Be Prepared for That Crisis Moment When You Need Business Backup

A recent experience with a contractor reminded me of the value of networking when we’re dealing with a crisis.

I had tried to reach the electrician company I’ve used for a couple of projects, asking when they might be able to help with swapping ceiling light fixtures from one room to another. It took more than a week and a second message for the owner to get back to me, and it turned out that he’s been “living on pain pills” in anticipation of hip surgery next month, and his assistant — his only employee — has been kept busy with not just their projects but ones for the assistant’s parents as well. Needless to say, I’m still waiting for my project to be done. (Yes, I could try finding another contractor, but I would prefer to use someone who’s already done good work for me.)

That made me think about what I would do if, heaven forbid, something happened that would prevent me from being able to write, edit, or proofread, whether temporarily or permanently.

Over the years, I’ve had those situations arise, from major surgery that went wrong and created seven months of recuperation to shorter-term ones involving a few days in the hospital to a day of stomach flu or simple exhaustion. Not to mention dealing with losses — my dad, my mom, my husband — which meant handling not just grief but all of the administrative details that follow. Oh, and a couple of long-distance moves as well.

My first step has always been to notify my regular and ongoing clients that I would be out of pocket for a while. For most of those situations, I’ve said and found that I could keep working, just at a lesser level — maybe a little more slowly than usual, or returning projects in a couple of days rather than immediately. Having work to do has been helpful as a distraction from chaos or crisis, and an incentive to get back to normal as quickly as possible. My regular clients have usually been understanding and supportive, and haven’t dropped me over being temporarily (thank goodness) unavailable.

If a prospective client with a big new project reaches out to me while I’m dealing with such situations, I say I might not or won’t be available at that moment and ask if their project can wait until the situation resolves. Most have said they’ll wait until I can work on their material, which is quite gratifying. On the few (luckily) occasions when something couldn’t wait, my connections made through networking stepped in to help.

There’s also the need for a vacation, or at least a short break from our daily routines — we all need some time off at some point, especially those with partners or kids. Whether or how we need to negotiate that time off depends on the type of client or project we have; some deadlines are more flexible than others.

Where does networking come into these scenarios?

If you’ve built up a strong network of colleagues with similar skills and experience, you have a safety net: people you can trust to take on client projects while you handle whatever is affecting your life at the moment. People whose work and ethics can be relied to be at least as good as you are — and who can be trusted not only to do good work on your behalf, but not to steal the clients!

These are relationships that don’t happen overnight. They require time and effort, and paying attention to the posts and perspectives of people we meet through NAIWE and other professional organizations. We have to be visible ourselves, and give something back to an association and colleagues so we’re known as someone who is not just skilled and experienced, but worth working with and helping. That’s networking at work.

For NAIWE members who aren’t actively visible here and might want to be the ones called on when colleagues need backup, now is the time to start showing up — with blog posts, success announcements, presentations, memberships, event attendance, etc. Even asking questions that colleagues might answer, and thus provide useful advice, gives you a presence and positions you as someone with professional curiosity and rigor, willing to learn and share knowledge.

Beyond NAIWE, make sure you’re visible on LinkedIn, have a website of your own, and contribute to social media conversations about what you do and who you are.

As the one with work to hand off, don’t be afraid to ask about colleagues’ training and skill levels, style guide familiarity, etc. Be prepared to vet colleagues who might be good candidates for when you need a break or a hand. Consider developing an editing or proofreading test to have on hand if and when needed, so you don’t have to come up with that under the pressure of a crisis.

Here’s wishing all of my NAIWE colleagues safety and good health — and the presence of mind to protect our businesses by being prepared for emergencies.

 

Ruth Thaler-Carter
The Networking Expert

Ruth Thaler-Carter has been a full-time freelance writer, editor, proofreader, desktop publisher, and speaker for more than 40 years. She has been published locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally in, and does writing, editing, and proofreading for, publications, associations, nonprofits, websites, service firms, independent authors, and businesses. She sold her first freelance articles when she was still in high school. Often called the Queen of Networking, Ruth is active in about a dozen professional associations, serving as a newsletter editor, webmaster, publication author, speaker/presenter, blogger, program host or planner, and chapter leader. In 2006, Ruth launched the Communication Central Be a Better Freelancer conference — now cohosted with NAIWE — to help aspiring and established freelancers find greater success. Ruth is also owner and editor-in-chief of the An American Editor blog and owner of the Publishing with Flair publishing business. Her honors include member of her high school alumni hall of fame, in part for her publishing work and networking services; Writers and Books Big Pencil Award for teaching adults and contributions to the literary community; EFfie awards for writing, editing, and newsletters; an APEX award for feature writing; the Philip M. Stern Award of Washington (DC) Independent Writers for service to freelancers; and IABC/DC Communicator of the Year and Silver Quills for magazine writing and newsletters.