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Life is more than cranking widgets
Hosted by David Sparks and Mike Schmitz.
David Sparks and Mike Schmitz are not nearly as productive as they’d like to be. Join these fellow travelers (and a bunch of special guests) as they share the best ways to get focused, and talk through their successes and failures along the way.
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Latest Episodes
#19: Nobody Grades You on the Scaffolding
April 18th, 2017 · 59 minutes
Every independent worker will agree that being organized is important. But should you adopt an organizational system? How can these systems help you, and are they worth the investment? Jason and David detail their own personal organization systems and discuss approaches to getting more organized, as well as tools to use to help in the process.
#18: A Series of Logical Decisions, with Greg Pierce
April 4th, 2017 · 44 minutes
Agile Tortoise's Greg Pierce discusses what he's learned in a decade as an independent developer and consultant.
#17: Stop Digging
March 21st, 2017 · 28 minutes
Not all clients are good clients. If you don't manage the herd, you could lose the farm. This is why it's important to consider the right time, and right way, to fire a client. We discuss fireable offenses both obvious and subtle, and the best approach to take when firing a client.
#16: R2-D2 on My Desk
March 7th, 2017 · 53 minutes
Jason and David discuss their home-office set-ups and the challenges they face when working in a house they share with other people. When do you lock your doors? How do you "go home" at the end of the day? What gear do they use? And do they admit to their clients that they're working in their pajamas?
#15: Put on the Business Hat
February 21st, 2017 · 41 minutes
You can't earn a living as a Free Agent if you don't get paid. In this episode we discuss why the sign of a true professional is ensuring that they're being compensated. Why is getting paid so hard? How do we handle billing? When you're on your own, you're the one who has to make sure that the money is flowing in. If you don't get paid, you won't …
#14: Putting Numbers in Boxes, with Andrew Carroll
February 7th, 2017 · 38 minutes
A new year brings accounting and tax challenges for independent workers, so we asked accountant and financial advisor Andrew Carroll to join us. Andrew recently went out on his own and now provides tax and financial advice to free agents and entrepreneurs.
#13: Promotion Can Feel Gross
January 24th, 2017 · 39 minutes
Being good at what you do isn't enough. You also need customers, clients, or whatever else you need to pay for shoes. That may mean you have to do a little promotion of your own. But you can be really great at what you do and still terrible at self-promotion. Tricky stuff!
#12: Right Now It's Only Me, with Katie Floyd
January 10th, 2017 · 43 minutes
Very recently David's Mac Power Users co-host, Katie Floyd, left her law firm and went out on her own. We ask Katie about making the move, her workspace and work habits, and the issues of adding support staff and partners versus staying entirely independent.
#11: Balancing Dollars and Delight
December 14th, 2016 · 23 minutes
One of the best things an independent worker can do is invest in both belts and suspenders. We discuss cultivating and managing multiple income streams, and both the risks and benefits of getting your money from a bunch of different places.
#10: Indie Vacation
November 29th, 2016 · 37 minutes
We discuss planning and taking vacations as an independent worker. How do you set client expectations? How do you set boundaries with the people you're traveling with? What's the best way to get prepared for taking a trip? Most importantly, we talk about the importance of taking time off and meaning it.