“At some point or another, life punches everyone in the face. The punch may be hard, or it may be soft, but it’s definitely coming, and your success or failure is largely determined by the answer to a single question: how well can you take the punch?” — Jon Morrow

I've been publically quiet about the recent tech layoffs but they have hit me too. Three of my clients (Slack, Stripe, and Facebook) have had significant workforce reductions in the past few months. I love these teams and it's sad to see this happen to great people and terrifically talented teams!

Many more UXRs have reached out to me to learn about becoming independent consultants and transitioning into freelance. They often ask similar questions so yesterday I decided to organize an event to help more people learn about what it takes, share my approach, and lessons learned over my past 12+ years as an independent. I’ve learned, and continue to learn, what works for me and my clients, what doesn’t, and why.

Please join us if you’re interested in exploring independence, taking your consulting practice to the next level, and/or what to consider when HIRING independent talent. We'll talk openly about:

• Pros/cons of consulting compared to a full-time position

• How to evaluate and find potential clients/project work (DON'T push it uphill)

• Different work structures (hourly, project-based, retainer engagements, and more)

• Logistics and new skills to consider (e.g estimates, proposals, contracts, invoicing/bookkeeping, file sharing, tool stacks, and access to key people)

• Team cultural considerations (if the prospect has conducted research or not, whether they employ researchers or not, differences in UX maturity, start-ups vs. larger established organizations, deliverable fidelity, etc.)

• Red flags and gotchas (there WILL BE many!)

• Tactics such as how to price (and consider your taxes), 1099 income vs. third-party payrolling, how to invoice, who authors the agreements, where to get benefits, PTO considerations and planning, how to accept payments, quarterly estimated taxes, write-offs

• How and when to push back when a client says they want to do X, or within Y timeframe, or with Z segment and it’s either not the right approach, feasible, actionable, or ethical (this isn’t an IF, it’s a WHEN)

• How to set yourself and your client/independent up for success in onboarding and throughout the engagement

• Specific tools and templates for consulting work

• The role mindset and karma play.

I'm an open book. Happy to answer questions. There are no bad questions! This is scheduled on a Saturday so those who are still working (yet curious!) can attend as well. And if you were recently impacted by layoffs and or this presents a financial hardship for you, please email hello@curiositytank [DOT] com for a discounted or free promo code.

I send everyone impacted a big hug! Hope to see you there or see you soon.