Sounds like Dick should hire Lisa to do his overflow work. ;-)
--- Dick Margulis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Lisa Gielczyk (TCP) wrote: > > > > I'm open for contracting if anyone knows of > anything, and own Word and > > FrameMaker. Something will come up, I know. It's > just a matter of > > time. > > > > Lisa, > > Admittedly, I have not been following the > blow-by-blow description of > your efforts to date, nor am I quite sure what > business you spent all > that time writing a plan for, so some of this may > cover old ground... > > 1. Transferable skills > > The last time I drew a paycheck as a computer > programmer was when I had > a summer job during college, in 1965. But that, > combined with only > limited exposure to PCs and some obsolete work > experience in the > printing industry, a few hours of PageMaker > experience on my own > account, and a few writing credits got me my first > tech writing job in > 1993. The last time I was fired, in 2004, I decided > I was tired of being > fired and tired of working in cubicles; so I decided > to go into business > for myself. I assumed I would mostly be doing > contract tech writing. > Guess again. The bulk of what I do is editing and > book production for > self-publishing authors. > > In other words, think about the skills you have and > the industries where > they might be applicable other than the ones you've > already worked in. > Include avocational skills, too. What do you know > how to do because of > living life, rather than because you took a course > or had a job doing > it? Do people admire your garden? Maybe you could > design gardens. Do > people love your parties? Maybe you could be a > caterer or a wedding planner. > > 2. It pays to advertise > > I don't see a link to your Web site after your > signature. I don't see a > link to your blog after your signature. Where is > your Web presence? And > how do you drive visitors to your site? I recently > suspended my Google > AdWords account because those ads brought me enough > work that I don't > need to attract any more clients right now. Yes, I > spent a bunch of > money to get those clients, but it was money well > spent. And if my > backlog drops, I'll spend it again. Meanwhile, I > keep getting new blog > visitors, and occasionally they become clients--and > that's free. > > 3. Dignity of work > > Working is better than not working. And all kinds of > work experience are > valuable in some way. You'll learn more about > customer service working > behind a deli counter, for example, than you'll ever > learn working in > any capacity in a software company. You'll learn > more about consumer > psychology selling cars or magazine subscriptions > than you will from any > textbook. There are lessons to be learned on factory > jobs, construction > jobs, and all kinds of other jobs. Are they what you > want to do for the > rest of your life--or even the rest of the year? > Probably not, but take > what you can get when you can get it, and then keep > working on the > long-term plan. > > That's it for my attitude adjustment lecture. Take > what you want from it > and leave the rest for someone else ;-) > > Dick > http://www.dmargulis.com/ > http://ampersandvirgule.blogspot.com/ > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545433 ______________________________________________ Author Help files and create printed documentation with Doc-To-Help. New release adds Team Authoring Support, enhanced Web-based help technology and PDF output. Learn more at www.doctohelp.com/tcp. Interactive 3D Documentation Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Need help? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
