👋 Welcome to Independent Insights, where we gather member wisdom and expert insights from Pollen to take your consulting business to the next level. This will give you a glimpse of what's happening inside Pollen. 🔗 Any events or resources linked are open to everyone. ➡️ Apply to join Pollen for access to Pollen and full membership benefits. |
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| 🗓 Get live expert wisdom at these upcoming events |
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We know that in 2024, a virtual event had better deliver value for it to be worth your time and attention. That’s why we prioritize bringing in the experts who will share tactical advice and wisdom, so you walk away from the events with practical steps to move your business forward. Join us at one of these upcoming events: April 16th: Making Your Time Count as an Independent with bestselling author Nir Eyal Gain valuable insights into the mindset of successful entrepreneurs, learn practical methods to reclaim your focus in a noisy world, and master the art of saying 'no' gracefully. Free and open to everyone April 16th: Implementing Successful Bookkeeping Workflows with Expert-in-Residence Nacondra Moran Learn how to master bookkeeping best practices, implement time-saving automations and rituals, and uncover opportunities for growth through enhanced management and transparency in your financials. For Pollen members only April 29th - May 8th: Sprint: Sales and Content Strategy with Richard Moore Build a high-converting sales and content engine focused on relevant messaging, nurturing, strategies for sales calls and closing techniques. Included in Pollen membership — apply to Pollen to gain access |
💭 Member roundup: Your key insight so far this year |
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Amélie asked the community for the insights you’ve had so far in 2024. Amélie shares first: Stability ≠ income. Realizing that stability and expectability (through retainer agreements), not just higher earnings, was key to allow me to focus on sustainable growth and planning with confidence, rather than operating from a place of scarcity (and trying to save as much as possible to get me through between contracts). Lizabeth: Connection and support are my learnings this year. My business is built on relationships and it’s strategically imperative that I carve out time to develop and nurture connection to support my growth. What’s your key insight so far this year? Share in the discussion. |
👭 Community wisdom: What to do when your friend is your client |
With so many businesses built on network relationships and referrals, it’s likely that at some point one of your friends will become your client. Having your friend as your client presents unique opportunities and challenges. Pollen Head of Platform & Community Sam Sorscher shares how to avoid any potential negative impact with the blurred relationship lines: - Get ahead of it: Before you start, have the conversation. What happens if we disagree or can’t see eye-to-eye? What if you don’t like the quality of my work?
- Communication channels: As tough as it can be, establish where the lines start and stop with professional and personal communication. Though social media can serve as a helpful source for inspiration-sharing, save that for personal comms.
- Feedback mechanisms: Giving feedback is already hard, so this is the perfect excuse to proactively implement a structured way to give and receive feedback about work. Get those regular check-ins or project-reviews on the calendar, so they can help address issues before they escalate.
- Exit strategy: While not ideal, have a pre-communicated plan for how either of you can exit the professional arrangement without harming the personal one. Don’t get too deep, but play with best and worst-case scenarios.
Do you have any learnings or questions about personal-professional blurred relationships? Share them in the members discussion. |
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🎙 Use this Asset: Podcast creation process |
Anna shares her 12 step action plan for creating a podcast, from inviting guests to recording and analyzing success. Members can access the Asset here. Pollen Assets are shared pieces of work to empower your fellow consultants with practical insights. Assets come in all shapes and forms: from a Notion document, slide deck, workflow spreadsheet, or marketing campaign. |
🗣 Start a discussion in new Pollen community channels |
Like our businesses, we want the structures of our community to evolve alongside you. Based on member feedback, we made some updates to Pollen’s community space. With these changes, our goal is to simplify your experience, save you time, and prompt spaces that allow us to dig deeper with each other. What can you expect now? - Say 👋 to three exciting, new channels: #Random, #Revenue Streams, and #Refer a Member!
- Alphabetized ordering to save you time and keep you sane.
- Find all relevant consulting topics under ‘Business Discussions’. Now all conversations will be visible and available to you, whether you’re an expert or not.
- We merged a few channels and said goodbye to others. Some topics have met their end: #Content & Writing , as well as #Tool & Operations. For all discussions related to Product, Design, HR & Ops, we encourage you to post in #General or other related spaces.
- We split out Sales from Branding & Marketing. While we know #Sales and #Branding & Marketing can be deeply intertwined, we’re giving them intentional breathing space for their own distinct needs.
If you have any questions or feedback, we'd love to hear it. | |
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Apply for membership for full access |
Pollen's members get full membership benefits. A membership gets you: Access to Pollen’s community of fellow independents One-on-one advice from Experts in Residence Compensation benchmarks Monthly expert-led sprints Accountability groups Shared wisdom from small expertise groups Dozens of community contributed Assets Discounts to over 100 tools Custom legal contracts |
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Have a great day! The Pollen Team |
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