Hi friends. Whatās new? Happy Friday. Hope youāre getting/taking Presidentās Day off on Monday. Iām not, I think Iām going to use it to catch up on work. Which is a nice segue into todayās note!Ā
I saw a post on Instagram the other day that said something like: Forget Take Your Child to Work Day, I want Take Your Friends to Work Day! Another one a while back was like: Isnāt it crazy how you can know every minute detail of your bestieās life and have NO idea what her job is?Ā
I think about this all the time. Like I can easily imagine my teacher friends and my doctor friends going about their days, but thatās probably just because Iāve spent time in classrooms and doctorās offices myself. (Plus āI deal with people and do more paperwork than you thinkā is pretty self-explanatory.) But somebody in ābusiness management,ā what even is that?? Donāt even get me started on my friends who have probably changed career paths Lord-knows how long ago and itās just never come up. Some people donāt talk about their work, ever.Ā
I mean, itās fine and great to not talk about work. For most people, itās nowhere near the most important thing in your life (which is great)! But for most working people, itās likely the thing that you spend the most time on, and possibly the thing that causes you the most stress. Your co-workers are likely the people you interact with the most often. Whether you like to talk about it or not, your job can be pretty impactful on your life.Ā
Alsoā¦ Iām just nosycurious.
I know Iām not alone in my curiosity, though. A handful of times in the past few weeks alone, someoneās asked me to explain my job. Itās surprisingly hard! Most people seem to have an easy time saying what their organization does but not explaining their actual day-to-day role. You work at a hospital? Great, I know all about hospitals. And your job isā¦Ā associate operational relations manager? Uhhā¦ cool?
For me, itās the opposite. My day-to-day is easy to explain ā the hard part is identifying a common thread that resembles a job title (#selfemployed). Yes, sometimes I write stuff, but yesterday I reorganized a website. Last month I made a magazine. Tomorrow Iāll write a bunch of social media posts. Sometimes itās marketing, sometimes itās not. Sometimes itās sciencey, sometimes itās not. Sometimes Iām flying solo, sometimes Iām working with my marketing firm.
But hereās the thing: Hearing about other peopleās jobs can be a fun get-to-know-you exercise, but I also know that a good number of friends are looking to grow their businesses this year. Some want new customers or clients. Some friends are hiring. Some friends are looking for jobs. Some friends are contractors (itās me, hi, Iām a contractor). Some friends are looking for contractors (call me?).Ā
Can we be doing more to make these connections happen??
Take, for instance, my two friends who run a bookstore in Escanaba, Michigan. I assure you that I tell 100% of people who mention theyāre headed anywhere near that part of the country (south-central Upper Peninsula) to stop by the store. (Actually, I try to get people to go prank the owners, but to my knowledge, no one has taken me up on it.) Has anyone actually gone to Escanaba on my recommendation? I have no idea. Am I going to keep trying? Absolutely yes.
I wonder how much time we waste thinking of ānetworkingā as āconvincing relevant strangers weāre valuableā instead of looking to the people that already think weāre valuable, and making sure we come to mind when relevant.Ā
Should you work with your friends?
Ah, but thereās always a catch. Are we playing with fire if we start mixing business and personal life? Itās pretty low stakes for me to recommend a book seller ā thatās a lot different between recommending a friend for a job. A friend Iāve never actually worked with.
Do you think your friends are good at their jobs? How would you even know?
One of my besties here in KC is a realtor, and Iād totally recommend him for anyone house hunting in the area. But admittedly: He wasnāt my realtor. Heās successful, but I have no idea what being a āgoodā realtor even means. I just know heās a good human.
Personally, my worst business moments havenāt been mistakes that were made, theyāve all been people problems: things like egos, insecurities, and bad communication. Iād MUCH prefer to work with a charming human who is a less-than-perfect worker over a total jerk who runs a tight ship. If I ran the world, more job applications would require a character reference! And maybe a personality test.Ā
Plus, Iām in business with my friends now, and Iāve never regretted it. Iām very pro friends-in-business.
But seriously, whatās your job?
OK I mean it: I really would like to hear what you do all day, if you care to tell me. That goes for you, too, stay-at-home parents and retirees, Iām curious what youāre up to, too. Everybody spends their days doing something. And everybodyās probably looking for help in some area, too.
Ready? Iāll go first!
I do freelance marketing and communications, both on my own (Funkyard LLC!) and with my content marketing agency, Lunaris Creative. For some clients, itās a lot of writing articles. For others, itās consulting on communications strategies, updating websites, running social media channels, so much editing, launching email newsletters, putting together promo videos, drafting press releases, helping websites appear higher in search results, managing blogs, fact checking articles, rebranding, graphic design, putting together communications trainingsā¦ and all sorts of odds and ends.Ā
Our specialty is scientific and science-adjacent companies and organizations, since we have science and science journalism backgrounds, but weāre flexible ā weāve never turned away a prospective client for not being scientific enough.
Lunaris isnāt hiring at the moment, and Iām not on the job hunt. But Iām always looking for new work, and Lunaris is always looking for new clients! So do let me know if you think of anybody who might need anything related to what I listed above. Next time you come across a website or blog that really stinks, send it to me, Iāll pitch them our services (ha ā¦ Iām kind of serious) ā especially you crazy kids in the sciences!!Ā
Hereās my website: https://www.itsdrfunk.com
OK OK thatās more than plenty, your turn! Itās officially Take Your Anna to Work Day.Ā
What do you actually do. And do you need anything right now? Customers, clients, new hires, a new job? A new hobby to distract you from your job? Prayers (throwback to last week)?!Ā
Fam I have no idea if this is a dumb idea but at least youāll give me some entertainment over the next few days as you potentially reply. Have a great weekend!!
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Hahaha! Thanks for the continued stream of recommendations for our store. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever come in and pranked us at your behest. But we get a lot of weirdos, and they could have easily blended in
Insightful, creative, and funny, as always, Anna!
In case you really want to know... I spent 35 years as a professor of ecology (research, teaching) at UW-Madison. (Hey, I didn't know you were a student of Lars!) Six years as a research dean. Retired in 2023, and now have a new (part-time) job as a Distinguished Fellow with The Lumen Center in Madison, WI. TLC is a new center for the study of Christianity and culture. I'm the science-faith guy!