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by Sandie Bradley, Harwood Information Associates, Ltd.
Archivists have traditionally been employed by archival institutions, and so you might wonder why this article is appearing now in our newsletter. The answer is simply that self-employment is a growing option for archival employment, and one which I believe offers exciting prospects, whether it be your preferred employment option or one that is forced by economic necessity. The bleak short-term future prospects for employment in traditional organizations may also require you to have some short term survival strategies at the ready. So, I have prepared some general comments to help you with your career planning.
In one way, we are part of the collective group known as "information entrepreneurs". The term "ENTREPRENEUR" is defined usually in terms "business person", "administrator", etc. It is now not unusual to see the label attached to anyone in any professional endeavour who is moving in a new direction, breaking new ground.
Working as a self-employed professional is hardly now considered new ground for librarians, as the "information broker", one who locates and obtains information for a fee, has been an aspect of special librarianship since the 1930s. Firms such as Find SVP, a major information brokerage group, was founded in Paris in 1935. Persons in the archival field have also started to work in this way, with well known examples like David Bearman, of Archives and Museum Informatics, specializing in electronic records and archival issues, and a number of local persons who have been carving employment niches for themselves in British Columbia in recent years.
What I would like to discuss in this article are the opportunities available and the sources of work possible for those of you who may decide at some time that you would like to work for yourself. (Note that I will also address some of the "realities" - read problems or potential pitfalls - associated with this method of professional practice.)
The first issue to be addressed is to answer the question: "Why would I want to work as a self-employed person in my profession?"
Benefits of self-employment are many:
The negative aspects of working alone are also present if you choose this path:
You must ask yourself clearly if you are able to function with these major drawbacks to self employment. In an excellent publication entitle Mind yourown business: A Guide for the Information Entrepreneur, Alice Sizer Warner indicates that "the look before the leap" involves a critical self-assessment of your own abilities - what you have to sell, as well as your capabilities (e.g. to pay the rent) before setting off on this sort of course.
Clearly, another of the first steps is to determine just exactly what you can do on your own. Do you fancy setting up filing systems? Or, is specific project work on collection organization what you enjoy doing? Or, does the idea of processing requests under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act appeal to you? You really have a lot of choices, if you examine your full range of knowledge, skills and aptitudes. The exercise of determining what you might do may be suddenly resolved if you are approached by someone to do a project. However the situation arises, you must have a clear idea of just exactly you can do with all that technical knowledge and accumulated experience that you carry.
Having determined what you can do, the next problem is finding the market for your services. Sources of work can be divided into several groupings: First, and most obviously, are the agencies or bodies who would normally require the services of archivists. In most cases, if there is potential for fulltime employment of your professional peers, there is also the possibility of project or contract work. The types of working arrangements can vary dramatically, and the duties or job functions can be quite different from those of full-time employees, but the environment is usually one where the skills and knowledge of the professional hired are known and
understood. Finding the organizations is not difficult, because these organizations are the traditional employers of archivists - e.g. city or provincial archives, municipal governments, etc. The trick here is to make yourself known to these agencies, which is not a large marketing problem. Prepare a resume and contact these organizations. Most organizations, or their personnel departments, maintain lists of persons available for part-time or project work. Once on the contact lists, you will receive requests for proposals or other communications to which you will be invited to respond.
The second source of work is organizations or agencies who have problems with the sources and resources we know, but who do not know that we are the skilled personnel they require. By these organizations, I mean, agencies who have records requiring the skills and expertise of an archivist or records manager. Now, here is where we separate the optimists from the pessimists in terms of seeing where opportunities may be. There are two major challenges - first to identify these agencies, and secondly, to sell them on the skills and expertise that you have to bring to their position. Be aware of ways that such agencies will look for people: newspapers, newsletters of professional organizations, employment agencies, etc. Examples also include the issuance of Requests for Proposals. Targetting specific areas of work or activity, and insinuating yourself into that market is an important way to find work. The second and equally large task is to market ourselves to that segment or group.
Setting your fee structure is one of the most important steps in building and maintaining your information-related business or practice. Ideally, you should follow an analysis in which you establish your daily, weekly or monthly labour rates (the value of your time and the time of others involved in the project or work). On top of this rate, add your overhead (the expense of being in business); add a percentage of the fee for marketing, and add profit, which is the value placed on the risk taken by being in business.
I feel that setting fees is very often done in haste, without consideration for all the additional costs we incur as self-employed professionals. Therefore, it is critical that you add up all the costs you have on top of the wage you wish to take home for your work, and then set the fee accordingly.
The time to set fees is at the very beginning of the business. The fee is based upon the skills, talents, the need for the service or skill and the assumption that clients will be provided state of the art services.
The rules for calculating fees and overhead may be different, or vary from one setting to another, especially with government agencies. Be certain to examine all requirements regarding maximums on labour rates, overhead, acceptable overhead charges, etc., before setting fees.
Financial relationships with employers may vary significantly. Some of the more common types of arrangements include the fixed-price contract, (including expenses), daily rate (to a specified maximum amount), time and materials, cost reimbursement, or being paid a retainer (standby fees in case services are needed).
At this stage, you must seek some qualified business advice to review your financial arrangements, business structures and tax matters. What I am saying here is highly condensed, and is not offered as definitive information. Seek assistance from the many qualified business advisors out there, who will be happy to set you on the correct path with your entrepreneurial venture.
Your choice of business structure will also vary. The term "business structure" refers to the entity by which you operate your information business venture. As an independent operator, you may choose to operate as a proprietorship, partnership, a limited company, franchise or other such mechanism. The proprietorship is the simplest and most inexpensive legal form of carrying on any business. The requirements consist of registering by selecting a name that is unique and not confusing with other businesses operating in your area, and filling in a short form for the B.C. Registrar of Companies. A partnership consists of an arrangement between two or more people, and requires a partnership agreement as well as the registration of the name. A franchise is a specific type of partnership arrangement in which the franchisee purchases various rights owned by others - name, method of operation, products and services, etc. and operates as a unit of a recognized business or entity. A limited company or corporation is a unique legal entity, separate and distinct from the persons who are the shareholders. Each type of arrangement has advantages and disadvantages for the owners. Generally speaking, the first arrangement is the least formal, and may be considered useful when first starting up a business venture. Partnership relationships are governed by the terms of the partnership. The limited company provides the separation of personal from company financial assets, and affords the advantages of limited liability for shareholders, provides potentially greater access to capital, and exists in perpetuity, even past the death of shareholders.
Taxation and other matters will vary with the vehicle you select for your operation.
Any business venture must be established with a financial plan in place. The financial plan identifies the sources of revenue and the anticipated cash flow. A new venture is unlikely to realize steady revenues or produce a profit during the early stages of activity. Therefore, the information entrepreneur must be prepared for this stage of development by identifying sources of funds to support the venture.
Some entrepreneurs continue with other full-time employment during thisstartup phase. Others have relied upon support from relatives, etc.
There are a wide variety of options for housing your business venture. Business ventures can be housed as follows:
Each type of arrangement provides benefits to suit the beginning or burgeoning entrepreneurial venture. Square footage requirements will depend upon the number of employees housed in the office. Location will depend upon convenience to your market and users. Consider whether your clients visit your office, or whether you visit your clients before settling upon a specific location. There are many choices.
You will also have to take into account any business licensing and zoning issues that relate to your choice of location. For example, where I live, I may operate a business from my home which employs no more than two staff, maintain less than $1000 worth of inventory, and the business category in which I am classified for my licence is "Consulting - non-professional - information services". (Non-professional because, under strict definition, there is no act of the BC legislature which governs my activities). Annual licence fees are $107.
Office equipment requirements must be considered. Basics include telephone, desks and tables, computer and printer, photocopier, supplies, etc.
There are clearly a number of other issues to keep in mind when operating on your own. Alice Size Warner has issued a warning that entrepreneurial ventures have two sets of responsibilities. Getting the work is the first part, maintaining the business is the second part. As she identifies them, you will have other pressing requirements:
The Canada/B.C. Business Service Centre at 601 W. Cordova Street, Vancouver, provides a wide number of resources, including advisory information on all aspects of setting up a business, for anyone contemplating the start of a "small business".
In summary, the reasons why you work on your own are as varied and individual as the persons in archival work. Until recently, few people in archives have take advantage of the opportunities for this type of work. Quite frankly, we need a lot of freelance people "out there" in the wider world, so that we have some visibility among the computer specialists, telecommunication specialists, management consultants and other workers who bring their "information" expertise to the needy clients.
Good Luck!
The following publications and articles will provide useful information for planning your venture in information services:
Gray, Douglas A. Start and run a profitable consulting business. 3rd ed. North Vancouver: Self-Counsel Press, 1990.
Rugge Group. Information Broker's Resource Kit. Oakland, Calif.: Rugge Group, 1989.
Shenson, Howard L. The Contract and Fee Setting Guide for Consultants and Professionals. New York: Wiley, 1990.
Shenson, Howard L. Shenson on consulting. New York: Wiley, 1994.
Warner, Alice Sizer. Mind Your Own Business: A Guide for the Information Entrepreneur. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1987.
Edwards, Sarah and Paul. Working from home: Everything you need to know about living and working under the same roof. 3rd ed. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Perigree, New York, 1990.
Stevenson, Edward P. "Office on the Go". Home Office Computing. June 1990. pp 37-48.
"What it takes to work at home". Office Systems and Technology November, 1990. pp. 42-44.
Wood, Vicki. "When home is the work is". Office Systems and Technology. June, 1991. pp. 28-34.
Edwards, Paul and Sarah and Laura C. Douglas. Getting Business to Come to You. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1991.
Sandie Bradley is the President of Harwood Information Associates, Ltd., and part of the faculty of UBC's School of Library, Archival and information Studies.
Reprinted from the AABC Newsletter, Winter 1997, Vol. 7, No. 1.
© 1997 Archives Association of British Columbia