Presents Webinar at

on the theme of
Managing Freelancers Feast and Famine
Cycle
Pritam Bhattacharyya
wordsmith.bengal@gmail.com
Founder and Chief Wordsmith, Wordsmith Communication
Founder Teacher , Wordsmith University
Web-casting Now from Calcutta, INDIA
1st March 2013 - 1600 Hours GMT onwards

Discussion Schedule and Tone

40 mins of presentation and followed by Q&A and

freewheeling discussions
Semi-formal and conversational

Essential Terminological Exposure

Freelancers income cycle : A quasi-random cyclic process of
varying characteristics governed by host of interconnected
external and internal processes.
Examples of such Cyclic Processes

Climate, Stock

Markets, Life Insurance Claims.

Famine Cycle : Lowest point below an averaged out,
subjectively arrived threshold denoted by a number $ X /
per month in a cycle
Feast Cycle : Income going above an averaged out,
subjectively arrived threshold denoted by a number $ X /
per month in a cycle

A question

What is my threshold income ?

(over a certain period, say 24 months ?)

Gathering Evidence

Plot a curve
Timeline can be monthly / quarterly
Have a hard look at the curve

The Cyclic Curve

Empirical Conclusions
There is a structural similarity between your income cycle and other vaster and broader economic cycles, earthly cycles and cosmic cycles.
Most of these cycles are partly or fully beyond the control of you and me or for that matter any living species individually or collectively.

We can only try to manage / mitigate these using our own and expert knowledge.

Foreknowledge of a cyclic process (within a certain level of confidence) is a powerful tool to destroy anxiety, provide strength and make you
face the good or bad both in a better manner.
Bad = Famine Cycle
Good = Feast Cycle
Signpost : Does the income management more eerily now seems to be a matter of astrological / destiny cycle consultation?

Vedic Astrology

Vedic Astrology is a Life Management Tool in its broadest scope

The word Veda comes from the Sanskrit root vid which means to know.
As a Life Management Tool, foretelling is just a part of the tool.
The tool is subtle, sophisticated and user-dependent, i.e. the skill, consciousness and the expertise of the astrologer
directly influence the foretelling power of the tool.

Note : Just like a weather forecast helps you decide to take an umbrella, forecasts of Vedic Astrology provide
protection in a similar manner. A weather forecaster cannot control rain or bring rain. So with a Vedic astrological
astrologer with regards to events, including your income.

Encryption, Convolution, Compression

The Encrypted Signature

Inputs = Initial Conditions Initialization
a. Place of birth (/manifestation)
b. Date of birth (/manifestation)
c. Time of birth (/manifestation)
Note : The signature above essentially signifies the encrypted signature of the seed-time
and not a person or event. The astrologer maps this time-seed into the person and the
time view using the toolbox and his experience and skill in using the toolbox

Cycles and Epicycles I

TOOLBOX
Primary Factors
Secondary Factors
Tertiary Factors
Marginal Factors
Fixed Factors
More Malleable Factors
Strengths and Weighed Averages

Cycles and Epicycles II

These cycles and epi-cycles provide an insight into good

earning intervals and bad earning intervals (general). These

intervals are as long as 20 years and as short as few days.
It also tells that there are epi-cycles and inside cycles where
there are favourable opportunities in certain areas.
For example, it can indicate that from March 2013 to April
2014, one will have negatives on technology related areas (IT
sector translation) but high on Government related areas
( leaflets for Government support translation)
It can also say that the same sector shows high positives on
art and artistic activities (may be you should think of asking
your clients for DTP / Design works if you have a diversified
business)

Our Consultant Astrologer and my teacher in this area Dr. Ashutosh

Bhattacharjee is a prominent astrologer in India having experience and
expertise in Vedic astrology for more than 38 years. He has been a Civil
Engineer and worked as a Government Engineer in Public Works
Department in India for four decades.
He learnt Vedic predictive astrology through discipilic succession or
parampara tradition from his uncle who was a great scholar of Sanskrit
and a renowned astrologer of his time.
Dr. Bhattacharjee was awarded with the Gold Medal and title Jyotish
Samrat by the Astrological Research Project for his reflective research
on Medical Astrology. He was also rewarded with the title Doctor of
Astrology by the Astrological Research Project for his study on the
influence of astrology in conjugal life subsequent publication of a book in
Bengali (Astrology in Conjugal Life). In 2012, He
delivered his valuable lecture on the effect of stars on human body for
developing Cancer in International Seminar of ARP Kolkata and he was
awarded with professor of Astrology.
He continues his research and practice of Vedic astrology and considers
this profound knowledge as a Life Management tool for every human
being and everybody has a right to use this knowledge to manage ones
life in a better manner.

Summary

Your income will have cyclical variations. We dont have 100% control over it.
We can have a forecast and remain prepared.
This forecast helps us to diversify/change/make decisions at optimum time.
The whole knowledge provides you path of least resistance at set times
The forecast is not the event, just like the map is not the territory.

Famine Cycle Management

Availability (Time) and Skill (S) get converted into Money or

Cash for you.
T * S = Money [ More Money More Work Less Time

Use time to diversify

Use time to market
Use time to read
Use time to research
Use the time as some reward to you
Use time to connect
Use the time to experiment

Remember in the feast cycle, you will pine for the time you have
now !!!

Tips
The famine cycle you are experiencing now is part of the
cosmic fabric it is not your fault
Stop blaming yourself
Stop blaming others
The famine cycle is cutting deeper because of not proper
actions taken during last feast cycle
The cut can be made lighter [ Coming Next ]
Cut fixed costs to the minimum
Keep a buffer cash called Provident Fund
Discipline Yourself
Price of freedom is eternal cost-vigilance
Dont be envious they are just on their feast cycle ! So you were
and will be.
Market, market, market using the most-precious and nonrenewable resource - time

Case Study I The Hungry Teacher and

the hungrier Design Man
In 2010, we at Wordsmith Communication had a famine cycle which lasted in its
most intense form for around 4 months. We did the following
I started teaching at proz.com. The time was spent in research and preparing presentations like this for
colleagues. The venture made me connect with some of the best freelancers. Here are
some of my courses at proz.com
As a fall out of these teaching experiences, some of my students became teachers in Wordsmith
University which was operationally launched by the end part of 2012
One of our Project Managers learnt DTP with vengeance and started an in-house DTP. Indian language
fonts are notoriously obstinate with DTP packages and we sold anti font-headache pills to the client
PMs !

Case Study II
One of our freelance colleagues (7+ years of experience) had a great
feast swing in 2011. A major Japanese multinational hired his
translation and review skills for a high price in his specialization of
mechanical robots. He was discussing about investment ( hedge for a
famine cycle) and I asked him to make a tour of Japan / UK using some
of the earnings as an investment. He did.
He ceased to become an email.
He showed the clients that he values them extra-ordinarily and
everyone loves differentiated treatment.
His clients esteem increased and he was a person, a presence rather
than an email in a crowd of @s He was a traveling business.
He partnered with a colleague and spent some time meeting prospects
there and came back a changed man
As a reward of our advice, he recommended our agency to some of his
leads and prospects and we happily diverted all jobs in his pair to him
from these clients
He became a negotiator rather than a mere participant in a reverse
auction process

Feast Upswing
We look before and after,
And pine for what is not:
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is
fraught;
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest
thought.
(To a Skylark P. B Shelley English Romantic Poet (1792
1822)
Freelancers Interpretation
In our feast cycle or near feast cycle, we feel a tinge of sadness
that this may not last forever and famine cycle lies ahead
In our famine cycle, we fortify ourselves with the thought that
LSJ (Life Saving Job) is going to drop in the inbox soon !

Quantifying a quasi-random cyclical process-peaks ?

What is our effective income in a

feast cycle ?
Peak Income / 1.414 = 0.707 *
Peak Income
(This is called RMS or Root Mean Square
Income)

Climatic Sciences
Atomic Physics
Stochastic Sciences

RMS Income Conclusions

Your effective Income is 70% of your peak (maximum point over a time
period) income.
During feast cycle, strive for premium paying clients
Sacrifice low peak incomes for a large higher peak income ( your time is
limited)
Premium Clients acquisition is an art and needs extensive marketing, trial and
error, dialogues and experience
Research Surveillance Permission Content Timing and
( favourable time) PREMIUM CLIENTS
Set aside a part of your income to pursue PREMIUM clients
Tie Cost with Revenue [ plain English question the philosophy Build and
they will come ]

GRAND SUMMARY
Famine Cycle is inherent and inescapable. It is part of the cosmic fabric.
With intelligence, expert guidance, we can remain prepared. One of the
tools is Vedic Astrology
Famine Cycle provides you with tremendous opportunity and unlocks one
of the key resources time
Diversify, market and experience with this new resource
In Feast Cycle, strive for higher peaks.
Save hard asset (cash ) from feast cycle and invest a part into soft assets
(training, client engagement, business travel, collaboration, new skills)
Save for Provident Fund (providential famine cycle )
Read, Research and Market everyday

A One-to-One Course
Designing Your Email Marketing Campaign
1.A researched and hi-impact mailing list.
2.A ready content copy /flexi-copy in English.
3.Tweaking Points and Tips.
4.Deployment Plan
5.Follow-up actions
More Course Details and Showing
Interest
Wordsmith Email Campaign Course

A One-to-One Course
How to start and grow with a Translation
Agency
1. What does an agency do ?
2.Do I qualify ?
3.What about my freelance career ?
4. Marketing
5. Challenges and Rewards
6. Step by Step Boot Strap Approach
More Course Details and Showing
Interest
How to start your own Translation Agency

Further Reading - Assorted

Seth Godin Blog : Arguably the most influential Marketing Thinker of our times.
Read his blog here at www.sethgodin.com
My own blog on Translation Business : http://wordsmithofbengal.wordpress.com
Arther Borges on Fresh Freelancer http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/article39.htm - A very great introduction by a
veteran Freelance translator
Arther Borges on Translating for Free
http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/Articles.asp?ArtID=139 - A very valuable
essay and guide to crowd sourcing for freelance translators
Practitioners Tips for Email Marketing
http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/Articles.asp?ArtID=125 A short essay on some features
of a successful Email Campaign and a text summary of todays presentation

Price as a Signature Tips for Translators

http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/Articles.asp?ArtID=122 How to communicate your
pricing data artfully and effectively

How to market your services in Social Networking Noise or Sonetoise

http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/Articles.asp?ArtID=137

Thank You
Me and my team members at
www.WordsmithCommunication.com ,
www.Wordsmithuniversity.com ,
www.Pentasect.com

Thank you for your time, patronage and patience.

Please send your feedback. As a customer/colleague, your
feedback is the best way to deliver better.
Give your feedback here at wordsmith.bengal@gmail.com