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August 4, 2010 5:34 PM Subscribe
YANA Image Consultant: What's the best way for a Jack of all Trades to present himself online?
My friend is a self-employed autodidact and a creative whiz. He's currently involved in: blogging in seven different places; in charge of developing nine websites; developing a short story into a script; location scouting for a low-budget indie film he's shooting; prepping a rip-o-matic for a small documentary (putting together a bunch of scenes to show the kind of atmosphere he wants); organizing a monthly invite-only dinner party for creatives; etc, etc. He's given speeches in front of congressional committees and done crazy social media campaigns.
He isn't so much a jack of all trades as he is a professional connector. His clients come from word of mouth, and after he develops an idea, he outsources most of the grunt/tech work to the right people with aesthetic final say. He knows enough about editing, design, and everything to tinker
A recent glowing LinkedIn recommendation included the phrase "gruff, snarky rockabilly." The problem? He just did some nonprofit work for a local education association and now has those contacts. He doesn't want to alienate the potentially racy clients or the nonprofits, but is concerned that his worlds are colliding.
He'd like to grow his business and expand his online presence, but because of the variety of projects he works with, isn't sure how to do it. (And because it's word of mouth, he's never had to rely on web-anything.)
So, how can he do it? Any websites/entrepreneurs who manage to bridge the gap, or successfully present a few different images of what is essentially the same business? Image consultant-type info? Any links, logistics, or ideas would be awesome.
My friend is a self-employed autodidact and a creative whiz. He's currently involved in: blogging in seven different places; in charge of developing nine websites; developing a short story into a script; location scouting for a low-budget indie film he's shooting; prepping a rip-o-matic for a small documentary (putting together a bunch of scenes to show the kind of atmosphere he wants); organizing a monthly invite-only dinner party for creatives; etc, etc. He's given speeches in front of congressional committees and done crazy social media campaigns.
He isn't so much a jack of all trades as he is a professional connector. His clients come from word of mouth, and after he develops an idea, he outsources most of the grunt/tech work to the right people with aesthetic final say. He knows enough about editing, design, and everything to tinker
A recent glowing LinkedIn recommendation included the phrase "gruff, snarky rockabilly." The problem? He just did some nonprofit work for a local education association and now has those contacts. He doesn't want to alienate the potentially racy clients or the nonprofits, but is concerned that his worlds are colliding.
He'd like to grow his business and expand his online presence, but because of the variety of projects he works with, isn't sure how to do it. (And because it's word of mouth, he's never had to rely on web-anything.)
So, how can he do it? Any websites/entrepreneurs who manage to bridge the gap, or successfully present a few different images of what is essentially the same business? Image consultant-type info? Any links, logistics, or ideas would be awesome.
BTW, I said "hire a business consultant," but I really mean "evaluate a bunch of business consultants and see what they think and how they think, then pick one to start working with."
I found mine through a recommendation from a friend and mentor.
posted by circular at 5:53 PM on August 4, 2010
I found mine through a recommendation from a friend and mentor.
posted by circular at 5:53 PM on August 4, 2010
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Over the next year or so, this guy is going to need to make some tough decisions, if he wants to do things right. Business consultants are there to help with that.
Now, a business consultant might recommend an image consultant, but a lot of what you're asking for is actually rudimentary business advice that can be dished out by somebody who takes the time to understand this guy and get a feel for his goals in life.
I say this because I hired a business consultant and within 6 months added 30% to my income and was able to find out what big questions I needed to answer. Now that I know what the questions are, I feel much more successful, even though I don't have the answers yet.
posted by circular at 5:51 PM on August 4, 2010