Feb 12, 2008

Interview With Harrison McLeod – “The Pen Is Mightier!”

(500 Internet Points for whoever caught the Sean Connery reference in the title.)

A few weeks ago I put in interview requests with James Chartrand and Harry McLeod of Web Content Writer Tips and they were kind enough to clue me in to some of their advice for business success. I had tons of energy when I posted James’ interview, so it looked spiffy, but right now it’s almost midnight, I’ve got bronchitis (and no meds), and I’m in D.C. on a weeklong business trip that leaves me missin’ the hell out of my wife and kids so I’m slamming this one out but I’ll make it up to ya, Harry. (There, Naomi, you’re not the only one spilling your guts on your blog!). But enough about me. It’s all about Harry now.

Dave: How do I do justice introducing the co-author of the “Men With Pens” blog without doing a double take? Introduce yourself.

Harry: Dave, I’ve been staring at your questions for an hour thinking of how to answer them. I’ve been debating whether I should grab something containing alcohol from the ‘fridge. Of course, I’ve warned James many times not to drink and write, so I couldn’t do the same in good conscience. Here goes.

Hi, I’m Harrison McLeod, the other half of JCM Enterprises. I’m a writer and a graphic designer. I’m single, 42 and a Sagittarian. I have no kids, and I live in Las Vegas with two cats and a roommate. I’m also most likely the only guy you’ll ever meet who has a motorcycle parked in his office. Seriously.

Dave: Why do you love what you do?

I don’t think there is a “why” to my doing this. I do what I do because it works for me. I enjoy the variety and the process of creation involved with each project, whether it’s a writing assignment or a graphic design project.

I love the sense of accomplishment and being able to point and say, “I did that!” I guess I’m taking my 15 minutes of fame any way I can – and hoping no one notices when I try to steal a few extra minutes.

We should thank all Gen-Xers for giving us the drive to break out of the cubicle and start doing what we love. How many of us grew up watching our parents working the daily grind? Back then, your job was a life sentence until retirement. You’d get your party and your watch, and you could look forward to a pension.

These days, there is no such thing as job security. People know this. I know this.

I love that I can freelance and have my own business. Having a business partner like James makes it even better. Anyone can start a business if the person is willing to do the work involved. It doesn’t happen by itself, folks.

Dave: What is one of the major turning points / “A-ha moments” that brought you one of your biggest successes?

Harry: My biggest a-ha moment happened recently. I attended the Las Vegas Blog Expo back in November. Something in my head clicked when I mingled with other bloggers.

The names I’d seen on posts I read now had faces. These were real people just like me, plain and simple. They weren’t doing anything special, and they weren’t revealing any great blogosphere secrets that James and I didn’t know already.

Hell, I’m sure there are people reading this now thinking I’m some kind of celebrity. I’m not.

Once I realized these superstar bloggers were real people, there was no reason why I couldn’t do the same thing they were doing – only my goal is to do it better, take it a step further, and to do what no one else is doing.

I came back to the keyboard with a vengeance. I think I even scared James with my newfound enthusiasm.

Dave: What are some ways you help keep a work-life balance?

Harry: There’s really not much to balance. I don’t have any kids, just a couple of cats that are pretty self-sufficient. Even if I live in Las Vegas, I’m not out hitting the casinos or whooping it up in the clubs. That’s not me.

When I need balance after a rough week, I fire up the motorcycle (a Honda VTX1800 RS) and head out into the desert on the longest stretch of road I can find. Riding with no distractions for a couple of hundred miles or so is a great way to get your thoughts back in order and recharge your batteries.

It’s easy to lose track of the days or how much you’re working when you work from home. I had to adjust to resisting the temptation to work around the clock. I had gotten to a point where I was in a bad cycle of staying up all night to work and get ahead. Then I’d be too tired to get up early the next day, and I’d fall behind. It was very counter-productive, to say the least.

James pointed out that my work habits were crap. I decided to take control. One of the best things any new freelancer can do is to set up a schedule and stick to it.

I plan out my tomorrows the night before, jotting down tasks I’d like to start or finish on a schedule. If a task isn’t finished, it goes to the top of the list. Every task gets one hour of time. When the day comes, I know what I’m doing, how long to spend on it, and my day flows.

I often finish the task or the project ahead of schedule. I’m getting more done in a day, and I end up with more time on my hands rather than less.

Dave: What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?

Harry: I think I’m going to have that alcohol now. Man, what don’t I know now that I wish I had known?

I wish I could go back in time and tell myself, “Harry, don’t worry so much. It’ll work out just fine. Don’t worry about the money, don’t worry about the bills, don’t worry that there won’t be enough work, and most of all, don’t worry about failing.”

That’s the thing. So many people are worried and afraid to start, so they never get started. They stay in their crappy jobs with a false sense of security.

The reality is that working for yourself is much more secure than working for someone else. When I was in the corporate world, there were always talks of layoffs and cut-backs. You’d work like a dog for a lousy $0.25 raise each year. The work, the hours, and the responsibilities increased while your paycheck stayed the same.

I knew there had to be something better. I’m lucky I found the courage to go after it.

Dave: What leverage do you plan to use to grow your business over the coming year?

Harry: Work smarter, not harder. For the past two years, James and I have busted our asses to build our reputation and credibility. Now we’re at a point where we can relax just a little. Over the next year, we’d like to continue growing our business and push it further.

With a well-built business comes freedom so that James and I can enjoy some of the better aspects of our business – blogging, for one.

Dave: What blog posts are you most proud of?

Harry: The posts I’m most proud are those in my “The 7 Deadly Fears of Writing” series. The inspiration came from Jurgen Wolff’s Your Writing Coach.

After I wrote a post, James suggested I make a series. At first, I said, “Crap. A series?” Then I had to laugh at myself. What was I afraid of?

I explored each of those seven fears and it turned out to be a great experience and an excellent series.

See, that’s the thing about writing. You learn more about the world around you, and you learn more about yourself with every word you write. By the end of the series, I had pinpointed each of my personal writing fears, stared them down, and wrote them off for good.

Dave: What blogs do you read to get the edge in your business?

Harry: Dave Navarro’s Million Dollar Leverage, of course! (How’s that for sucking up?)

Seriously, your blog is one of the handfuls of blogs I read on a regular basis, along with Naomi Dunford’s IttyBiz, and Jurgen Wolff’s Time to Write.

These days, though, I find myself not reading blogs as often as I used to. Call it an experiment. I felt that everyone wrote about the same topics. The blogs that really stood out were ones where the writers posted on ideas no one else had thought of.

While I still read, I don’t read as much. I don’t want to be influenced by other people’s posts. It forces me to think, and I mean, really think. It’s a personal challenge to see if I can produce the one topic everyone talks about – and blogs about.

Well, folks, looks like that cider’s kicking in nicely now and I’ve run out of questions to answer. Thanks for the opportunity, Dave!

Dave: I owe you one, Harry. I’ll touch base soon.

Check out Harry’s latest musings at Men With Pens: Shooting From The Hip. And yes, it is a blog about writing. Writing, people.

Because as Sean Connery will tell you, “The Pen Is Mightier, Trebek!”