared to go the extra mile if we need to because it’s OUR business and we want to make sure the job is done well. We’re not working for a monthly salary or as part of a corporate machine, we reap the benefits that we sow and we see direct results from our actions. Yes, we may take time out of our day to put another load in the washing machine or pick our children up from school but we will no doubt make that time up and more by doing a couple of hours in the evening or over the weekend or even at the baby’s nap time because we’re dedicated to what we do.
Clients see this and they keep coming back. Even companies who would have never used the services of a freelancer before are seeking us out because they know they need still to market their company, access admin services, control their finances, manage their HR function etc and they may not have the internal skills to do that. We represent the best solution for their needs at a cost that is affordable and that, my fellow mumpreneurs and freelancers, is why we are about to take over the world!
Sarah Ainslie runs Sarah Ainslie Marketing, offering creative marketing solutions to UK businesses. http://www.sarahainslie-marketing.co.uk
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