Group | Director | Academy | Speaking
There are two and a half stories: The birth and growth of a unique association and the evolution of a solo pro into a CEO: IASECP’s Director and the Solo Pro Academy.
Lost in the Storm
IASECP initially set sail in 1997. What started out as a group of displaced creative professionals rapidly grew into a vibrant community of collaborators: A safe place to learn to navigate the strange and turbulent new waters of self employment.
It’s not freelancing, nor temp work. It’s a new business blueprint for the 21st Century. One that embraces virtual teams, technology-driven systems, and progressive new business models. An internet-base business blueprint with a foundation in collaboration, not competition. Learning to build collaborative partnerships allowed our solo pros to combine talents and extend their range of services – while maintaining their separate business identities.
This new flexible business blueprint allows for multiple business models to function together – much like the various systems in your car, with the solo pro firmly at the wheel. The power of this bold new concept is that it allows the solo pro to break free of the feast-and-famine plagued struggle of the traditional service-only based business model of the past.
You’re a solo-pro business owner. Now what?
Your education focused on developing your skills. No one taught you how to run a business. And business in the 21st Century isn’t business as usual. It’s a rapidly evolving arena that can seem like an overwhelming tidal wave.
IASECP: Because you can’t do it alone.
We’re here to show you how to …
• Structure your business for income stability
• Build a business you love instead of a job that drains you
• Position yourself to grow your business almost effortlessly
• Assemble teams and partnerships that make work fun and rewarding financially
• Focus on the right clients that pay you what you’re worth
• Pricing secrets for every segment of your business
• Set up you books so get the info you need to grow – and make your CPA happy
• Build a web presence that makes you stand out
• Create multiple income streams while maximizing your time and bringing balance to your world
And that’s just the beginning!
At IASECP, we’re committed to helping you get – and keep – your footing as a solo-based business owner. Sure, we offer a community of people just like you – folks who can answer questions, give solid business advice – and even partner with.
But we also offer:
• A core curriculum of classes to set your business up to succeed
• Focused self-study programs so that you can drill deep into one aspect
• Workshops and teleseminars to get training quick and then get right to work
• Group Q&A calls so you ask the expert to help on your specific problem area
• The latest business models that are working today – with step-by-step instruction on how to do it yourself
Business and technology is changing so rapidly that it’s impossible to stay afloat on your on. You’ll drown in the overwhelm. You’re self employed but you don’t have to do it alone.
And if you want the full story about how IASECP came to be, here it is:
A Unique Association | The Beginning
The middle of the 1990s saw seismic shifts in the corporate sector. Most notably, the elimination of many mid- to senior-level positions in the communication and creative service fields. The reason behind this shift is explained by an article called The Contingent Workforce.
The article explains that this concentrated downsizing was driven by the realization that many jobs are really projects with a beginning, middle, and end. It was more economical for businesses to hire professionals for the duration of these short-term, special projects. And so the contingent workforce was born. One of the main fields hit by this new way of thinking was the communication industry and its subsidiaries – like creative services.
The old gives birth to the new: The International Association of Business Communicators, whose mission is to serve this community of creative professionals, was doggedly trying to ignore this trend. Why? Because membership dues were paid for by the employer, not the increasingly displaced employees, and the association didn’t want to rock the boat.
Luckily, the president of the group’s chapter in Portland, Oregon was more forward-thinking. MarCom writer Ron Iseri created a special-interest group within IABC for these newly laid-off professionals. What started out as a bewildered, depressed group of copywriters, editors, graphic designers, and photographers grew into a thriving, vibrant community of newly liberated business professionals.
Within a year or two, the membership of this group far outstripped that of the local IABC’s membership. They – not so kindly – asked the special interest group to go out on its own. And that’s how SECP – the Self-Employed Creative Professionals – was born.
Pretty cool, huh.
But wait! There’s more. In 2010, we realized that the need for our community is world-wide. We added the words, International Association, to our already well-known moniker, Self-Employed Communication Professionals (changing from Creative to Communication also allowed us to better zero in on meeting our specific community’s needs). And since then we’ve been reaching out across the globe, bringing back the business brilliance we find there to share with our members everywhere.
The Evolution of a Solo Pro to CEO | IASECP’s Director
Barbara Saunders, Solo Pro Success Coach. Director, IASECP & Founder, Solo Pro Academy
I’m Barbara. I followed the rules we were taught. I earned my degree – in Commercial Art, at the time. I even went and studied in Paris; London; Florance, Italy; and Saltzburg, Austria. I got a job, worked hard and got laid off. I went back to school – because that’s what we were told to do – and earned a masters degree; this time in Graphic Design and Multi Media. Another great job, another layoff.
What’s wrong with this picture?!? After being laid off four times, I took the hint and began my journey as a solo pro. What an eye-opening experience! After investing several thousands of dollars in advanced degrees, I realized I knew nothing about running a business. (After all! You earned degrees to get jobs, right?)
The accidental cruise director: I was fortunate enough to have landed in SECP right after Ron had set it up. By that time, I was a competition graphic designer with a specialty in publication development. I had a personal passion for publications that focused on building communities. I was a natural to create the group’s newsletter. In 2000, I launched our monthly email newsletter which let people know upcoming events, project opportunities, member spotlights and more. Quickly our list grew to nearly a thousand people just in the little Portland, Oregon metro area!
Imagine all of those brilliant pros feeling so isolated…
Our monthly newsletter soon became the lifeline for many in our community. People began requesting information, events they’d like to see happen, wanting introductions to pros to team with – and businesses began taking notice and sending in projects for us to post. I love a lively community.
The down side is that it takes a while to learn how to steer such a large aircraft carrier. While Ron Iseri still had a soft spot for this unique group, he really had not planned to be the leader of a movement. As the newsletter pilot, I was the natural point of contact for people and I naturally began to be the ‘face’ of the group.
When the tide rises to float your boat, you need to rise with it
The floating of my own boat: I could not run this organization with credibility and integrity if I were not also a solo-based business owner. I started out ‘selling’ general graphic design services – like most graphic designers. But it just didn’t work. Spending my time and energy chasing clients just didn’t make sense. My business – Newsletter Associates - morphed into an ‘outsource communication department’ specializing in custom published periodicals like newsletters, annual reports, and company magazines for larger businesses.
It occurred to me to leverage the brilliance within our group and build teams for projects. I’d combine copywriters, editors and photographers to meet the needs of our clients. That worked – and it was way more fun.
I began an adventure exploring all of the new ways to form and run solo businesses. I put it into practice in my own entrepreneurial journey. Our monthly events revolved around sharing how to make business work in the new reality – finding the right clients, identifying pros to team with, creating and leading those teams, negotiating the pricing, wrangling multiple time-management demands, billing and paying team members - plus all of the new, rapidly evolving technology and new business models to keep the back end running smoothly.
A passion of unmet needs… A startling realization dawned on me. Other solo pros didn’t know how to run a business either. I made it my mission to seek out forward-thinking business experts in a variety of fields and booking them for our monthly networking and training events. People have been amazingly open to coming and teaching our members the secret behind-the-scenes workings of running a small business.
The Last Half of the Story
Our Solo Pro Academy was unofficially launched in 2004 with these monthly workshops. Today, we’ve got an entire program from concept through thriving in a solo pro business – or a pick-your-own topic approach. We pull together the most current business models – plus the strategies and tactics that make them thrive. Then we deliver them with step-by-step instructions – plus we walk right beside you as your business grows. As a community, we share the challenges – brainstorm the solutions, and celebrate the success.
Have IASECP’s Director Speak at Your Event
Do you have a group of people currently working for themselves or considering self employment? Why not get a fresh new perspective from someone not only living it, but teaching it every day?
Some topics include:
The Solo Pro Economy | Making Economic Changes Work For You
You’ll learn what’s really changed and how to take advantage of those changes. Especially great for professionals that have been laid off and are considering the transition to self employment – of for those already working for themselves and struggling to make it work.
See a sample PowerPoint here >>
3 Simple Steps to Break Free of the Feast & Famine Cycle for Solo Pros| Steer Your Business With Confidence
This presentations reveals the secrets to breaking free of the feast and famine cycle that most freelancers suffer from and gets them on the road to being a true CEO of their solo-based business empire.
See a sample PowerPoint here >>
Need a custom topic for your event? Let’s talk.
You can contact Barbara here or call 503-282-3694
