What are you waiting for?
Are you consuming or creating the life you want? Six examples of what being proactive can look like.
Waiting for your next project? Checking emails obsessively or waking up with that knot of worry in your stomach? You're not alone.
We're in a crowded market with more stalls and fewer buyers. So, having a tiny stall in a quiet corner just isn’t the best strategy to ensure you have bread on the table.
A natural first step for many is to sign up on various freelance platforms. There's been a boom in these platforms, but the truth is, they only capture 1-3% of all freelance opportunities. Plus, they keep you stuck in a reactive job-seeking cycle, waiting for work to come to you.
What if, instead of catching a few passersby, you could position your stall in the centre, where everyone can see?
What if, instead of catching a few passersby, you could position your stall in the centre, where everyone can see?
You might think, "I’m not good at sales" or "Marketing isn’t my thing.” But, nobody starts as an expert. These are skills, just like any other, and they can be learned.
At IMMA Collective, we believe in being proactive.
Why wait for an email when you can create the opportunities you want?
This week, I’ve seen our members doing great things. They're showing their work, talking to people, and finding opportunities. Here are some simple examples to inspire you:
1. Launching a special offer
launched a one-day UX-Revamp for climate & social impact companies. He crafted a clear offer, illustrating the process and the benefits previous clients have experienced.
What specific offer could you create to give people a taste of what it’s like working with you?
2. Clarify what you do
Simone O’Donovan posted a ‘Ways to work with me’ inspired by
. It helps because sometimes people don’t know how they can hire you.
How can you make it super clear what you do?
3. Sharing your expertise
Nenad Maljković, an experienced facilitator and expert in building regenerative cultures, generously shared his knowledge and led the first co-design sessions for IMMA Collective. He exemplifies showing, not just telling, what good facilitation looks like.
How can you demonstrate your expertise to give people a taste of what it feels like working with you?
4. Sharing what you believe in
Sara Camnasio shared her values, which helps people understand her better and see if they like her way of working.
What are the five values or beliefs that underlie all your work?
5. Recommending others
Again, Joshua, who is an incredibly generous member of our community, has been recommending and making introductions to help other people he met through IMMA find their next gig.
Can you recommend someone or speak for them when they’re not in the room?
6. Building strong connections
Alejandra Villacis Miranda and Yanna Vogiazou, who met at one of our ‘Impactful Connections’ events, bridged distances and career stages with several virtual coffees and finally met in real life.
People refer and collaborate with those they trust. To build trust, you need to get to know the person.
With whom could you deepen a relationship this week?
Being proactive doesn't mean you have to overhaul your entire approach overnight. It’s about taking small, steady steps. Maybe today, you share a project you loved working on. Tomorrow, you could reach out to a potential collaborator.
Each step is a seed planted, growing the future you want.
What can you do this week to start being proactive?
Interesting opportunities for you
We comb through numerous job boards to find freelance opportunities, saving our members hours of time. Here is a selection of 10 opportunities for this week.
Request for proposals: shareholder engagement - Laudes Foundation
📍Remote
🤝Contract
⏰ April 29, 2024
Independent Contractor & Consulting Opportunities - International Refugee Assistance Project’s (IRAP)
📍Remote
🤝Contract
Social Media Content Creator - Climate Insiders
📍Remote
🤝Part-time
Network Weaver - Transition network
📍UK
Networks Coordinator - CIVICUS
📍Remote
💰$48013/yr
🤝Contract
Product Designer - Tor Project
📍Remote
💰$ 80k - 93k/yr
Contract
UI User Centered Design - The Airbel Impact Lab
📍New York
🤝Part-time
Strategic Grants Associate - The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation (PJMF)
📍Remote
💰$60,000
🤝Contract
Call for Consultants - OAS/UNIDIR Research Project
📍Remote
💰$12,000
🤝Contract
⏰ April 30, 2024
Researcher - Ada Lovelace Institute
📍Hybrid, Brussels, Belgium
💰€42,000
🤝Contract
⏰ May 7, 2024
Found something interesting for a friend. Share the newsletter with them.
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So far this month, we’ve shared 44 opportunities with our members. If you don’t want to spend hours sifting through job boards and want to stop working by yourself, join us.
Behind the Scenes at IMMA:
In our recent co-design session, we discussed what co-creation at IMMA could look like and defined the next steps. The more I work on building IMMA, the more I realise how challenging it is to aim for a regenerative approach rather than an extractive one. I’ve come to see that I had a somewhat romantic view of community and regeneration. Now, I'm confronting the reality, and I’m eager to hear your thoughts on this.
We've paused accepting designers, researchers, and strategists into our Nurture membership for now. We've created a waiting list but are happy to accept other profiles. There's still time to join for the May intake until Tuesday, April 30th. We're looking to diversify and grow this peer-support community intentionally. (Note: This does not apply to Seed.)
Thanks for reading,
Take care,
Lilli
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Whenever you crave more support, join a free Explore IMMA session to get to know our community a little better.
What a heartwarming update to read at the end of the week. Thank you!
I like the point about “I’m not good at sajes”. No one thinks they are because sales feels forced like you’re taking something. But refrained as helping makes sales feel more generous and mutual. Like these examples Lilli