Alisa’s professional experience can be summarized in four words: she clarifies complex ideas. She speaks to audiences in a voice that they understand, and delivers projects on time and on budget. While she has been working independently since 2006, her professional experience spans nearly two decades and includes working with companies in the areas of medical devices, pharmaceuticals/genomics, network security, healthcare IT, and insurance fraud. In recent years, she has spoken at the Creative Freelancer Conference, the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), and the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA). Now she speaks with Conference Chair Chris Hester prior to the Summit, where she will be presenting Saving Your Sanity through Better Client Relations.
What do you enjoy most about working independently?
The flexibility. One of the struggles of working in-house was doing same thing over and over. Now I can choose my projects, both the types of projects and the types of companies. If I feel like I’ve been working on projects that are too technical for a while, I can move towards a marketing project. And I have experience with the healthcare, medical device, and technology industries, so that keeps it all interesting. I can work the different angles of my brain.
What was the motivation driving the idea for Saving Your Sanity through Better Client Relations?
A few years ago, I attended the first Creative Freelancer Conference, and I didn’t really know what I would get out of it. I thought I was doing fine on my own, but as I sat in the sessions, I realized how much I didn’t know. The lessons I took out of that conference helped me do my business differently. I redid my contracts, my website, my marketing materials, and my approach to client relations. You don’t realize what you don’t know until you hear other people have been in your situation and what they’ve done to make it better. I want to help people realize they’re not alone.
A lot of freelancers and small business owners have a problem saying no. We think saying no means forever, or no is going to end the relationship, so we need to think in terms of the strategically-placed no or the soft no instead. What are some ways we can build better relationships and maintain a balance of power?
Complete the sentence: “You should absolutely plan on attending these sessions if you …”
Feel like the balance of power is entirely in the client’s favor. I think I can help people work on making the relationship more equal.
In the session evaluations, we ask attendees, “What is the best idea you heard in this session that you plan to use?” What do you expect the top answer to be?
Everyone comes to the session from a different place, but for most people, it will be the no factor, that is, hearing that it’s okay to push back and say no. You can’t have a one-sided relationship, so you need to be able to say no confidently.
What are you looking forward to most in Phoenix?
It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to an STC Summit, so I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again. It’s one thing to communicate online, but it’s something else to get to see everyone face to face.
More about Alisa