Episode #62 Women in the IT Workplace with Cat Lam

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When it comes to women in the IT workplace, Cat Lam is here as living proof that it doesn’t take anyone especially talented, brainy, or extra-special to go into business for themselves as an independent IT contractor or freelancer. There is a way that you can use your current expertise, make a bunch more money, and have a whole lot more control over your own time and career.

This year marks her 12th year as an independent IT contractor / freelancer. She now call the shots. The day she became self-employed, and got that first contract, she instantly more than doubled her income, and was 100% accountable for her own career. Now, she assists others in finding their own way in that transition.

We speak about her career evolution, how she helps those starting out in an IT workplace, especially women going through the negotiation process, and the value of developing multiple income streams, no matter your industry.

In our conversation about negotiation and income equality, Jen mentioned the 3/5ths compromise, read more about that here.

Quotes

  • “I’ve actually had to learn a lot of stuff on my own.” – Cat Lam
  • “Being in IT, there aren’t a lot of “people” people, so if you have the soft skills you will be that much better than the rest of your peers.” – Cat
  • “Sometimes being a freelancer with multiple clients is more secure than having one job, because if you lose one of them, it’s not like a pink slip and all your income is gone.” – Jen
  • “It’s so easy online now to read bad reviews.” -Jen
  • “The art of the negotiating to being able to read people and figure out what is important to them in order to get what you want.” – Cat
  • “Pair your passion with money making potential, then you get to do what you love almost on somebody else’s dime.” – Cat

To connect with Cat Lam, follow her on her blog at itsolopreneurs.com, and catch up with her on Twitter or Facebook.

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Cat Lam 11Cat Lam is living proof that it doesn’t take anyone especially talented, brainy, or extra-special to go into business for themselves as an independent IT contractor or freelancer. There is way that you can use your current expertise, make a bunch more money, and have a whole lot more control over your own time and career.

When she moved from accounting into the IT workplace, it meant a big change for her. When you sign up for Oracle, or any consulting company for that matter, you sign up for 100% travel. It was fun at the beginning. But eventually, you start to schedule your life months in advance. Marriage meant a big change, and a break from consulting to work briefly with her husband and in the fitness industry. She grew bored of that and returned to her previous work as her own boss.

This year marks her 12th year as an independent IT contractor / freelancer. The day she became self-employed, and got that first contract, she instantly more than doubled her income, and was finally accountable for her own career. Now, she assists others in finding their own way in that transition. 

Financial Fluency Episode #57 Smart Future Planning with Nicole Wipp

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Today on Financial Fluency, I am  so excited to have the amazing Nicole Wipp with me today. Nicole is a master of juggling multiple businesses.

She owns the Family and Aging Law Center in Michigan, focusing on elder law and asset protection. She’s the host of the Smart Planning 101 podcast, the founder of Wipp Enterprises, focusing on business and personal development, and does corporate consulting on the side!

In this episode, Nicole will share with us about the importance of preparing for the future, either for care for your ailing parents, or care for you children, should you be found with a disability or should they have a disability, like autism.

Nicole shares in depth about her illness, early in 2015, where she ended up in the hospital with a rare lung disease. It required her to be hospitalized for 30 days, receive over 50 medications, 4 surgeries, and her husband, 4 year old, and multiple businesses were left to make it on their own while she figured out exactly what was going on.

Luckily her business was set up in such a way that it was able to function and go on without her for a full 90 days while she was in recovery.

Her program Innate impact created out of this experience, to help entrepreneurs be prepared for temporary disability so their businesses can be self sustaining.

Quotes

  • “The goal of smart planning is to reduce the overwhelm.” – Nicole
  • “The day that I signed the special needs trust for my kids, I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders.” -JT
  • “Being a caregiver, whether for children with needs or parents with needs, is one of the hardest things that we can do as human beings.” – Nicole
  • “Understand that if you are a caregiver, you HAVE to take care of yourself!” – Nicole
  • “One in ten Americans has a rare disease.” – Nicole
  • “As a mother, I was like, I cannot die, this child needs me.” – Nicole
  • “Make sure, if you are a business owner, that you set up your business so it can run without you.” – Nicole
  • “When you have a really profound understanding of yourself it makes your business a lot easier.” – Nicole
  • “Innate impact is about being able to say, ‘Yes, I am great!’” – Nicole
  • “It’s about being powerful in a positive way.” – Nicole

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nicole-redNicole Wipp specializes in elder law, asset protection, and estate planning.  Her office, the Family & Aging Law Center, serves the Metro Detroit area.  Nicole also consults with attorneys nationwide. She has a booming law and consulting practice, a rich personal life, a #1 bestselling book, a podcast that produces clients, and she’s surviving a rare lung disease like a champ.  She’s started and grown 3 six-figure businesses, and one 7-figure business.

Find out more about Nicole Wipp and her Innate Impact program here.
You can find the Smart Planning 101 Podcast here.
Family and Aging Law Center – http://www.miestatelawyer.com/
Nicole Wipp Healthy Success Strategist -https://www.nicolewipp.com/

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My favourite tools for life and business

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Sometimes it can seem like there are 101 ways to do one thing online. By the time you get a Facebook ad for everything you’ve ever Googled – and some that you surely haven’t – it can feel like an old fashioned bazaar, complete with shouting in your face.

To try and help here are some of my favorite tools that I use in managing my life and business. Some of them may work for you, some of them not and some you may already use!

Betterment – An automated investing service helping people to better manage and grow their wealth through smarter technology for a fraction of the cost of traditional financial services.

Digit– We all know saving money is important, but actually doing it every week or month can be hard. Every few days, Digit helps by checking your spending habits and removing a few dollars from your checking account if you can afford it. You can easily withdraw your money any time, quickly and with no fees.

Acorns – Want to start investing easily? Acorns automatically invests spare change from your purchases.

Motif Investement – Motif is a trading platform built around you and your insights. Many investments don’t offer a clear picture of holdings and pricing when you need them most. You want to see and understand what you own, what it’s worth and what it costs to trade, at all times. No hidden costs, no management fees.

Fancy Hands – Fancy Hands is a team of US-based assistants at your fingertips. Use any device, at any time of day, and their assistants will tackle anything on your to-do list! No negotiating, no waiting, just send your requests and they’ll get to work immediately.

Sanebox – SaneBox works on top of your email account. After a quick analysis SaneBox is able to determine the importance of each email as it arrives in your inbox. It moves unimportant messages out of your Inbox into a new folder called SaneLater, and summarizes them in a digest.

Mailchimp -My current and favorite email marketing system. Pretty emails you can send easily and inexpensively.

Full Disclaimer:

Sometimes I use affiliate links on this page. This means if you make a purchase through my recommendation I may get paid a small percentage of the fee. This in no way increases your cost, and in some cases gives you a discount.