Trepidation 2010

In this first of two posts, I’m going to cover what things give me cause for trepidation in the year ahead. In the next post, I’ll talk about what’s got me excited.

As a freelancer, I always wonder where the work will come. It’s not uncommon to see the calendar with nothing on it a few months out. The good thing is, I’ve been working like this for many years now so I’m somewhat used it.

With the devastating funding cuts from the BC Government this year and the massive uncertainty for next year, I have a sense that things could be quite grim for my clients and my traditional business. Many of my clients relied on the support that has been cut and it’s in 2010 that I believe, the real effects will be felt. Time will tell.

For the past two years I’ve administered a program of the BC Arts Council called Community Presenters Assistance and I’d love to do that again. I enjoy the work and really enjoy chatting with performing arts presenters from around the province. Fingers are crossed, both for me and especially for all the great clients of the program who rely so much on the grants they receive.

I plan to take on using more social media tools (I’ve got to find a better term than “social media” because I’m so sick of hearing it now). Implementing consistently will be the trick. I will try to be use what Seth Godin says is the “drip, drip, drip” technique. I often feel overwhelmed and don’t take things on. I have to learn how to break things down into daily little bite-sized bits.

Lastly, there is always a wildcard or two thrown our way. These are events that we never saw coming and have no way of preparing for. I don’t worry about these things (whatever they show up as) until they show up, but it’s always good to know that sometimes, the “best laid plans” can go awry.