by Sue Horner | Feb 3, 2016 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Years ago, writing for a company that shall be nameless prompted me to start each day by updating my voice mail message. Company Xers were the worst at having a generic voice mail message, and I would find out days later that someone I needed to speak with was...
by Sue Horner | Jan 21, 2016 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
My competitors are better than me. I’m not as smart as my colleagues. People won’t want to pay for the services I offer. If you’ve ever found yourself thinking thoughts like this, you’ve been the victim of perceptions you have about yourself...
by Sue Horner | Jan 13, 2016 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
You don’t have to hire someone to slap you every time you turn to Facebook. That was the extreme step blogger Maneesh Sethi took to be more productive, detailed in Why I Hired a Girl on Craigslist — and How I Quadrupled My Productivity. But to be...
by Sue Horner | Jan 7, 2016 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
If you wanted to reach someone urgently, would you rely on email? Increasingly, it seems, you would. Well, you might not. I certainly wouldn’t in a business situation*– I would pick up the telephone and call. Yet at a professional development event earlier this...
by Sue Horner | Nov 11, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Hiring a freelancer is a great idea when you need a special skill, your team is stretched too thin, you have a special project or a tight deadline. IABC/Toronto members talked about these reasons why you would outsource work to independents and freelancers and more in...
by Sue Horner | Oct 14, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
After more than 20 years running my own business, I’ve encountered a lot of lies (okay, myths) about those of us who live the independent life. Here are 10 of the silliest, oddest, most common wrong impressions about our day: 1. Pants are optional. Seriously?...
by Sue Horner | Sep 30, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
If you’re a freelance communicator or other entrepreneur, or thinking about becoming one, here’s a great resource. IABC/Toronto’s special interest group, Professional Independent Communicators (PIC), has produced an e-book that pulls together the...
by Sue Horner | Aug 19, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Consultants and freelancers are always interested in talking about fees. (Are we charging enough? Too much? What’s the going rate?) And so it was a group of us recently took part in a Twitter chat hosted by PWAC, the Professional Writers Association of Canada....
by Sue Horner | Aug 12, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
My sister-in-law introduced me to the dangerous “robed cult of relaxation” at beautiful Ste. Anne’s Spa in 2012. Getting treatments like hot stone massages or facials, enjoying healthy, delicious meals, staying in comfortable beds in charming...
by Sue Horner | Jul 30, 2015 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
In the early days of Twitter, doubters complained that it was just a place where people shared what they ate for lunch. Instagram, too, has that kind of reputation. But businesses are looking more closely at this photo-/video-sharing app as a way to build brand...
