Being an entrepreneurial journalist: more free training

At the J-Week conference May 6-7-8 in Anchorage we will have a session on the journalist as an entrepreneur (necessary due to the decline of journalism institutions that employ journalists). Here is a free interactive, online workshop for business journalists who want to understand this concept. If you are starting out in your career, this may be a tool you want in your toolkit.

Sign up for it here. Below are some details from their Web site. The seminar is in August, one hour a day, available at two times during the day, for five days.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Monday: Figuring Out the Nuts and Bolts – Maya Smart will lead you through the legal and accounting aspects of setting up a journalism-based business, including how to structure and incorporate your business; what to watch for in contracts, including the issue of electronic rights; getting health, libel, and disability insurance; and figuring out what equipment and software you need.

Tuesday: Maintaining Your Social and Mental Health – Maya Smart offers tips on relationship building, dealing with isolation (home office or not?) and rejection, as well as handling ethical concerns. Are there worthwhile organizations to join?

Wednesday: Marketing Yourself – Maya Smart tells you how to find clients who will pay you well and on time and discusses whether you should specialize in a niche to make yourself more efficient. What topics are selling well now, and does multimedia reporting pay?

Thursday: Branding Yourself – Joe Grimm will teach you how to define your brand as a journalist, including what you need to do to establish yourself as an expert and how to promote your brand via social media and other means.

Friday: Live Chat with Successful Journalist Entrepreneurs – Joe Grimm will host a live chat with five successful business journalists turned entrepreneurs. Listen as these entrepreneurial journalists tell their stories to Joe Grimm.