Back in the Saddle

Sorry for the long hiatus - it's been a busy month (hallelujah), and I have been responding to a lot of posts here and over at the CFC blog about crowdsourcing. This topic just keeps getting more and more traction. The news du jour is that I did a podcast with Ilise Benun of Marketing Mentor a couple of days ago on the subject of CS, and it's available for listening here. I hope you'll give it a listen and then chime in with your comments below.

Back from Chicago and Boy Are My Arms Tired

Whew! Getting back into the regular swing after even a short time away is challenging. I spent two days in Chicago at the Creative Freelancers Conference (check out the blog), and another day at the Chicago Art Institute's museum (to die for). It was definitely worth the time spent getting ready before and catching up after. Good thing this blog is billed as sporadic.

My experience this time was a bit different than last year’s. This time, as a second-year returnee, I had friends to greet and a familiarity with the tone and energy of the event. Both of those were great, as before. What was different this time was my greater awareness that there are really two audiences for CFC: people new to the business of being an independent creative, whether transitioning from a regular job or just out of school, and those of us who have been doing it for some time. This was addressed to a certain extent by the second day’s morning sessions having two tracks, but some of the material left me with a feeling of “been there, done that.”

Not that a refresher course isn’t a good thing from time to time. And certainly input from new presenters can offer new perspectives on standard principles.  I took exhaustive notes, and in transcribing them saw that I came away with more usable input than I had realized at the time.

I am sad to report that my roundtable about staying in the game as a veteran designer was roundly ignored by all but two people, one of whom was random because she came in late and just sat down at the first place she found. Of course it had a terrible title ("Too old to be a designer").  Who would want to sit at a table with a name like that? At any rate, it was a bust. Sigh. A designer in my age bracket said that she thought the median age at the conference was about 29, which probably isn't too far off the mark. I did notice some rather overt cruising, which had escaped my notice last year.

The rest of the day was one session after another, so I didn't have time to dwell on it. Until the last session, when they were doing a wrap-up and had prizes for certain categories. One of them was for who had been freelancing the longest. You won't have to guess who won. I was the sole survivor at 31 years, standing in a sea of 200 other sitting freelancers. It was a bit daunting. I did get a bunch of great swag, however, which didn't include a walker. So all’s well that ends well. I will review my notes and plan my next steps over the rest of the summer.

"Nevertirees"? Sign Me Up!

Sorry to have missed posting the last week and a half. My excuse for this lapse of discipline is an uncharacteristic cold. It may be steaming in other parts of the world, but not here in the NW. Between sneezes, I thought about the upcoming Creative Freelancers Conference in Chicago and my plans for facilitating a roundtable discussion about the challenges of continuing to get work as an older designer. (I posted about this on May 2.) This has been the subject of much angst and debate among the scores of respondents, with many identifying themselves as “seasoned” veterans who have no desire and/or no ability to retire.  Others had sad stories about how ageism was exacerbating the difficulty of getting hired in a bad economy. The thread has been picked up on various other sites, with more people chiming in. Turns out there are a LOT of people wondering how to write their next chapter.

So when I ran across an article, “Nevertirees” Change the Retirement Landscape,” on the Workplace Magazine site, I was interested (but not surprised) to find that this issue is not limited to the creative fields. Some excerpts:

“The world’s wealthy are attaching new meaning to the concept of retirement. According to a report in the Barclays Wealth Insights series, wealthy workers prefer to continue working for as long as they are able. In addition, they expect to start businesses and take on new projects in their later years.

“The report, The Age Illusion: How the Wealthy are Redefining Their Retirement, is based on a global survey of more than 2,000 high net worth individuals who were asked to share what retirement and later life means to them. Sixty percent of respondents indicated that they intend to continue working well into their senior years. Furthermore, the concept of nonretirement is expected to grow over the coming decades, with more than 70 percent of respondents under the age of 45 stating that they will always be involved in some way in the world of work . . . [my emphasis]

“Matt Brady, Head of Wealth Advisory, Americas at Barclays Wealth says, ‘. . . This report reflects a different attitude, with people wanting to continue to challenge themselves well beyond the traditional retirement age. Indeed, many “Nevertirees” prefer to be actively engaged and challenged and are not bound by their age with regards to continuing their working life.’”

The Barclay report attributes this sea change in cultural attitudes partly to the economy, especially in the past few years, but also to increased healthy life spans. “This poses many interesting questions, both for individuals and for businesses. How should people plan for and lead the later stages of their life in a way that fulfills both them and their families? How can businesses make the most of the corporate memory that older workers often retain?”

So is the “tradition” of retirement on its way out? For those of us in the creative professions, an added challenge is the pervasive youth bias in marketing and advertising. How do we stay in the game? I am hoping for a robust and insightful discussion next week at the conference, and I will report back to you on my return.

Click here for the full Workplace Magazine story.

Click here to view or download Barclay’s The Age Illusion: How the Wealthy are Redefining Their Retirement.

My Excellent Guest Blogging Adventure

I often comment on posts on a favorite blog of mine called the Creative Freelancer Blog, a part of the Creative Freelancer Conference site. I attended the conference last year for the first time, got a ton of good information and really enjoyed the professional fellowship. Recently I posted a question that I'm sure has been on the minds of many professionals on the wrong side of 50: how do we stay in the game as we get older? In the case of graphic design, there seems to be a definite youth bias in hiring, whether it's for employees or for independent contractors.

Much to my surprise, the post got dozens of responses and more are still coming in. It's apparently a burning question for many, especially since the economy took a dive. The stories are fascinating and the ideas for coping are all over the place. Take a look and see for yourself: too-old-to-be-a-designer?

Hopefully you'll be inspired to add your own two cents, whether you're a designer or not. Actually, especially if you're not a designer - tell us what you think!