Paul Amery

When you are in paid, permanent employment you generally have 1 thing to do – the job you’re employed for, or an approximation of it. Whilst also thinking about career development, organizational politics and getting your work delivered, it’s fair to say delivering is your primary concern. You deliver, you get paid, you go home.

When you make the change to working for yourself as a freelancer, there are now 3 things to consider:
(1) Attracting clients and finding new work
(2) Delivering
(3) Getting paid, and finding repeat business

Let’s look at each one in turn, and allow me to share some insight I’ve gained…

(1) Attract clients: Your primary objectives here are to build reputation and awareness, and secure a consistent pipeline of clients and projects. Easier said than done. So how do you ‘keep the pipeline flowing?’ Recruitment agencies are with a few exceptions a waste of space. They make estate agents seem like Ghandi. I will never understand how someone paid to find people work can be so lazy and unfocused. They key to working with agencies is to engage them well, find the best, focus on specific roles and build a long term relationship. For senior roles I highly recommend Bryn and the chaps at http://www.hoggett-bowers.com/. They take the time to match make clients and potential employers. But they are the exception.

You will hear a lot of ‘Yes’ noises from potential clients. This generally means ‘Maybe’, so it’s important to remember nothing is secured until you are paid. I’ve felt generally cheesed off at potential client projects being pulled (JP), but it’s like when you are newly dating women – a number games. Get more numbers and you’ll increase your chances.

Get your website looking good, some sharp business cards and a set of doc templates with your logo. Don’t spend too long though, most contractors will tell you their business is either repeat or word of mouth.

The other way to attract clients is what I’d call ‘Give to Get’. Get yourself seen at networking events, speaking assignments etc.

I recently spoke at http://www.iqubed.biz/blog/2008/06/26/ltas-event-venture-capital-both-sides-of-the-fence/ and I am hopeful it will lead to a few more clients. A new service I will be launching soon is ‘360 reviews’, where I will do a free 1-2 page product review for a company with a subsequent paid for Skype call and more detailed analysis. This seems a good option for cash-strapped Internet startups, and judging by the feedback so far – quite in demand.

(2) Deliver: The number one tip I can share it to stay humble. You may have commanded hundreds of dedicated workers in your previous permanent role. Chances are as a contractor/consultant you won’t. In many ways you will be one of the most junior people there. So you will need to lead by influence. Get off your behind, meet as many people across the company as possible. Get known, get respected and absorb as much people, process and product information as you can. Contractors are expected to hit the ground running, so build good relationships with smart people who can help you deliver and find new projects.

(3) Get paid: If the contract is signed and you’re working on a fixed term contract, this should be no problem. But be cautious. If you are working on other types of work (non-retainer) perhaps work on 50% payment in the first time period, and the rest of completion. You are not working for charity, so be firm when it comes to managing your wealth pipeline. For retainer (e.g. 5 days a week for 3 months) the key question is whether you go Limited and pay yourself dividends, or use something like (in the UK) a PAYE Umbrella company. I opted for the second choice based on keeping it simple. After a year of contracting you can switch to a LTD, but for early days a PAYE company – which effectively means you work for an accounting-group setup company, is simpler and quicker. You can always switch. I use http://www.360-group.com/

I am in my new place in Bristol (West of England), kicking back on the sofa after work and listening to the sweet sound of James Brown ’Make it Funky’

Henry Rollins used to say James Brown never failed to motivate him when he working out in the gym. I know what he means.

 So, a quick catchup…. Still freelance product managing in the U.K, working on Orange’s biggest new business service of 2008. They seem delighted with my performance. 

Well today is my birthday. Life isn’t measured by the amount of money in your bank, the number of friends or the size of your house. It’s simply ‘was it Funky’?

I’ve had a lot of comments from my last blog. And all credit to Skype - they move fast when they want to. It’s not for SDP to fix partner relations on their own, or any individual partner facing teams (Affiliate etc). It needs (1) Proper exec buy-in, not just lip service (2) Evangelism £££ (3) A co-ordinated partner vision (4) Real value and support for partners.

I hear they are working on the issues I raised and we’re all looking forward to seeing progress. An example they can look to is Orange, who manage to put their partner program centre stage, fully backed by the group CEO team.

When it comes to figuring out how to play with partners, I was given this advice a few years ago. It’s based on the idea of naval territories:

• Blue seas: Start by communicating clearly what is your competency, and where 3rd parties can complement. For example … we build the core product, 3rd parties do skins, plugins etc
• Red seas: (think Battle of Trafalgar - aka bloody water) Once partners know you might compete with them directly or even try to close them down, you are both free to move forward. That shouldn’t stop partners building similiar offerings - but you can “I told you so” when you start sending legalise.
• Grey seas: Honesty is the best policy. It’s ok so say “we might compete with you, you might fill a gap, but to be honest - we’ve no idea”.

There’s a classic scene in the Martin Scorsese film ‘Goodfellas’ when Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) is talking to Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). I bet some of you have almost memorised it. Here’s a snippet…

“Henry Hill: You’re a pistol, you’re really funny. You’re really funny.
Tommy DeVito: What do you mean I’m funny? (much further on…)

Henry Hill: Just… ya know… you’re funny.

Tommy DeVito: You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it’s me, I’m a little ****** up maybe, but I’m funny how, I mean funny like I’m a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I’m here to ******’ amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?”

It’s a brilliant piece of improvisation, the tension is only cut when Henry Hill realises it’s a joke.

But here’s the thing, jokes are a two way thing - meaning both parties get it. Otherwise it’s not funny.

In particular I ask what’s the joke for software partners? I checked https://developer.skype.com/ to clarify. Skype promised in 2007 a re-branded new web site, Skype web services, improved partner relations etc. And what do you see? 1 newsletter, a blab about Skype Find and nada. Hardly rock and roll.

Now - you will say it’s sour grapes considering my pre-Christmas kick as Director of SDP. But it’s not. I am a huge Skype technology and company fan - I am constantly evangelising it and showing friends how to install it.

And I don’t intend to break the terms of my ‘keep your mouth shut Amery’ agrement and get a visit from the eBay thought police. This is not a criticism of Skype people. BUT WAKE UP!!!! Skype’s leadership team has an extremely loyal base of thousands of small developers who helped it get where it is. If they were cranking out MySpace integration deals every month their lack of partnership focus would be excusable as they focus on the big guns. But they’re neither playing large or small. Time for some solid leadership. Skype are smart cookies, IF they want to fix this they will.

So what would I do? Here’s what.

1. Hire a former Microsoft, Intel or Salesforce partnerships thought leader to bring together all the partner facing teams (developers, hardware, retail etc) under 1 roof,with 1 vision.
2. Forget about Extras revenue share and allow a degree of advertising. You’ve got to get your money from either users or advertisers - and I doubt user-based revenues are going to crank up anytime soon
3. Learn to trust others: Part of the challenge any smart company has - is, well - they are too smart. With hardware it’s simple - it’s not a core competency. With software it’s tougher - much tougher in fact to trust others. Skype needs to clearly decide and communicate it’s core software competency, and then partner out the rest. Currently it’s not clear, and partners dance cautiously around Skype hoping to at least not get broken toes.

If I were a Skype Extras partner, I would be wondering if my Time ROI was worth it. Distributing to 250million users might sound good to your investors, but with no better client placement, and when you’re not generating enough revenue to pay the electric bill - it’s funny how?

Apologies for the delay. Been busy don’tcha know!

I am delighted to be starting work for my first client - Orange, focusing on New Product Delivery for Orange’s business customers. I left Orange in 2005 as Head of Strategic Partnerships to pursue other opportunities, but it’s nice to be back. Initially a 12 week full engagement, possibly longer. The future’s bright as they say in Orange.

Several other opportunities have come in, and I struggled with not taking them - but trying to juggle a couple of 1-2 day a week projects for different clients is just too much complexity and cashflow risk for a new consultant like me. Keep it simple was good advice - thanks Mary! I’m hoping after this project to build up a good client base in the following. Please contact me asap if you’d like my services starting May or September:

• New Product Management
• Startup Growth
• ISV Channels and Business Development
• Developer & Partner Program design/outsourcing
• Industry Research and Evangelism
• General consulting: Social Networking, 3rd party content, APIs, Mobile delivery

In response to a couple of people asking me what the Liddysoft core services are, let me explain here. The form of work can range from a 1-2 day product review & SWOT analysis, strategy workshops to interim CIO/VP  roles. I  do retainer or performance-based consulting for activities such as new channels & alliance creation.  Some services will need to be EU-based, but others (product reviews) can be long distance.

More another time..

So here’s a deal. Anyone who refers me leading to work; whether 1 day consulting workshops or a longer-term piece of work - I will give a 10% referral fee. Friends do for friends, but money makes the world go round and right now it’s all about getting my pipeline flowing.

In addition, I am looking for a “Liddysoft link” in the U.S. and Japan to keep an eye on local opportunities for me. Someone who is connected. In this case, higher referral fees apply.

So dig into your address books and earn some additional $$$ helping me job hunting (shoku sagashi as they say in Japan).

I will explain the ‘big 10′ services from Liddysoft in the next post. In the mean-time, any questions - just shout.

I can officially announce that my Technology Consulting business is live and kicking. Very close to contract signing for client 1, with a couple of slower-burn channel & bizdev contracts in place for other clients.

The entire route to market for ISV’s is both interesting and lucrative. I want to be the guy who is (a) the industry expert (b) the fix-it-guy for key players along the chain (ISV, VC, distributor, channel) (c) the platform & ecosystem builder

Just need the website sorting out now, so I can transfer the consulting info from this site to it. If you know an inexpensive & good web developer wanting a few $$$ or £££ please ping me.

Very happy indeed!

Three good lessons this week…

1. The world moves slower but faster when you work for yourself. You get things done lightning fast, but suppliers don’t when you no longer can say “I work for enormously large corporation.com”. You have got to hustle, and follow up-follow up-follow up to get anything done. Obvious maybe, but it makes me appreciate why even small partners need paying and communicating to quickly. Delay hurts.
2. It’s all about numbers. A good friend advised me to calculate my H1 burn rate (what I need each month to survive) and think about the money pot in terms of retainer work (meaning for example 40 days for Project X over 4 months) and ad-hoc work. Or rocks and pebbles as he calls it
3. Don’t undersell yourself. If you have specialist knowledge and you are good - then reflect that in your pricing. Sure, don’t overprice - you want a client to be comfortable, but at the same time have balls.

Banish the January blues!

Come join us at the upcoming bash for Skype Alumni, 2007 leavers and existing Skype employees. 

(Note: this event is not organised by Skype)

For: Skype Alumni & leavers, existing Skype bods and partners

When: Thursday January 17th, 7pm onwards

Where: Jerusalem Bar. 33-34 Rathbone Place. Oxford St. London W1 1JN. Look for Skype table

I just picked up a couple of blogs which were a lovely start to 2008. I was listed as one of the top 20 VoIP industry influencers of 2007. A great accolade indeed.

• Skype Journal summary article
• VoIP news list of “top 20 VoIP Influencers of 2007“.

To quote VoIP news, the list includes ‘those who caused the most change directly or those who are influencing change in all kinds of ways — including changes that may not be felt in the market for years.’
This achievment reflects the work of a lot more people than just myself. Despite recent hiccups, Skype continues to be a team effort.

Thankyou.

May I wish a Merry Christmas to my blogees. Or Happy Holidays if you prefer.

Christmas and significant life events (marriage, redundancy etc) are sparks that re-ignite our natural need to connect and be part of a community. I’m a fairly active socialite and networker, but recent events have moved me up a gear. Reading this blog is itself an expression of a need to connect & strengthen our self-security through knowledge. C.S Lewis once wrote “we read to know we are not alone”

2 articles & sites have interested me recently related to the issue of how to connect and measure my network.

1. Robert Scoble’s post on how his connections add value to him, and their preferred media for connecting. Interesting read, perhaps more notably by the absence of Skype, or email for that matter
2. Last month I started playing with Xing’s new tool, MyNetworkValue (MNV) which associates a $$ value to your social network after your enter a series of questions. I like the tools and the idea, but it lacks sophistication right now and something like this really should be integrated into platforms such as Linked in where it becomes directly relevant. Still, it’s fun to see who has the highest MNV in your team at work or amongst friends.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to see people quoting their MNV on resumes in future. We hear the cliche “It’s not what you know, but who” all the time, right? If it came down to decision time for a potential employer, MNV might be the tipping point.