What is the best word.. Freelancing, Free Agent, Independent, Consultant.. ?

[jasonwisdom]

Hi all,
I'm looking for the "right" word to describe a person who works for themselves, for a number of clients, without considering any of those clients to be their employer.

Everyone has heard the term Freelancer, but there is this stigma of being an out-of-work journalist who gets $120 in a month.
Daniel Pink used the term Free Agent in his book Free Agent Nation, and even he acknowledged there was no one word that quite fit the bill.
I've heard Consultant, however consulting could mean employee at Accenture, or anything else.
Legally there are Sole Proprietors, however many sole proprietors have their own LLC's or S-Corporations, not a Sole Proprietorship.
There there is Independents - which kind of sounds more like a political label than a career description.

Again I am looking for the right word, or 2-word phrase, that describes this kind of person. Anybody have any ideas?

[ssandra]

How about Freelance Consultant?

[fdr]

I've always liked Pink's "Free Agent" nomenclature, as it broadens the spectrum to a number of fields -- when I hear "freelance" I automatically think of careers in the publishing world (writer, editor, photographer) and not other fields.

What about "independent contractor"?

[jasonwisdom]

Thanks for the input..
I kind of like Free Agent as well...except it does generally refer to sports athletes. The more I think about it, though, perhaps that is a good thing.
Also it is associated with Daniel Pink's book - however I did a Trademark search and nobody has a registered TM for "Free Agent" referring to a solopreneur.
As for "Freelance Consultant" and "Independent Contractor" - I'm thinking they're a bit on the long side. The shorter a term is, the easier it is to remember, the easier it is to explain to a 5th grader...the easier it is to sell.

Right now here are my leading two candidates: Freelancer & Free Agent.

[Manomanman]

I've always liked consultant.

[PipHunn]

I concur.
'Consultant' covers a wide range of activities.
It implies that you have expertise people are willing to pay for.
Both my parents have spent their working lives being consultants in various, shifting, fields, and it works well for them.

[jasonwisdom]

The more I think about this, the more I'm liking the word "Consultant".

Still haven't decided on it, but it's looking stronger.
I'd have to basically re-record many sections of my first info-product...
But words have energy and the energy of "Consultant" seems to be in a much higher league than "Freelancer".

Thanks all for your input - it helps.
Jason

[spirit4711]

How about:
- service provider
- problem solver

What type of service do you provide? And to whom (business, consumer)?

[Gene]

Insert type such as computer and then expert. Computer expert, seo expert etc.

[jasonwisdom]

Again.. thank you.

I'm looking for a word - one word - that best describes anybody who does what they do, working for themselves, without having a boss or employer.
So...a lot of experts, problem solvers, etc. are Employees, often Senior Employees, and that is not what I am going after.

I'm going after people who are not employed by any company (except perhaps their own).

I had originally used 'Freelancer' because that fits the bill.
Except I am finding a lot of people associate Freelancer with writer. Also, it has a reputation of earning a low-to-mid income. (the top books on Amazon glorify making 6 figures in a year as a Freelancer...which is peanuts compared with what's possible - where are the success stories of 8 figures per year??? That's what Bill Clinton pulls down but nobody refers to him as a 'Freelancer' Even 9 figures per year...Tiger Woods...he isn't called a 'Freelancer' either)

A leading candidate here is 'Consultant'... which I LIKE, except there's a lot of blend-over to big consulting firms like Accenture. And (as mentioned above) I am not targeting employees. I am targeting the self employed (which is 2 words and not sexy enough)

So I'm looking for that "just right" word that connotates somebody who works for themself, has unlimited income potential, and can be doing anything from basket-weaving to advising the U.S. President.

Any idears?

[spirit4711]

Originally Posted by jasonwisdom

...
So I'm looking for that "just right" word that connotates somebody who works for themself, has unlimited income potential, and can be doing anything from basket-weaving to advising the U.S. President.

Any idears?

Entrepreneur?

[jasonwisdom]

Originally Posted by spirit4711

Entrepreneur?

Does not necessarily mean 1-person operation.
It CAN...and it also includes scalable-roster companies.
For example - Google was started by two entrepreneurs. I would hardly call Google a freelancing venture or sole proprietorship venture though...

[spirit4711]

Pfff... you're a demanding type. OK "solo entrepreneur", take it or leave it.

[jasonwisdom]

Yes I am demanding.
Because the end result is worth it.

This is a process...companies often spend weeks or months just hammering out, refining, and deciding on a single thing like this. (read Good to Great if you want documented case studies)

So here is my distilled, desired criteria, for the term to describe my market:
- Suggests this person works for self, having clients not an employer
- Suggests a high-earning potential - 7-8 figures per year
- Specifically refers to a 1-person business
- One word
- No more than 3 syllables
- Easy for a 5-year old to pronounce


Here are all of the suggestions so far:
- Freelancer - Great except it suggests low-to-mid income.
- Consultant - Great, except ambiguous - often refers to employees of a consulting firm.
- Freelance Consultant - Great, except it's 2 words - short & sweet is good. Still, I am liking this one.
- Independent Contractor - Not bad... it's a bit long, and might suggest government contracting.
- Independent - sounds like a political affiliation or a brand of clothing
- Sole Proprietor - difficult to pronounce, plus it refers to a mediocre legal structure when so much better is available.
- Service Provider - vague - could refer to a cable company, or a catering service
- Problem Solver - this is a great person to have around...the term just doesn't trigger "1-person business" in most peoples' minds.
- ____ Expert (computer expert, SEO expert, etc) - this is good, except it doesn't suggest a 1-person business. For example, research experts are usually employees of a lab.
- Free Agent - good, except it suggests athlete. If I were to write a book called "How to be a Free Agent"...
- Entrepreneur - good, and true, except it's a bit vague. People think of an Entrepreneur as one person who attracts employees. Not the niche I'm looking to cover at this time.
- Solo Entrepreneur - thanks for the A+ effort And I like this... I would like to reduce it to one word if possible.

Again... I am looking for the "just right" term that describes anybody who uses their expertise serve clients instead of an employer. Let's say I am planning to write a book titled, "How to Succeed as a ____________". So the term has to be descriptive enough that people look at the title and instantly get what it's about.

As I write this, I am leaning toward "Consultant", "Freelance Consultant", "Free Agent", or "Solo Entrepreneur".

Thanks all for being my focus group.

[spirit4711]

Originally Posted by jasonwisdom

- Solo Entrepreneur - thanks for the A+ effort And I like this... I would like to reduce it to one word if possible.

Solopreneur - where can I send the invoice?

[Gene]

Originally Posted by jasonwisdom

Yes I am demanding.
Because the end result is worth it.

This is a process...companies often spend weeks or months just hammering out, refining, and deciding on a single thing like this. (read Good to Great if you want documented case studies)

- Entrepreneur - good, and true, except it's a bit vague. People think of an Entrepreneur as one person who attracts employees. Not the niche I'm looking to cover at this time.

Again... I am looking for the "just right" term that describes anybody who uses their expertise serve clients instead of an employer. Let's say I am planning to write a book titled, "How to Succeed as a ____________". So the term has to be descriptive enough that people look at the title and instantly get what it's about.

As I write this, I am leaning toward "Consultant", "Freelance Consultant", "Free Agent", or "Solo Entrepreneur".

Thanks all for being my focus group.

I am going to suggest creating a new word and that word is extrepreneur.