Family emergencies can serve as a reminder that there is much more to life than work – these times can offer an amazing opportunity to pause and reflect on our own priorities.

Unfortunately, even during periods of grief or illness, we tend to measure ourselves against others who appear to have achieved superhero status.

As social media has become a part of our daily lives, we see images of superheroes all around us – their plethora of blog posts, never-ending networking and dizzying schedules are on public display. For the rest of us, those who seem to never slow down (and never fail) often are used as the measuring stick of success.

The Real Deal

Most of us know that when you see someone else’s marriage, you don’t really know what goes on “behind closed doors.” The same is true for professional dynamos – those who seem to have superhero stamina and smarts are actually real people with real problems and real failings.

What’s more, sometimes we assign superhero status to those who would readily admit they are far from it, if asked. Fellow Solo PR Pro, Laura Scholz (whose energy has always been a marvel to me), bravely recounted her struggles on her blog recently.

This is not to say the world isn’t filled with heroes – I’m sure we all have many heroes of the human, mortal variety who inspire us daily and keep life interesting. But superheroes only exist in comic books and movies, and constantly trying to be one will only leave us exhausted, unsatisfied and empty.

I loved it when Stuart Smalley, the old self-help-addicted character on Saturday Night Live, said, “I’m should-ing all over myself.” How often do you catch yourself should-ing? What are your tips for avoiding superhero syndrome?

Image credit: Carla216

In fact, there is no freedom without independence, and those of us who’ve chosen to ply our public relations trade independently know this well. Exempt from external control and empowered to manage our futures without restraint, Solo PR Pros know the true meaning of freedom in our own lives.

So, let’s take a moment to enjoy Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness on your own terms! If you aren’t independent yet, let this be an occasion where you develop a plan for your own declaration of independence.

Last year, I shared my favorite perks of freedom – what are yours?

Image credit: Techhie

1. Are your taxes done? Any surprises?

2) How many years did it take before your business had an actual profit?

2a) How long did it take you to match what you made prior to going solo?

3) Why did you go solo in the first place?

4) What are your clients doing for Earth Day 4-22?

If you weren’t able to make the chat, why did you go solo? Was it a financially profitable experience for you initially? If not, did the non-financial benefits make it worthwhile? Let us know in the comments!

The #solopr chat – held each Wednesday from 1-2 p.m. Eastern – is a weekly ritual for some of the most savvy Solo PR Pros on Twitter. Anyone with a Twitter account is welcome to participate – see Join Us for the #solopr Chat on Twitter to find out how!

For those of you who are active on Twitter, @PRCog needs no introduction. One of the few examples of social media anonymity done right, PR Cog expresses – with trademark humor – many of the frustrations that exist for a mid-level PR pro. These generalized beefs can be with both clients and upper management, and many of his tweets are now on behalf of other annoyed PR tweeters, submitted anonymously to him by Direct Message.

I was happy to electronically interview this popular Twitter character turned blogger, who shares his insights on both PR Cog’s Gear Grindings and PRBreakfastclub (where he serves as Editor and Publisher). But little did I know I was about to be given a worldwide exclusive to the Cog-related story of the year!  Read on…

1. Being a PR Cog sure sounds tough — how’d you come to such a fate?

Well, I became a Cog in a small professional services based shop about 5 years ago after leaving the professional services space.  I became @PRCog on a bad working day almost 18 months ago. I made the account, tweeted a bit, followed some journalists and pros (not in the Law & Order sense) and forgot about it.  I returned a few weeks later to discover I had been re-followed by more than I expected.  I fully expected backlash and have only been told by one person that they know of someone who doesn’t like what I’m doing.  The person who doesn’t like it has yet to grow the brass ones to tell me. More details can be found in Valerie Simon’s interview from a few months back.  But it’s been a very enlightening experience since I started.

2. What’s the most difficult thing about your current state of affairs?

Let’s come back to this one…

3. Do you ever long to escape the grind and become a Solo PR Pro?

Well, this is the first time I’m putting this out there publicly — I already have.  A few months back my old agency and I parted ways.  I wasn’t growing as a professional any longer and had filled all the possible positions / done all the tasks at that agency (we were VERY specialized).  It was all very amicable – I still try to refer them business and they send me work occasionally.

Since then, in addition to looking for new opportunities at an agency and in-house (because we all like the stability of a paycheck, and I’m the first to admit I’ve got plenty to learn – I know if I don’t pursue other opportunities simultaneously I’ll wonder what’s out there), I’ve setup my own shop and have been living the solo life (living room office, kids asking for juice during biz calls, etc. – the whole kit’n'kaboodle).  I’ve worked a few contracts/consultations and am continuing to seek out new business.

4. Is being an independent PR consultant the best way to find freedom? What’s a Cog like you dream of doing?

Unless you can find that perfect agency/company and love everyone you work with (i.e., if PRBC were to form their own agency – xo Cats & Kittens ), it would appear to be.  The experience has been very liberating.

During a recent potential client meeting, who in addition to my normal skillset I discovered was also looking for skills and experience outside my comfort zone, I was able to actually say, “Yes, we can do these things, realize though this part of it isn’t where my background is and it’ll be a learning experience for both of us.”  I disclaimed that if needed we could knock down the tab or I’d bring someone in short term to teach me a few things.  I’m happy to sell myself to the best of my abilities, not make promises I then expect my “staff” to fulfill.

Could it have cost me the contract? Maybe, but that’s better than having a dissatisfied client and not being true to what I can and can’t do. Particularly early on – some of the best clients at my former company came from satisfied client referrals – don’t want to start off on the wrong foot.

So, returning to question 2 — the biggest issue now is the social media side.  Inevitably the question comes up, “Do you have any social media experience?” It’s quite a dance trying to reference my blogging, PRBC activities, and Twitter use without specifically referencing PRCog. Returning back to a normal twitter account will be difficult given the number of people that have actually seen me IRL (most of whom I trust, but there’s too many to depend on it being kept a secret).  Thankfully, I’m having more conversations than snark, so even if I have to go there I can.  Potential clients have no interest in outing me.  Most of the current venom has been archival or ghost tweets (tweets sent on behalf of others [as therapy] that they can’t send because their bosses or clients are following them).

5. Any extra tidbits you can tell us about the man behind the mask?

Oh goodness.  Well, next big projects include an interesting PRBC project and for this summer — Masquertweet, of course .

I’m still the same snark filled, fun loving, optimistic (ok, that one’s only partially true) me.

Actually there are a few odd observations — One of the biggest things that surprises me is the number of people I’ve never tweeted with before whose first question in a dm is ‘What agency are you at?”  I don’t assume everyone in the PR world knows who I am (goodness, I would hope not), but if I was really going to randomly disclose that info wouldn’t I have it in my bio?  Or a real name? Or…something else indicating I want to tie my real self to this identity?  This may be an indication of one of the biggest SM/PR problems — not researching (or reading) before engaging.

The lack of identity seems to put a number of people at ease online – I’ve had numerous people tell me things in confidence I wouldn’t tell others that I do know IRL.  Perhaps there’s a belief (which is true) that I have no incentive to ruin anyone (at least anyone that hasn’t given me reason to), and the credibility of an anonymous person is in question so the risk is minimal.  Maybe others are just more trusting than I am (a definite possibility).

—

So, there’s the bombshell. I had intended to interview a Cog on how he longed to break free – only to find out he already had! Fellow PR pros, do you agree that becoming an independent consultant is the best way to escape life-long Cog status? What advice would you offer to our newly-solo PRCog?

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1) Do you take credit cards or some sort of online payment vehicle?

2) Have you ever relocated your biz to another city/state? How did that work? Did you keep clients?

3) How do you justify retainers over $2k/mo, and/or how do you explain your hourly rate?

4) What are some of your biggest “lessons learned” (the hard way, or otherwise)?

One of my favorite quotes came from Kristie Aylett, aka @krisTK:

Lesson learned: more clients and more money do not equal more happiness or career satisfaction.

Be sure to check out the transcript in PDF for more insights on these important issues.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned as an independent PR pro? Let us know in the comments!

The #solopr chat – held each Wednesday from 1-2 p.m. Eastern – is a weekly ritual for some of the most savvy Solo PR Pros on Twitter. Anyone with a Twitter account is welcome to participate – see Join Us for the #solopr Chat on Twitter to find out how!