The Cat as Business Guide

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By Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, CWA Blog Chair

My cat has been training me on her preferences, and it occurred to me that she’s providing a useful guide to doing something similar with my freelance communications business.

Freelancers often find that we need to educate clients, as well as colleagues and sometimes even family and friends, about preferences in how we might work together or simply about our availability.

Being a freelancer often means being expected to be available to clients at odd hours, and some clients expect us to always say “yes” to new work. Just as Skitter makes her availability known on her terms, I can say “no” on occasion — and sometimes should do just that.

Skitter doesn’t try to roust me out at ungodly early hours of the morning for breakfast, but she has made it clear that she has specific preferences about what she’ll eat: She adapts to different brands and types of cat food, but will only eat them if they’re accompanied by a type of squishy paste that is squirted on top of dry food. She’s also quite firm about how she likes to be touched. She will flop on her side so I can rub her belly with my foot but doesn’t like a hand on her tummy, and will angle her head until I scritch under her chin just so, and only just so.

The Business Angle

As a freelancer, I can exercise my preferences. I can accept or turn down projects as I please. If a project or a client comes across as difficult in some way, I can (always politely, unless something stronger is required) say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” If someone sends me a file in something other than Word or Acrobat, I can request the format I prefer. If something involves more effort than I feel like spending, I can turn it down. If I’m overloaded, I let clients know rather than try to take on too much. Like the commercial says, and Skitter confirms, I can have it my way.

I can also train my clients to understand when I’m available. Some colleagues post their “office hours” at their websites. I leave that discussion for actual interaction with clients — I remind them of time zone differences that might affect when I can be expected to be available (I’m now in Mountain time with several clients on the East Coast, so that can be a factor; I’m not an early riser!).

I say that I will handle their projects in whatever time is needed to meet reasonable deadlines, but not to expect me to work for them late at night or on weekends or holidays. In reality, I often do get work done “after hours,” but I don’t advertise doing so.

Skitter Naps

Skitter naps. A lot. Whenever and wherever she feels like it. Usually on either my bed or the one in the guest room, but sometimes in the bathroom sink or a spot of sunlight on the living room floor. Location is less the lesson than the fact of the nap, though: Wherever she might be snoozing, she reminds me that if I need a brain break or a physical one, I should take it.

Some projects demand more time and effort than others; it’s easy to become immersed and lose track of time until vision starts to blur, thinking gets fuzzy, and function starts to stumble. Any of that can lead to fatigue, even if it’s still somewhere in the standard 9–5 time of day, but freelancers often think we just have to keep going. We need our rest, though, and the people equivalent of catnaps can be quite restorative.

When deadlines loom, it can be a challenge to give in to physical or mental fatigue during the day, even briefly, for a nap, a walk, a snack, a little time with a partner/spouse or kids. However, just as Skitter is often quite lively late at night, I can make up for rest time during the day by putting in a couple hours of work in the evenings or over a weekend if there’s an urgent deadline to meet. I often find myself feeling refreshed and newly functional after that nap, ready to get work done even if it’s late.

Cats as Inspiration

Sometimes, we just need that external presence as a reminder of when to take a break. My late husband was that presence; now, Skitter provides it. When I work in the evenings, Skitter will hop up on my lap, squirm around my laptop to get comfy, put her paw on my arm, and look up at me as if to say, “You’ve worked hard all day. Time to stop, relax, and pet the cat.”

Responsibility for Skitter’s needs also has some business relevance. While cats can be pretty independent, they still — especially if indoor only — need their humans. Skitter relies on me to provide food, water, and shelter, and to clean her litter box. She reminds me to let my clients know that they can rely on me to do good work on their projects, meet their deadlines, clean up their manuscript messes, and provide whatever communications services they need to keep their projects alive and successful.

There’s another connection between my cat and my business: I rescued Skitter through the Humane Society of Missouri in St. Louis, and several of my clients...