Photo by notsogoodphotography.

Many freelancers I’ve talked to can list a whole lot of positives to going solo. When asked about the downsides, however, I’ve found many people say that they miss the opportunity to talk about work with their co-workers. You know, not just telling your spouse that today’s client was a pain in the butt: real talk about your marketing, business strategies, changes in the market and the opportunity to bounce new ideas off people.

One solution for this missing-link is to start a sparring circle of freelancers. You can do this either online or live, for example, at a coffee shop (this has the added bonus of getting out of the four walls). The idea is to find a small group of likeminded people who have the same needs. That is, to talk about their business with others who’re interested and able to give feedback.

Here’s what we’ve found works for us in our small sparring circle:

1. Do the basics

Start by answering the basic questions in writing: Who are you? What do you want to do? Who are your clients? How will you reach them? What do you charge? Even the more experienced people in the circle should do this as circumstances have often changed since the last time they took the time out to think about these things. The answers to these questions put everything that follows into perspective.

2. Assign homework and check it

Doing the basics is a good first homework assignment. When you agree to start a circle and decide on your meeting time, assign this to everyone. Then at the first meeting, everyone should read it out and can then get feedback from the others.

In every session, everyone should be given homework by themselves or others. This could include updating your mailing list, trying that new idea for marketing, contacting that intimidating but potentially great mentor, or anything else that could further your freelancing carreer.

The sessions also serve as a way of being accountable. Leo Babauta at zenhabits.net talks about this often and it can really be a strong force in getting things done. A personal example: I finally got around to making a cold call that had potential but unknown rewards, all because of our sessions. I’d been putting it off for weeks previously, but I just didn’t want to go to the meeting and tell everyone that I’d chickened out again :).

3. Give feedback on each others homework and ideas

The idea here is to be realistic but encouraging. It’s no use to pat your colleague on the back if you really think that they’re heading for certain bankruptcy. But it is always in our power to choose our words in a way that’s not too harsh. If you’re doing a circle with people you’ve known for a long time you can usually speak quite freely and frankly without having to worry too much about getting a bad reputation as a naysayer.

And of course, remember to give applause when it is due! Circles are also a good place to share your successes.

4. Have someone to “chair” the meetings and make a loose agenda

This works for us, but it may be different for your group. We’ve found it helpful that there’s always a person at the meetings who’s thought a bit about what we’re going to talk about after discussing homework.

This doesn’t have to be too formal and structured. We sometimes use a printed Freelance Switch article, a passage from a marketing book, or whatever we think is interesting and that will get the conversation flowing. The chair-person just reads through the material in advance and introduces it to the circle. He or she might also see to it that homework discussions don’t take up too much time so you can get around to the “day’s lesson”.

5. Don’t make the group too big

In a small group everyone gets a turn at talking. This sparring circle is designed to encourage brainstorming, critiquing and idea juggling in action and cannot be done with thirty people. I’ve not been there, but I’d expect six people to be the maximum, and then you’d also have to make the meetings a bit longer. But see for yourself!

6. Incorporate people from different backgrounds

It is immensely helpful to get in freelancers from more than one area of expertise. Sure, it’s nice to talk about the latest speciality software or marketing theory in a group of experts, but it is much more rewarding to get input from people who will look at your ideas and problems from a distinctly different angle.

Of course, you should make sure that there’s always some common ground between everyone. However, being a freelancer and running your own business is usually already enough.

So go out, contact your friends and colleagues and start a sparring circle! It’s fun, easy and doesn’t take up more than a few hours of your time. It can really help you boost both your motivation and your career, especially if you’re still unused to working on your own.

Nick Dorra (www.nickdorra.com) is a freelance animation producer based in Helsinki, Finland. He’s always interested in new projects and can provide consultation on all things animated.

Nick Dorra

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