Professional on the Go

The nature of work has changed. Less people are working for companies and more are designing their own careers as freelancers. Why the big change? What are freelancers looking for that they can’t get at a regular job? How do big corporations feel about this trend? How do freelancers save for retirement and secure health insurance? What tools are freelancers using to help them run their business and become more productive? Also, Caitlin Pearce, the Executive Director of Freelancers Union, is here to share:

- The state of freelancing in the US
- Can people really make a good living as freelancers?
- Who are the top paid freelancers?
- What are the fastest growing freelance job categories?
- Why a freelancer would want to belong to a group like the Freelancers Union

On this episode of Professional-on-the-Go, we talk about the trending lash technician profession. Lash technicians have a specialized job in the beauty industry working on eyelashes.

Why has this profession become so popular? Do you need to be certified for this work? Do lash technicians usually work independently or at a salon? How much can an eyelash tech make a year? We answer these questions, plus we speak with Elizabeth Jennings who is a pioneer in the lashing industry. She owns 4 salons across North and South Carolina, has launched her own lash line, and she is known to many as the Minister of Beauty.

You will learn:

- How Elizabeth got her start as a lash technician
- What lash techs did for work before the industry became hot
- Pros and cons of being an independent lash technician versus being an employee of a salon
- Characteristics of a good lash technician certification/training program
- Advice for independent lash technicians looking to expand their income

The way we go about finding the best handyman, HVAC technician, and other home service professionals has really changed over the past 10 years. It used to be that you would just ask a friend or neighbor or look in the yellow pages, but now there apps such as Angie’s List, TaskRabbit, Thumbtack, Upwork, and more where you can find a whole host of service professionals. These platforms are convenient for consumers, but is it a good business deal for the service professionals? We discuss these platforms from several perspectives with help from Kellyn Blossom, Head of Public Policy at Thumbtack. She shares how pricing works, who exactly is the marketplace’s priority (the consumer or the service professional), and the biggest mistake she sees service professionals make on the platform.

One billion people use Instagram every month. It has become an incredible tool for small businesses to build a pipeline of future clients if they know how to use it well. On this episode, we share how independent professionals can start to develop engaged communities online, and what’s actually at stake if you’re not successful in doing this. Here to help us master Instagram is Amanda Tress, fitness professional, influencer in the health and wellness industry, and CEO + Founder of FASTer Way to Fat Loss. She talks about the business model of her fitness company, how she has grown her program from 11 people to over 100,000 people, and the role Instagram has played in this growth. She also shares the first few steps she took on Instagram to grow her following to 55,000 followers.

There are many different types of professional photographers in the market, but one specialty in particular is becoming quite popular: real estate photography. We share more about what’s involved with this type of work and why there is such a growing interest in this niche. Our guest Brandon Cooper is a real estate photographer who also runs photographyforrealestate.net, a blog that helps real estate photographers be successful. You will learn:

- How does someone typically get into real estate photography?
- How does the blog “Photography for Real Estate” help current and aspiring photographers in the industry?
- What can someone make as a professional real estate photographer? What do top photographers make and how do they get to that level?
- What appealing trends, techniques and services are driving people into the real estate photography business?
- Advice for a professional photographer who is looking to expand into real estate

There are so many business apps and productivity tools for independent business owners these days. They range from business messaging and marketing apps to shopping and scheduling to payment and accounting apps to taxes and document signature/storage/management apps. How do you select the business apps that are right for you? We discuss:

- Where to go to research business apps
- Whether you should look for multiple apps or an all-in-one app
- If businesses should be skeptical of free apps
- Feedback for businesses that have opted out of using any technology to run their business

We also talk with Amad Ebrahimi, CEO and Founder of Merchant Maverick. Merchant Maverick helps make small business easier by providing online reviews, ratings, and comparisons for a large variety of small business products and services. Amad helps us understand:

- How does MerchantMaverick help businesses?
- How does MerchantMaverick pick which apps to review?
- The main difference between 5 star apps and those that aren’t 5 stars
- Online review industry trends, such as “pay to play” tactics that small businesses should be aware of

On this episode of Professional-on-the-Go, we talk about what’s hot and what’s not about the esthetics industry. We’re talking about trends that are impacting estheticians, skin care professionals, and service providers in the spa & salon community. We first discuss:

- What exactly is an esthetician? What do they do?
- What’s the difference between a dermatologist and an esthetician?
- Why is esthetics a hot career path right now? Do you need a license to practice?
- What kind of income can estheticians make?
- Where do most estheticians work?

Then, we talk to Susanne S. Warfield who is the Executive Director of the National Coalition of Estheticians, Manufacturers/Distributors, & Associations. She literally wrote the book on how to have a successful career in esthetics. We dive into:

- How estheticians today are different from skincare professionals 30 years ago
- Why states in the U.S. require estheticians to be licensed
- The number of hours that are required to get a license
- The National Coalition of Estheticians, Manufacturers/Distributors, & Associations (NCEA) and how it is different from the Associated Skincare Professionals (ASCP)
- The future of the esthetics industry

On this episode of The Professional-on-the-Go Podcast, we are talking about the popular communication app WhatsApp and its applications for independent service professionals and small business. Our guest is Natalie Zfat, a social media expert and Forbes contributor who has partnered with some of the most iconic brands in the world, including Facebook, Samsung, LinkedIn and American Express. We talk about:

- What is WhatsApp? What does it do?
- Why are people using WhatsApp for Business?
- What’s the difference between WhatsApp, Skype for business, and Facebook messenger?
- How are small businesses using WhatsApp for Business for communicating with clients?
- Can WhatsApp replace a customer contact database?
- Can you use WhatsApp on a desktop?
- How does a small business decide if WhatsApp is right for their business?

Square revolutionized the credit card processing market for small business, and they are a very popular payment processing solution. But there are so many other mobile apps out there now that make it possible for you to get paid online - Venmo, CashApp, ApplePay, AmazonPay, GooglePay, FacebookPay. We discuss:

- Which payment apps can be used for business as an individual service professional and which should just be for personal use?
- Are there any limits to using these payment apps for business?
- How do you figure out which payment processing solution is best for you?
- Does your payment processing solution have to integrate with your other business tools?

Jim Angleton, the President and CEO at Aegis FinServ Corp, a global financial and business intelligence firm, is here to discuss whether or not independent service professionals should use Venmo for their business. He shares some limitations around using a payment system like Venmo, whether or not there are security issues, and whether or not these apps check your credit history and credit score.

It used to be a nightmare to set up your business to accept credit card payments. Now, it’s incredibly easy, and thankfully so because 90% of customers' payments are coming in the form of credit and debit cards. If you don’t accept credit cards, it’s going to be difficult to grow.

On this episode, we walk you through how easy it is to set up credit card payment processing for your business. We answer:

- What are the different options for how businesses can get setup to process payments?
- What are the steps to setting up credit card payment processing?
- What is the cost of accepting credit cards? Are there fees?
- What are the tradeoffs to accepting credit cards versus cash or check?
- Are there any gotchas in accepting credit cards? Are we liable for our customers credit card data? What’s the deal with disputes and chargebacks?

Christina Reichers, the lead for Cash Flow Products at Square, joins us to share what Square saw in the market that led to the credit card revolution for SMBs, how a business can get set up with Square, who are good candidates for Square, and how businesses can determine which product is best for them.