Yesterday I lost a client. And I couldn't be happier about it.

It's a long-standing client, but the management changed a few months ago. On Monday, they requested an emergency intervention, which I handled immediately.

On Tuesday (yesterday, evening), they asked for a non-urgent enhancement to be closed by Wednesday evening. I explained that due to various reasons (including urgent family matters), I wouldn't be able to finish the task before Friday. That's when the lecturing started: they told me they set tight deadlines even for non-emergencies because "that's the proper way to do things", and anyone working with them must respect them without exception.

I requested a video call to clarify. I explained that the work requires nearly a full day and that I simply couldn't close it by Wednesday. Even the physical time required to copy the data exceeded their deadline. But the new management believes that by applying pressure, you can overcome anything. Even the laws of physics.

Their response was sarcastic: "Our requests take priority, even if you are dying". I smiled and reiterated that I had no other way. "We will therefore have to find a new consultant who respects our timing", they said.

My response: "Okay. Our agreement expired on 31st December. I was waiting for a renewal, but it never arrived. Meaning, I have no legal obligations toward you. You have the data, the passwords, everything. Have a great day.".

The manager, annoyed and failing to understand the implications, replied: "Fine, we’ll look for someone younger with fewer family ties to manage.".

This morning, the phone rang. It was the manager, asking me to reconsider. His tone remained contemptuous, so I told him my decision was final. Two minutes later, I got a call from their biggest client - the one responsible for over 50% of their revenue. They had been notified I was leaving and informed the company they would also leave if I was no longer the one supervising their machines.

I called the manager back, friendly, trying to see if they were willing to change their attitude - to move from peremptory orders to requests between human beings. He started talking about "suing for damages" if they lost their main client because of me (to be clear: I am not taking that client for myself).

I don’t know how this story will evolve, but right now, I'm just enjoying a breath of fresh air outside my window.

#IT #FreelanceLife #WorkLifeBalance #ToxicManagement #TechLife #Consulting #SelfEmployed

Yesterday I lost a client. And I couldn't be happier about it.

It's a long-standing client, but the management changed a few months ago. On Monday, they requested an emergency intervention, which I handled immediately.

On Tuesday (yesterday, evening), they asked for a non-urgent enhancement to be closed by Wednesday evening. I explained that due to various reasons (including urgent family matters), I wouldn't be able to finish the task before Friday. That's when the lecturing started: they told me they set tight deadlines even for non-emergencies because "that's the proper way to do things", and anyone working with them must respect them without exception.

I requested a video call to clarify. I explained that the work requires nearly a full day and that I simply couldn't close it by Wednesday. Even the physical time required to copy the data exceeded their deadline. But the new management believes that by applying pressure, you can overcome anything. Even the laws of physics.

Their response was sarcastic: "Our requests take priority, even if you are dying". I smiled and reiterated that I had no other way. "We will therefore have to find a new consultant who respects our timing", they said.

My response: "Okay. Our agreement expired on 31st December. I was waiting for a renewal, but it never arrived. Meaning, I have no legal obligations toward you. You have the data, the passwords, everything. Have a great day.".

The manager, annoyed and failing to understand the implications, replied: "Fine, we’ll look for someone younger with fewer family ties to manage.".

This morning, the phone rang. It was the manager, asking me to reconsider. His tone remained contemptuous, so I told him my decision was final. Two minutes later, I got a call from their biggest client - the one responsible for over 50% of their revenue. They had been notified I was leaving and informed the company they would also leave if I was no longer the one supervising their machines.

I called the manager back, friendly, trying to see if they were willing to change their attitude - to move from peremptory orders to requests between human beings. He started talking about "suing for damages" if they lost their main client because of me (to be clear: I am not taking that client for myself).

I don’t know how this story will evolve, but right now, I'm just enjoying a breath of fresh air outside my window.

#IT #FreelanceLife #WorkLifeBalance #ToxicManagement #TechLife #Consulting #SelfEmployed

(Sorry in advance for bombarding with hashtags, but..)

Yet again I plead to the #Fediverse to get #Fedihired as a paid or unpaid #DataAnalyst #intern. I'm not formally trained but (as uncomfortable as it is for me to boast) I truly feel that I have the cognitive *capability* of learning as I go. I want to see whether I actually *can* do so.

Unfortunately I'm guessing this is probably the worst possible time to try and break into the industry, however I am desperate and hoping for a miracle.

I've always been "self-taught" because I've never been an ideal student. It's how I learned to program #PHP, #SQL, and how I learned to work with #spreadsheets.

I might not be an expert with any of those topics but I usually managed to stumble my way through, and accomplish the goal I needed, serving my purpose for a previous employer for 8½ years, until their financial position necessitated my layoff.

I need real-life experience working with #Data and hopefully build a portfolio I can use for #gig work or a job or something.

So I'm reaching out to #selfemployed any #Data experts to ask if they might need help. Let me take a stab at some non-critical things.

If I suck, you're not out more than just a little bit of your time interacting with me; you were going to do it yourself anyway, right?

If I do it *well*, then you just got free labor, I get experience and potential portfolio fodder.

Plus you get the sense of pride from helping someone struggling to survive, and helping a #neurodivergent, #LGBTQ couple who both struggle with #MentalIllness and #poverty.

Obviously I will take *paid* work as well; remember, #MinimumWage in my state is still a measly seven dollars and twenty-five goddamned cents per hour, so you can go super cheap.

Think of it like you're rummaging through the bargain bin for temp workers and you decide to give some no-name brand a try: Me!!

(Sorry in advance for bombarding with hashtags, but..)

Yet again I plead to the #Fediverse to get #Fedihired as a paid or unpaid #DataAnalyst #intern. I'm not formally trained but (as uncomfortable as it is for me to boast) I truly feel that I have the cognitive *capability* of learning as I go. I want to see whether I actually *can* do so.

Unfortunately I'm guessing this is probably the worst possible time to try and break into the industry, however I am desperate and hoping for a miracle.

I've always been "self-taught" because I've never been an ideal student. It's how I learned to program #PHP, #SQL, and how I learned to work with #spreadsheets.

I might not be an expert with any of those topics but I usually managed to stumble my way through, and accomplish the goal I needed, serving my purpose for a previous employer for 8½ years, until their financial position necessitated my layoff.

I need real-life experience working with #Data and hopefully build a portfolio I can use for #gig work or a job or something.

So I'm reaching out to #selfemployed any #Data experts to ask if they might need help. Let me take a stab at some non-critical things.

If I suck, you're not out more than just a little bit of your time interacting with me; you were going to do it yourself anyway, right?

If I do it *well*, then you just got free labor, I get experience and potential portfolio fodder.

Plus you get the sense of pride from helping someone struggling to survive, and helping a #neurodivergent, #LGBTQ couple who both struggle with #MentalIllness and #poverty.

Obviously I will take *paid* work as well; remember, #MinimumWage in my state is still a measly seven dollars and twenty-five goddamned cents per hour, so you can go super cheap.

Think of it like you're rummaging through the bargain bin for temp workers and you decide to give some no-name brand a try: Me!!

I hope you'll allow me to toot my own horn for a mo. I recently signed a contract to work part-time as the sci-comm specialist for a metrology (measurement science) lab here in AoNZ. I've had standalone projects with this lab for years, and I love working with them. I'm a trained metrologist myself!

This new contract is giving me the chance to think strategically / long-term and to be a bit more ambitious. And it's paying off! Yesterday, we had a big media day.

The lab director appeared on breakfast TV to talk about the importance of measurement. Her interview was great, and was interspersed with lovely B-roll of the lab filmed by the show's local producer.

Then she appeared on a very popular national radio show for a more in-depth conversation about international cooperation and measurement.

I made both of these interviews happen 😊 And the comment I've had from everyone at the lab is "we've never had opportunities like this before".

This lab is part of a larger organization that has basically ignored them in terms of comms support. That's why I kept getting parachuted in for stuff, but they weren't allowed to formally 'hire' me. Changes in the science system mean that the lab is moving out of that organization, so the director decided it was the perfect time to bring me in.

I'm very happy that they did!

I'll continue to work for myself for the majority of the time, but this contract feels like an anchor point that I didn't know I needed. I have so many ideas for things we, as a lab, can do. I'm determined to show the team that I'm a safe pair of hands. I'm feeling really good today.

#scicomm #selfemployed

I hope you'll allow me to toot my own horn for a mo. I recently signed a contract to work part-time as the sci-comm specialist for a metrology (measurement science) lab here in AoNZ. I've had standalone projects with this lab for years, and I love working with them. I'm a trained metrologist myself!

This new contract is giving me the chance to think strategically / long-term and to be a bit more ambitious. And it's paying off! Yesterday, we had a big media day.

The lab director appeared on breakfast TV to talk about the importance of measurement. Her interview was great, and was interspersed with lovely B-roll of the lab filmed by the show's local producer.

Then she appeared on a very popular national radio show for a more in-depth conversation about international cooperation and measurement.

I made both of these interviews happen 😊 And the comment I've had from everyone at the lab is "we've never had opportunities like this before".

This lab is part of a larger organization that has basically ignored them in terms of comms support. That's why I kept getting parachuted in for stuff, but they weren't allowed to formally 'hire' me. Changes in the science system mean that the lab is moving out of that organization, so the director decided it was the perfect time to bring me in.

I'm very happy that they did!

I'll continue to work for myself for the majority of the time, but this contract feels like an anchor point that I didn't know I needed. I have so many ideas for things we, as a lab, can do. I'm determined to show the team that I'm a safe pair of hands. I'm feeling really good today.

#scicomm #selfemployed

Reposting this announcement about my website, now that I have my teeny tiny instance running on the Fediverse. It's also going to be the first image I post to this new instance :)

Every few years I try to rethink what it means to share my work online, and give the website a bit of a cut and polish. I always feel like I'm fighting gravity.

This week I've focused on the home page, and trying to make it easy for someone to find something they might be interested in. 25 years of work has gone into it, you'd hope there's a little treat for most folks hidden away in there.

https://ewenbell.com/

#Photography#SelfEmployed#25Years

Thought this was funny.

#selfemployed #Humor