The Reality Of Being A Freelance AC

Hi Everyone, I thought I would do my blog on being a freelancer AC. I have been freelance for almost 8 years now.  Many wonderful AC's I talk to are fed up of not being paid enough and having to then fund raise to do the job they are employed to do!
Well, I am here to tell you if have ever considered going freelance it is possible. This is how I did it.
I use to be a care home manager for a number of years and was tired of all the paperwork and politics and decided after first hand seeing how well my residents who had dementia at mainly later stages responded so well to activities I did with them. I was amazed  at how well they interacted when we did reminiscence and pet therapy. I had my epiphany moment and handed in my notice but I made sure I had other areas of revenue coming in.
Over the course of 8 years my business has evolved and developed with specialist activity sessions, our own product range, training, community project work, partnering with other organisation on other ventures and so much more. 
So when you begin your journey always be open to possibilities, I started off with one reminiscence box and one booking and built my business from there.








Here are my top tips for you if you wish to become a freelancer-


Plan- Work out exactly what you wish to offer, what is your niche you are  bringing to the market place to fill. Write down how you want your business to look, what you want to do. If you need to go and get training. Write it all down so you can plan and create a time frame for yourself for when you wish to launch yourself.


Money- Make sure you have income coming in whilst you build your business, I worked three nights  a week and weekends to ensure I had enough money coming in to support me and my family and freed myself up during the day to build my business by taking bookings. After 18 months I was able to drop the two jobs as my business provided enough for me to live on.

Ideal Customer- If you work out  from the onset who your ideal customers are then you will succeed. there is no point pitching your marketing to all and sundry. You will get fed up with no results, so work out who is it you are working for with your offer of services, where do they hang out? Once you work that out then market your service direct to them to succeed.


Pricing- This is a big area newbies fall down on.  Even I have been caught out on my pricing to my detriment in my early days. When you price your hourly rate please make sure you consider one your time, how much it costs you to get to your appointments, cost of materials, etc. Don't just pluck any old price that comes to you, Make sure you charge enough to cover your costs and allows you to make a profit.


Don't compare yourself to the competition- Don't worry about the competition and what your competitors are doing and charging. It could make you wobbly and not believe in yourself. Stay in your own lane, focus on your business and do your thing. Remember, you are your brand and you are best at doing you.

Confidence- You have to believe in yourself and be confident.  Don't think there are too many freelance AC's so there is  no room for you, nonsense. There so many care homes, day centres and private clients that quite frankly there is not enough of us to go round. So there is plenty of room for you.

I have the privilege of working with AC's about to launch there business and I have seen so many be very successful at it. Many have done my course I have put together which shows you  every step of the way exactly what to do and you have continued support. You can find out it on this link.http://lovejoycentre.co.uk/freelance-activity-coordinator-course/.

I provide a range of excellent courses to assist the freelancer and any AC in their job role, check out my website www.lovejoycentre.co.uk . I hope you have found this blog interesting.

Until next time keep shining and remember your worth. Do you like what I have shared? 

Don't Be Alone!

Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup

Sign up  to go on my mailing list and get my FREE  ebook: "10 Top Tips for Engaging and Stimulating Activities With The Elderly" 

Please click below:
http://eepurl.com/Iw9p1

Until next time, keep shining.
Love,
Ann Marie x

Preparing for Christmas for AC's -Your Check List

 Hi Everyone, This year is just zooming by and it is about 11  weeks left to Christmas and the count down has begun.


It is one of the busiest times of the year for AC's and if your new at your role it can be very overwhelming. Don't panic. Help is at hand and if you are struggling for ideas this blog will help you and if you need further help come into my facebook group where I share loads of ideas, provide free resources and gives lots of encouragement.

So to help you here is my Christmas checklist for you-

.   

Check List..................

  First of all, sit down with a paper and pen and plan what sort of activities you will be doing this year.
When you write it down you have plan to follow. When you know what you are doing then you can prepare.

1. Panto - Have you booked your Christmas entertainment? If not NOW really is the time to do this. They get pretty booked up fast and the earlier the better. Plan when you are going to have your Christmas main resident's party or theme and BOOK and PLAN exactly what your going to be doing. If you have no budget for one and want to do your own. Then if you are one of my group members  you can access a written one complete with parts and dialogue. You could get staff and residents involved to do one.

2 Carol Service- You can approach local schools or church choirs to come in and lead you in a carol service concert and this can be done anytime in the run up to Christmas, as the month of December is Christmas themed, plan your activity sessions out and the main highlights in the momentum leading up to your main Christmas event.

3. Activity Count Down Suggestions- What I have planned with my groups I work with on a weekly basis is to do planned activity sessions leading up to Christmas as follows, this is just an example -

           Week 1- Salt dough Christmas tree decorations.

           Week 2- Christmas paper angels and Christmas cards.

            Week 3. Putting up the Christmas tree and home decorations.

          Week 4. Do a ginger bread house.

          Week 5. Carol Service for residents and relatives.

          Week 6. Christmas Service for residents.

         Week 7. Panto and Christmas party.

4. Include Everyone- Remember to factor in everyone in all the festivities especially assign time for those who choose to remain in their rooms through choice or cannot get out due to mobility issues.

5. Learn to Delegate- You are not superman or super woman. So what you can delegate out to others to help you with, do it. I know it can be hard for AC's to do this but you might find that your colleagues will want to help. Don't burn yourself out.

6. Making use of relatives- Ask the resident's relatives to get involved to assist you on large projects, you would be surprised that they actually want to help. So ask. Always great to have extra hands to help.

7. Gifts- Buy practical gifts for your resident's, what you know they will use and appreciate, set a realistic budget amount. Again ask for help if lots of gifts and order online well in advance of Christmas rush.

Finally remember YOU. Yes, you. Your important and you have to pace yourself and do your own personal Christmas shopping and planning. So make sure you    

make time for yourself and do not put unnecessary pressure and expectations on yourself. Enjoy your time with your family, leave work at work and give yourself permission to switch off and relax.

Until next time keep shining and remember your worth. Do you like what I have shared? 

Don't Be Alone!

Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup

Sign up  to go on my mailing list and get my FREE  ebook: "10 Top Tips for Engaging and Stimulating Activities With The Elderly" 

Please click below:
http://eepurl.com/Iw9p1

Until next time, keep shining.
Love,
Ann Marie x