Going Solo

Going Solo doesn’t have any branding yet. This is a standard WordPress.com design, which is preventing this site from being all naked until the branding is ready (normally, I’m told, this should be the case in roughly two weeks).

Now, in the meantime, I would like to be able to provide the nice people helping promote Going Solo with a pretty banner or badge to use on their blogs as fast as possible. So, here’s the dilemma: do I get something “quick and dirty” done (there is also some printed material I want to order… yesterday — LIFT will be here soon, you see), and have the “visual identity” of Going Solo change at some point, or wait?

What do you think?

PS: any standard dimensions out there for sidebar banners/badges?

After I wrote this post, my friend Stéphane (who headed the organisation of the Paris Web conference) remarked that this site didn’t really look like an event site — more like a “blog about organising a conference”.

It’s an event site. It’s just a bit… empty, sorry. I’ll be adding the expected pages shortly (venue, registration, programme, speakers, partners…).

This week is venue week. It’s venue week because I want to be able to tell the world that “yes, it’s certain, it is the 16th” — and also because I’ve heard you: you want to know how much Going Solo will cost (I don’t blame you) and I can only really fix that and point you to where you can sign up once we’ve settled a few details like The Venue. All sorts of things depend on the venue: what kind of visibility we’ll be able to provide sponsors (booths), exactly how many people we’re going to be able to accommodate, which of lunch or dinner will be organized, what colour bean-bags we need to find… and that’s just the start.

So, here’s a little summary of the venues visited today. (I’m not giving any names, to protect the innocent, though if you’re from Lausanne you can probably guess. Just guess in private, thanks.)

Venue #1 is the place at which I’d “pre-decided” to hold Going Solo. (Not sure if that was good English.) Somebody had told me about it, the location is ideal, so I thought — OK, we’ll do it there. All that without visiting or making sure it was free on the date (I just know their food is good because I’ve eaten there a couple of times.

Well, we had an appointment with the woman in charge of conferences. She showed us around but wasn’t overly friendly, I have to say (she seemed very much in a hurry, to the point that after 30 minutes she left with little ceremony saying she really had to go) — overall it didn’t really make me feel as they valued my business. Aside from that, the big hall is not free on our date, but they could accommodate us in a long seminar room. Unfortunately, no really nice break-out place and definitely nowhere to put booths for our sponsors and partners.

Other than that, it’s a modern hotel which looks really good, and it’s just a minute from the station.

The big hall is nice, and would be big enough for us to put a few sponsor booths inside the conference hall itself — but I’m not sure it’s the best solution. Add to that the rather cold “welcome”, we decided to pass.

Venue #2 was a much nicer experience. It’s also right next to the station, and though it’s slighly darker and older (in a stylish way) and not non-smoking (!), we were positively impressed with the very professional and friendly welcome we got. The woman who showed us around didn’t make us feel like we were using her time (although we just walked in without an appointment).

We could have a large enough conference room, a breakout area outside of it, and an extra, smaller room to extend the (rather too small) breakout area. With open doors and if we put thought into how we place booths and break tables, it could work. Their prices are competitive, too, with a “per head” seminar arrangement including sitting lunch with a choice of menus as well as the breaks. (As I discovered by going from hotel to hotel, this kind of arrangement is pretty standard, at least around here.)

Downside: to be honest, the slightly musty smell (carpets and smoke do not mix well, particularly after a certain number of years) — but I guess that could be taken care of with some ambient perfume 😉

Wifi is not included in the arrangement (also seems pretty standard). For a geeky conference like Going Solo (all those bloggers and podcasters and WoWers and Sypers — aware that Skype is P2P? — with iPhones and Palms and rabbits and Kindles) we clearly need to look for an external partner to deal with these matters. (Another headache looming up, I can feel it.)

Venue #3 made me go “wow”. They have a beautiful conference room, great food (I’ve eaten there before), a garden (May 16th could very well be warm and sunny here), and enough space surrounding the conference room to place 2-3 booths, maybe 4 — though there is not enough of this space as I would ideally wish for. I got a very friendly welcome, got a chance to discuss internet connectivity stuff with the tech guy who happened to be dealing with a stubborn window while I was talking with the events man.

I was also shown the hotel rooms — pretty posh, with a great view on the lake for some of them. They even have family rooms (a large room and bathroom with an extra smaller children’s room attached). Downside: a little more pricey (and the slightly tight “lounge space”, though if the weather is good we get the garden).

Choosing this venue would also mean that lunch would have to take place outside the hotel, for logistical questions, but we’d have dinner there (in the conference hall which doubles as a dining hall). It could be a nice arrangement too — I was planning to have one “meal out” (the evening one) anyway, Reboot-style.

Venue #4 I didn’t get to visit, but I’m putting it on the list because it could be an option. It’s not a hotel, but a kind of city hall (“Maison de Quartier”) just beneath the station. The local parish rents and uses part of it — the issue here is clearly one of standing, for a commercial conference. But I remember from attending a show there that there is a stage and a huge room, and that there is a dining hall just outside of it which would be perfect as a break-out area. I’d have to re-visit to make sure my memories aren’t toying with me — and if dates and all were OK, we’d still have to figure out if the “type of venue” would be a big issue or not.

Venue #5 is a little further away from the station (oh, what, a 5-minute walk). It’s a really beautiful hotel (the view of Lausanne from the 7th floor is just breathtaking).

Unfortunately, the large conference room is not that exciting. It’s big enough, that isn’t the issue. However, it’s a long-rectangle format rather than square, which means people sitting in the back would be really far from the speakers. It has quite a low ceiling, so that limits screen size (for the beamer). There is a nice big balcony with a beautiful view, but no space near the room to have a break-out area or booths — they usually serve the break drinks in the hotel lobby. If we wanted to place sponsor booths in that area, we would have to rent the hotel lobby too, which is not exactly cheap. (But it’s feasible.)

I was shown around by the hotel director, who was very nice and accommodating, even charming (it seems the quality of service I got this afternoon just increased as the day went along). This would probably be the priciest venue, particularly if we rent out the lobby too.

Venue #6 is not in a hotel either — it’s in the station building. So, location is fine — the windows are sound-proof, so you barely hear the trains (sound so faint the noise of fingers tapping on keyboards will drown it). I was shown two rooms (both pretty historical). The first is a little small, though it could probably hold us (but again, no break-out area or booths). The second is huge. We could most certainly place partner booths inside the conference room — but the problem would be that there isn’t really anywhere to go if somebody wants to flee the conference room. (Nowhere quiet to blog or chat in peace, for example — of course, I hope you’ll be listening to the great speakers I’m lining up with open eyes and ears, but I know that one sometimes needs a break.)

The restaurant would cover the breaks and probably lunch. As the person in charge wasn’t there I’m not sure if it’s available on the date, or exactly how much it would cost, but the approximate prices uttered sounded quite reasonable.

Venue #7 was a bit of a surprise. It’s a privately-owned hotel by the lake, and it doesn’t look too impressive from the outside (or from the reception area, which honestly, is a little dark). The owner came to show me around. They have a big hall (long-rectangle, sadly) with a hole wall of glass windows opening on the lake (that probably isn’t good English; what I’m trying to say is that there is a view straight on the lake, and the lake is 25m away). The view is absolutely stunning. I know we won’t be staring out of the windows during the talks, but it’s still a nice thing to have (I also brought you to Lausanne for the scenery…)

We could have the breaks in the café area outside the hall. However, no way to put sponsor booths there. We’d have to use the second, separate room a floor below for the breaks and place the booths there. Not ideal, again, but doable. (These booths keep coming up, don’t they? They are really important for sponsors/partners, right? It makes sense to me that they are, but I have to admit some confirmation at this point would be welcome.)

The pricing there is very competitive (both for the event and the rooms), and I have to say I personally like the touch of dealing directly with the owner. The conference hall is really very nice, and I think it should be possible to arrange the second room so that it’s a nice place to be during breaks.

I won’t tell you about venue #8, because I didn’t get to see the person in charge of events (he was busy), and I learnt afterwards from my logistics partner that she’d already called and were fully booked on our date. I also found the reception a little chilly, but maybe we were simply reaching busy check-in time.

So, there we are. Choices we have, but nothing obvious, for me. I thought afterwards that I should probably have taken my camera and snapped photos of all these places to show you :-). If you have any insight/input you’d like to share, the comment space below is yours.

I found myself wondering about a couple of things (things I thought were obvious, but which after visiting all these venues I’m questioning again):

• is it a nice thing for the speakers to be put up in the same hotel as where we hold the conference?
• is lunch at the venue good, or would people rather go out to eat? And in that case, eat at the venue in the evening?
• are booths really that important for sponsors? (As I said above, I guess they are, but I could be mistaken…)
• is having sponsor booths and break tables inside the conference hall itself an option?
• is it nicer to sit down for lunch or have a standing buffet?

There, you’re more or less up-to-date with what’s going on in my head on the topic. If you think I’m slipping into “excessive transparency” (as a few of you have hinted), feel free to let me know.

The LIFT conference is taking place in Geneva in a couple of weeks. Attendees are allowed to submit speech/workshop/discussion proposals. This is my proposal for an “Open Stage” — a 3-5 minute speech. It explains quite a bit of the spirit behind Going Solo, so I’m reproducing it here.

I thought becoming a freelancer would be rather easy: 18 months ago, when I quit my day job, the phone was almost ringing off the hook — and it seemed just magical that people were willing to pay me to do stuff that was so much fun.

That is, until I realised that I had to start thinking seriously about how much I was charging. Was it enough? Was it too much? How could I tell? Some people told me I was horrendously expensive, while others accepted my quotes so quickly I thought I should have asked double. I didn’t really know where to start.

Luckily, I had a few friends in the business. I mentioned my “how much do I charge?” problem — a bit timidly at first, but then with more assurance when I realised that they, too, were facing similar issues (or at least, had faced them at some point). “No, you’re not too expensive — you can charge at least this much!” “Look, here is how you figure out your daily rate…”

It didn’t make things easy as pie, but at least I wasn’t alone facing those issues (and the following ones) and I could benefit from others’ wisdom. That’s what communities are about, isn’t it? Soloists work alone, but actually need each other to collaborate on common projects projects or simply to share experiences and offer one another support.

There is a lot more to freelancing than doing the stuff we’re good at and passionate about. And there is a lot to say about this “business-y” stuff. It first really hit me when I was asked to go and give a talk about being a blogging consultant in Serbia a few months ago. People actually thought my story was interesting and inspiring!

So, when I started thinking about organizing events, I decided that the first one had to be for freelancers: Going Solo. The idea is to find the soloists with the best experience to share, and have them speak about it.

How do you fix rates? How do you close deals? Find new clients or help them find you? Deal with taxes? Find a balance between work and the rest of life? Adapt to the different kinds of clients you have? (I’ll share a tip or two I’ve learnt when I give my speech.)

I think these are questions all freelancers bump into at some point, and I want to offer people working solo or in very small companies the opportunity to firewall a day “off” to think about these issues and educate themselves about them in the company of those who have been “there” before.

If you’re coming to LIFT (and you should!) remember to keep an eye open for my Open Stage, and come and talk to me! I’m going to order Going Solo moo cards… very soon.

Here we go, with the promised post. I swear I’ve been wanting to write this “tomorrow” for a few weeks now, but something always gets in the way. It’s late and I have a mighty cold, but as I promised, here I am, typing away on my chubby MacBook rather late at night (my MacBook looks chubby now because the MacBook Air has just been announced… and it’d make any laptop look overweight).

When I decided to set foot in the event business, I pretty soon had a whole bunch of ideas for conference topics. As a first, I picked the one that seemed the most exciting to me: a conference about freelancing.

As a freelancer, I’ve learnt — sometimes the hard way — that it’s not sufficient to know how to “do stuff” well to be successful in business. I think many of us freelancers are in the business because we have a passion for which there is a demand (ie, people are ready to pay for this stuff!), and we often struggle with the “business” side of being self-employed.

Going Solo is a chance to learn how to do things like set your rates, make yourself known, close deals, find clients or let them find you, explain what you do to the world, find a life-work balance, or deal with administrivia in the networked world we web people work in.

I know that the best value people usually get out of conferences is the networking and the contacts, more than the actual content of the talks. I’ve had the impression, however, that this is starting to be used as an excuse for poor content, “false advertising” of talk topics, and lousy speakers. I want none of that. Of course, I want you to come to Going Solo and meet great people, chat with colleagues, enjoy the coffee with friends, and code in the bean-bags (I want bean-bags in the lounge — anybody got any?) But I also want the content to be rich, coherent, and well-presented. After all, that is primarily what you’re paying for.

Here is an initial outline of the topics I think are important. (This doesn’t mean that these are talk titles — this is stuff I want the various talks to cover.) I’d really like to hear you if you think I’m missing stuff out or including things that are irrelevant. This is for you, after all.

• skills a freelancer needs (doing the work, marketing and networking, contracts and cash flow)
• fixing prices, closing deals, negotiating contracts (the hardcore businessy stuff)
• what kind of work freelancers in the 2.0 world do (some jobs are more suitable for soloists than others)
• marketing and taking care of one’s social capital (blogging… and being a good online citizen)
• tools of the trade (what software/tools/methods can assist you as a freelancer?)
• coworking and staying in touch with “colleagues” (compensating for “working alone” — we remain social animals)
• challenges in making a passion into a job, dealing with the blurring of the life/work distinction
• international clients, travel, different laws and tax rules, accounting
• soloist or small business?
• adapting to different kinds of clients (in particular, how do you deal with big corporations that you approach or who have approached you)

As you can see, there is plenty in there to keep us busy for a day!

I’m happy to announce that Suw Charman, Stowe Boyd, and Martin Roell (all three great speakers and good friends) have accepted my invitation to come and share their experience as soloists and help you benefit from what they have learned over the years. We’re still in the process of determining the exact topics they will cover in their talks, but I already wanted to let you know that they would be here in Lausanne on the 16th.

As we will have more than three speakers (four if you count me, as I’ll probably grab the microphone to say a few words ;-)), I’m open to suggestions. If you know good speakers who could cover part of the program I’m outlining above, do let me know. I’m particularly interested in bringing in people from outside my immediate network — and for that I need you.

I hope you find this first draft of the programme as exciting as I do, and I’m looking forward to reading your feedback.

Cross-posted on Climb to the Stars.

Here we are. I’ve finally imported the blog posts I initially wrote on CTTS into this blog and the Going Far one. It wasn’t too difficult to decide which post went where.

I still need to clean up, add some static content, fool with the sidebar, polish the design once the logo arrives — but at least the site is there, with its own personal URL, and you can feel free to link to it. Actually, please link to it. Announce Going Solo on your blog. We’ll have badges you can display in your posts or sidebars shortly.

Oh. Sorry to disappoint you — not that kind of date. Yeah, just a calendar one. Before Christmas and end-of-year festivities interrupted my blogging about Going Solo, I wrote about the headache involved in picking a date for an event.

Over the last few days quite a few people have been asking me if the date I announced (May 9th) was “final”. My answer was: as final as it gets at this stage.

I met yesterday with my sales partner, and amongst other things, we double-checked the date. Two problems popped up: the first — and not the least — was that she would be in Africa on a business trip at that date. Oops. The second is that there are quite a few bank holidays around the 9th. The French are off on the 8th (victory WWII I think), and Monday is a bank holiday in Switzerland as well as France. Not mentioning that the previous week-end is a four-day week-end.

So, we looked at other dates. 16th May was good (there is even a possibly exciting collision with a music festival here in Lausanne in the evening — I’ll tell you more when I can) except for the fact that the Next08 conference is the day before in Hamburg. Well, the public isn’t exactly the same… so it’s not such a huge deal. My apologies, however, to the conference geeks out there who would like to make both of the events and who will end up having to squeeze travel in between.

So, please pull out your calendars, and scratch out 9th May (you’d written it down, hadn’t you?) and replace it with May 16th, the next Friday.

More news? Coming. I’ve been wanting to blog about the content I’m planning for Going Solo for quite some time now (always “tomorrow” — bad, I know) but “other stuff” seems to have developed a habit of getting in the way. No more of that, I promise. You can expect regular “Going Solo” news from now on — shortly on a dedicated blog which will be ready for public consumption as soon as I’ve imported all these posts and added a little content.

Aside from that, I met with a designer this afternoon to talk about visuals (a huge scary and opaque domain for me, I want to blog more about that) and we’re narrowing down on a venue.

Should I also give you some Going Solo updates via Seesmic, I’m wondering?

This was originally posted on Climb to the Stars. View comments on the original post.