Hey guys, and welcome! This blog is new and so is the podcast. I’m going to try and be diligent about producing content on a consistent basis for the first time in my career. I’m a web designer, so I might as well practice what I preach. 🙂
I don’t know if any of you out there are like me, but I often joke that I could never have a “real” job because I just don’t have the patience. I think I may even have ADD when it comes to projects. In fact, I know I do. I even wrote a book about how to run 1 day web design build sessions with clients.
What’s my point? Wait, I forgot… oh yeah! I’m an idea person. I’m constantly daydreaming and thinking of new projects and products, so when something sticks, I put everything I’ve got into it. The Naked Freelancer is one of those things with a high coefficient of friction. #nerdcred
The whole concept of starting this website, podcast and community stemmed from the fact that the freelancer economy is growing in numbers every day. People are choosing to be self employed or being forced to result to self employment because jobs in many cases are still hard to come by. Whatever the reason, people more and more are doing their own thing.
It is estimated that in the United States today, approximately 34% of the total workforce are freelancers. That number is expected to increase to 50% by 2020.
I run an organization called WIMP (Web & Interactive Media Professionals) out of Santa Rosa, California. It’s about an hour north of San Francisco and is a very rural area. Everybody in our local industry is spread out all over the place. It was really hard to even know there WAS an independent representation of our industry before we started our meetup group.
When people work for themselves, especially in a more rural area with a small population density, they’re harder to keep track of. We’ve seen evidence of this from our very own Sonoma County Economic Development Board. Instead of acknowledging independent workers, it’s often easier for an entire population of individuals to be ignored because it seems insignificant to the bigger picture.
WIMP has made enough noise locally lately that we’re finally beginning to be noticed as an organization that has the ear of independent workers and in a lot of ways can be a voice for our local industry as well. It’s a big responsibility, but it’s incredibly integral to the legitimacy of a movement to have a centerpiece; somewhere the outside world can look to when they need to hear how things actually are.
When it comes to freelancers like us – what resources do you think of? Where do you go to hear from people like you? There’s Elance, oDesk and Craigslist where you can go to hire people, sure. There’s The Freelancers Union which does a great job of giving people opportunities like insurance and is even a platform for industry-specific communities. But is there a way to really be heard? To tell your stories, have people listen, and elevate the reputation of an entire movement of fellow free-agents? Seriously, is there? It’s a big internet and I might not know of it!
Anyway, this is happening. The Naked Freelancer Podcast will not be another business podcast where you’re told how to do things and get motivated from strictly top-tier influencers.Yes, that’s great and I listen to those myself, but this is not that. The Naked Freelancer will be the voice of the freelance economy.
In my experience, the highest quality inspiration, impact and camaraderie comes from taking the time to get to know everyday hard-working people like you and me. I want the audience to get to know everyone that comes on the show on an intimate level, not just facts you can look up on the internet. I want my guests to come on my show ready to “get naked”, or be as open as possible about their businesses; good stuff and bad stuff alike.
I also want to extend the podcast to a membership area on the website where we can continue the conversation and build a real community. More on that later. 🙂
So that’s it, there are my dreams and ambitions. I’m excited about getting started and I can’t wait to see what happens.
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