Resources for setting up a freelancing business as a physician consultant

Interested in setting up a freelancing business? Some people find it very easy and natural to transition into freelancing because they have a wide network of business connections that are potential "clients." If you're new to the world of freelancing as an independent contractor, here are some places where you can find resources to help you get started:

Elance
http://www.elance.com
Become a freelance contractor and find work opportunities on this website.

Freelance.com
http://www.freelance.com
Another website where you may find some freelance opportunities.

International Freelancers Day

Sept 24, 2010 is International Freelancers Day. All freelancers, consultants, solopreneurs, self-employeds and entrepreneurs are invited and welcome!

Here's a list of some of the sessions:

• How Facebook Can Supercharge Your Freelance Business
• Create a killer network to build and boost your business
• SEO Copywriting Made Simple for Freelance Writers
• How to Determine if There's a Viable Market for Your Freelance Services!
• Facebook Marketing Success Secrets for Solo Professionals
• Getting Corporate Clients
• How to Build Your Brand As a Freelancer
• What Kind of Entrepreneur Are You? Knowing the Rules of the Game You're Playing to Win
• So You Want to Write a Book - An Introduction to Writing, Publishing and Promoting

To learn more, visit www.InternationalFreelancersDay.com and register there. It’s completely free to view these online videos (webinars) about freelancing.

Physician Employment Contracts

What do you need to know about physician employment contracts? In the world of clinical medicine, you may be used to working with attorneys who will review your employment contracts and even negotiate on your behalf. Does that happen in the corporate world? Yes and No. It depends.

It really depends on the type of position you're pursuing. If you're breaking out of medicine into a brand new industry, you may be applying for the same types of positions that are often filled by PharmDs and PhDs. Just because you have an MD or DO doesn't guarantee that you'll be a stronger candidate or that you'll earn more money. I don't think you should expect to see very complex employment contracts in these types of jobs. On the other hand, if you're pursuing jobs in medical management or in senior management positions, then your roles/responsibilities could involve many different elements and you'll probably want an attorney to review your employment contract.

Speaking of employment contracts, if you're new to medicine, you may want to visit the NEJM Career Center and learn about physician employment contracts.

The joys and challenges or working from home

I've worked from home in the past. I still work from home from time to time. However, I'm primarily in the office for my non-clinical day job as a medical director of an education/publishing company. I work from home when I'm involved in freelance/contract consulting jobs, blogging, (yes, blogging is work), career counseling, etc. I call it "moonlighting at home" and I try to balance work/life carefully.

There are certain joys and challenges of working from home that one must consider before choosing this path. My intent is not to compare self-employment vs. salaried employment. Many salaried employees work from home as telecommuters. I'm simply looking at the concept of working from home, whether you do this 5 days a week or 1 day a month. Let's take a look at some of them:

Joys:

• Extreme flexibility. You can set your own hours (unless you're simply a telecommuter). You can work in your pajamas. I think you get the picture.
• More time with family. It may not be as rosy as you think. If you're really to be productive while you're working at home, then you'll probably need to be in an office where you're not interrupted. However, even if you set strict boundaries, you can still spend more time with your family if you take breaks for lunch, snacks, etc.
• Less time in the car (train, or bus). This translates to savings on gas/commuting fees/parking/etc. Also, you now have time to exercise and do other things instead of traveling to and from the office.
• More privacy. If you're working in a company, your privacy can be limited. Suppose you're in a cubicle and all your colleagues can listen to all your phone conversations. You may have very little privacy. If you set up an office at home, you can control your privacy.
• Increased productivity. You may not believe it, but studies have shown that disciplined people who work at home are more productive than when they're in the office. You will probably have fewer interruptions and meetings if you're at home compared to the office. As a result, you can get much more done in a shorter amount of time.
  

Challenges:

• Difficulty managing others. If you're in a position where you're expected to manage others, this can be much more challenging if you don't interact with these individuals face-to-face.
  
• More distractions. Are you disciplined? Or are you easily distracted? When you're at home, you're surrounded by more distractions (TV, kids, chores, etc.), so you need to know yourself really well so that you can evaluate whether it makes sense to work from home. If you're easily distracted, then your productivity will obviously suffer and you place yourself at risk for job loss and unemployment.
  
• Limited brainstorming sessions. If you're not interacting face-to-face with your colleagues, it can be more difficult to have effective brainstorming session where you're writing on a whiteboard, drawing diagrams, using hand gestures, etc. Modern video conference call technology and tablet computing may overcome many of these barriers but nothing replaces the true face-to-face interaction.
• Isolation and less personal connections. Let's face it. When you're in an office, you can chat with people casually and learn about their personal lives. As a result, you can get to know your fellow colleagues really well. If you're at home, you're more isolated. It's more difficult to really get to know your colleagues or your boss.
• You're always working. Many people who work at home have a difficult time separating work and home. As a result, you're always working. Your family may eventually accept that, but you could also get burned out. Sometimes it's much healthier to leave work at work so that you never bring work home. However, if you're working at home, then your work is right in front of you all the time.
  

So, what do you think? Should you work from home? Have you ever tried it? Are you disciplined? Will it interfere with your work/life balance? If you thought that working from home would be "ideal," then perhaps you need to give it another thought.

In general, it can be more difficult to secure a new job as a telecommuter unless you have a proven track record of being an effective telecommuting employee.

Freelance writing jobs and projects for physicians

There are so many different types of freelance medical writing opportunities for physicians. Some may take 15 minutes to briefly review and edit. Other projects may last 3 to 6 months (especially if you're a contract writer). Some writing projects don't pay, while others may pay up to several thousand dollars.

If you enjoy writing and you'd like to develop your "portfolio" of writing projects, consider a few things:

• Do you enjoy writing casually or do you see yourself writing professionally?
• How much do you really know about the medical writing industry?
• Do you plan to focus on a specific area within the medical writing industry?
• Do you plan to work full-time or part-time?
• Are you willing to write for "free" so that you can establish a robust portfolio?
• How many people do you know in the medical writing industry?

You're not going to become a professional medical writer in a few days. It can take several years to really establish yourself, but there may be some shortcuts that can help you get there quickly.

If you're interested in "breaking in" to the medical writing industry and you're willing to work on a few small projects (for free) to build up your portfolio, perhaps I can help. Contact me if you're interested. Once again, these projects would not involve any type of payment, but they could help you get established in the medical writing industry.