I started my company in 2000, when the ink on my Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Denver was barely dry. After several years of providing marketing and business research and analysis, I was drawn to investigations and the fraud-fighting side of the business – and I’ve never looked back. For whatever reason, I knew right away that I had found my calling. The work is satisfying, and you meet the nicest people in this industry (yes, sometimes even the fraudsters are nice).

After more than 20 years, with lots of successes and mistakes – I’ve also learned a lot about entrepreneurship and the anti-fraud business. Here are just some of the lessons learned along the way:

We will always have fraudsters – As this pandemic has shown us, opportunists will take any situation and figure out a way to scam the system. I’d like to think that, if we create enough controls, improve reporting, and avoid going into business with fraudsters, it can make a difference, but the fraudsters will always be with us, and we can’t stop being diligent.

Never underestimate the power of being your own boss – I only work with clients who consider me a peer and part of their problem-solving team, not just an order-taker. I work when I’m most productive and don’t when I’m not. And when something isn’t working, I can pivot without all the meetings and requests for approval. Priceless.

It’s not all about me – While I work from home, have no employees, and prefer a solitary work environment, I could never do this alone. I need subcontractors to help me fill client needs, and I need a team of experts: website developer, accountant, attorney, mastermind group, and the list goes on. Without these professionals, I wouldn’t have a business.

It’s worth taking your time – As some of you know, becoming a business-owner and a fraud-fighter were pivots I made later in my career. For some of us, it takes longer to find our passion, but you’ll know when it happens, and it’s worth waiting for.

Once you work for yourself, there’s no turning back – While some find entrepreneurship not for them and prefer the corporate life, a true entrepreneur – once they get a taste of it – will never give it up, no matter what. After more than 20 years of owning my business and developing a work flow that works for me, I’d be a terrible employee.

I’ll never stop learning – As we’ve seen, circumstances change quickly, so our businesses need to adapt accordingly. Fraudsters always find new ways to prey on their victims, so I need to keep up with the latest trends, techniques, and tools. I also need to keep learning from conversations with current and potential clients in order to update my assumptions about what they value most.

We need to do more to support and encourage entrepreneurship – It’s not taught in schools, and owning an information business and providing information and specialized skills to solve client problems isn’t something I learned in grad school. Most professional associations don’t cater to independents, except for the Association of Independent Information Professionals, which makes its mission supporting member success.

I’m looking forward to the next 20 years of owning a business and fighting fraud and, hopefully, more lessons learned. What would you like to know about entrepreneurship and the anti-fraud business? Let me know, and I’ll try to answer your questions.

The post What I’ve learned about entrepreneurship & fighting fraud appeared first on Marcy Phelps and Associates.

Not much else has changed, except the domain name. I haven’t moved in a new direction, and the company still offers due diligence services that inform our clients’ important business decisions.

So why am I taking this step at this point in my career? Let me explain:

As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently celebrated the anniversary of working with my first client. Soon after starting with this client, I officially started my business, choosing Phelps Research as the name. Back in the day, clients valued research, and that’s what I imagined doing for the rest of my career.

Then I learned my first lesson in entrepreneurship: Things change. Suddenly, everyone’s a researcher. Google’s gotten better at digging for details, and clients subscribe to professional databases. So, why pay me to do their research? [and that’s an issue too big to deal with here]

Eventually, I added to my skill set and became a licensed private investigator and a Certified Fraud Examiner. And with these skills came new clients with new needs.

Yes, I still do research, but clients started caring less about how I do my work and more about results – minimizing risk with information and analysis from an unbiased third party.

That’s when I learned another valuable lesson: It’s hard to change perception. Once I became known as a researcher, it was difficult to pivot, especially when research is part of your name.

Prospects focused on the limitations of “research,” rather than the broad scope of my company’s services. And no matter how many times I explained the new direction to established contacts, they still only thought of me for straight research. New contacts just looked confused.

Since I’m in it the for the long-run, with lots of ideas and plans for at least another 18 years, it was time for a change. My 2018 strategic plan includes targeting new clients in new markets, so it seemed better to fix the issue sooner, rather than later.

So why Marcy Phelps & Associates? Here are just a few of my reasons for choosing this new name:

It’s generic – Regardless of any future changes in company direction, I won’t have to go through this again. Legally changing a business name is a simple process, but notifying every credit card, vendor, and contact is quite a project.

It’s all about me – When you work with my company, you work with me. You don’t go through a website or gatekeeper, and my goal is to make our business relationship as seamless as possible. I manage every project and handle quality control from start to finish.

It’s also all about the team – Yes, there are actual “associates.” I’m a solopreneur but don’t work alone. I maintain a network of colleagues all over the world – a carefully curated group of professionals who assist me with global due diligence investigations. And I couldn’t do it without them.

While you’re here, take a minute to explore the new website, check out what we do, browse some past blog posts. And please stay in touch. I love hearing from you.

Here’s to 18 more years of working with great clients!

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This connection contacted me at the perfect time. I still hadn’t answered the question that all MLIS students ask each other: “What kind of library do you want to work in?” My answer was always, “Not sure, but I know it won’t be in a regular library.” I’d explored all the options – university, public, corporate, private, specialized – and none of these library settings appealed to me. I needed something different.

But when this connection sent me that fateful email towards the end of 1999, finally it all came together:

Hi Marcy – How would you like to join our team? We need someone with your background in math, so we’d love to have you. You can work from home, as much or as little as you want, and we’ll pay you [insert amount much higher than what I was earning in a library].” 

I had finally found my calling – challenging and fascinating work with smart colleagues, a flexible schedule, and no commute. That’s when I decided what I would do with my degree, and it didn’t involve working in a library. I’d start my own company and find others who would pay me to do research from home.

A few months later, after earning my MLIS, I officially launched Phelps Research. I found out there was an association of people doing what I was doing, the Association of Independent Information Professionals, and quickly signed up. After attending my first conference a year later, it became clear that starting a business was just the first step. I now needed to treat it like a business.

I had a lot to learn, so I found coaches, mentors, books, and anything else that would help me build and run my research business. Since I’d discovered that simply hanging a shingle doesn’t mean clients will flock to your door, I started thinking about how to market my services. I got out and met as many people as possible and eventually found my niche.

For years, my company focused on helping marketing professionals learn about their customers, competitors, and industries. Business was good. I made many lasting and fruitful relationships through my networking and marketing efforts, eventually establishing a name for myself with the publication of my book, Research on Main Street.

Then the market dried up. I’d been so busy writing my book and taking care of my existing clients’ information needs, that it took me a while to notice. I blamed the slump on spending too much time writing the book and too little on building the business. When my renewed marketing efforts brought few results, I did what I should have been doing all along – I gathered insights through market research.

After several conversations with executives in my target market, I discovered that they no longer valued my services. “We have an intern who likes to Google.” “I tap into my LinkedIn network when I have questions.” And the worst, from an actual client, “I just put together a quick survey in SurveyMonkey.” Quite a reality check.

About that time, though, I received another fateful email, this time from an AIIP colleague, introducing me to a private investigator who needed some research help. He and I met for lunch to discuss how my research would fit into his investigations – and that was the start of something big.

I found the work fascinating, and this PI liked my research. Then he took a step that many professionals don’t often do – he taught me everything he knew. He encouraged me to make the transition from research to investigations, and when Colorado [finally] instituted PI licensing, I became a licensed investigator. A couple of years later, I expanded my expertise and became a Certified Fraud Examiner. I’ve never looked back.

The past 18 years have been a great ride, filled with exciting work and, for the most part, incredible clients. And after being in business this long, I’ve seen lots of changes.

Here are just a few of the big changes I’ve seen in the past 18 years in business:

It’s more than just the research – Back in the day, Google was brand-new and had lots of limitations, so clients needed someone to do the research for them. With all the DIY options out there now, that’s no longer why they work with me. Clients now value results – my analysis, reports completed on their ever-changing time lines, and keeping them from going into business with fraudsters.

Being a librarian is cool again – For a while there, advertising my library and information science background would elicit blank looks and comments such as “I like books, too.” These days, it’s about too much info, rather than not enough, and clients in high-risk industries know that they need an expert to keep them from making costly mistakes. My MLIS skills don’t look so stodgy any more.

Change happens, and it’s happening faster – Markets shift, and clients’ needs change.  Companies that want to succeed don’t stop at pre-launch market research. They keep checking in with their markets to stay on top of trends and identify new gaps that they can fill. It doesn’t have to be formal research, either. Just getting out for coffee and conversations can be enlightening.

It’s been a great 18 years. I’ve encountered the kindest, smartest, and most creative clients and colleagues. I learn something new everyday, and it’s never felt like work. I’m forever grateful to everyone I’ve met along the way, especially those who gave me my start(s) – Kim Dority (my first client) and Chuck Sullivan (the PI who taught me about investigations).

So here’s to the next 18 years in business! I look forward to the ups and downs – and all the new experiences, connections, and changes waiting for me along the way.

And stay tuned for a big announcement next month about some big changes here at Phelps Research…

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This time I checked with my fellow AIIP members (Association of Independent Information Professionals), who, like me, own small information-related businesses. Think independent researchers/analysts, writers/editors, library consultants, knowledge management experts, and more. Many thanks to all of my AIIP colleagues for sharing your insights. As usual, they were there to help.

Here’s is a summary of the responses, which shows the variety of misconceptions and biases we encounter on a daily basis:

We consider ourselves freelancers – No, we don’t actually make a living by stringing together together a series of gigs or one-off, quick, and cheap projects. We’re entrepreneurs, following a strategic path to long-term client relationships that translate into regular, high-valued work.

We work fewer hours – Running a  business and keeping your skills up-to-date takes a lot of time. To be successful, independents put in long hours – often forgoing weekends, holidays, or vacations. Clients don’t care about your work/life balance when they have an emergency or suddenly rearrange their priorities.

We make millions – We make a good living, but it’s unlikely that our businesses will ever translate into huge estates for our heirs. While our rates might seem high, we have expenses usually covered by an employer – and we’re worth it. It also depends on how you define “riches.” Not needing a committee to make changes to my strategic plan? Priceless.

Build it and they will come – Since my first client found me, I assumed the rest would follow. They didn’t, and I quickly wised  up. Even after nearly 18 years in business, I spend a good part of my week working on marketing and getting out to meet people face-to-face.

We’re free in the middle of the day to help friends and family with (fill in the blank) – I may set my own hours, but I still have more than a full-time job. So don’t just drop by or assume I’m at your beck and call. I’m happy to help out, but after work hours, please!

We work from home in our jammies – Actually, many work from outside offices or shared work spaces. And those of us who work from home generally wake up at a reasonable hour, shower, and dress up like the rest of you. We’re professionals, too, and often out and about, meeting clients and other connections.

It’s a hobby – We’re not collecting retirement checks or relying on spouses with healthy paychecks while we “run our little business.” It’s also not a side hustle. We’re serious and passionate entrepreneurs with successful businesses – thanks to years of of hard work and dedication.

We work alone – Some of us have employees, while others work with subcontractors. We consider ourselves part of the team and often collaborate with clients and their teams. Rarely is a solopreneur truly solo.

It’s easy. It’s intuitive. It’s for everyone – No, no, and no. Again, it’s hard work, and they don’t teach this at home or in school. There’s a steep learning curve, and change is constant. I’ve mentored many over the years, and not everyone is cut out for it.

So what kinds of people are cut out for running an independent business? According to Mary Ellen Bates, fellow AIIP member and long-time business coach, “It takes someone willing to get out of their comfort zone every single day.”

Interested in becoming an independent information professional? Check out AIIP, with its tremendous collection of resources, including it’s members.

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Mary Ellen and I are among a group with graduate degrees in library and information science (MLIS), but we don’t work in libraries. We are, in Mary Ellen’s words, info-entrepreneurs. We both own small information businesses and do consulting, research, and analysis. We also speak and write about information and the information industry.

I look forward to this class each year, especially since I’m a graduate of the University of Denver MLIS program and was Kim’s student. I knew early on in my studies that I didn’t want to work in a “regular library,” so I explored some of what we call in the profession “special libraries.” In my case, I considered university libraries, especially in the health sciences.

I wound up with a part-time job in a small college library, and – after about a year – I had one of those moments of total clarity. I had just shared with our library director some ideas for enticing more students into our library, which was usually empty. My director then pointed his finger in my face and said quite angrily, “We stick to the basics around here!” Yes, at this Aha! moment, it became perfectly clear that I was not meant to have a boss at that stage of my life.

While Mary Ellen and I have different stories about how we got started, we generally share the same message with students: It’s hard work, we love what we do, and the lack of a regular paycheck is the trade-off for being our own boss. Yes, there’s something about being responsible for your own bottom line that makes it easy to take those entrepreneurial risks and do scary things every day!

Because we love our work so much, once you get us started we could talk forever. The class always runs late, with several students staying to ask more questions. It’s interesting how each class is different, and this year’s group seemed especially involved.

We didn’t have time this year, but I usually include in my talk some of the misconceptions about those of us who choose the independent route. We constantly battle with images of “doing research in our pajamas” or having all kinds of free time to lunch with friends. But probably the most annoying – and the most demeaning – are these top three myths about being an info-entrepreneur:

1. We are “consulting” between jobs.
Most of us do this because it’s what we choose to do. We are not looking for employment, so please stop sending us job postings. We’ve all had good jobs and have done well in them, but we’ve made a conscious decision to pursue this career path.

2. We went independent because we don’t like structure in our day.
Perhaps this is true for some, but many of us actually crave structure. We just create our own, based on what works for us. Don’t ever ask me to work late, but I can tackle anything at 4 a.m., and quiet Saturdays are, in my opinion, perfect for creative work like blogging or outlining my next presentation.

3. We went independent because we don’t get along well with others.
Many of us are one-person operations, but we still work with and manage a variety of clients and subcontractors. In volunteer positions, we work on teams, both virtually and in person. With clients and other connections throughout the world, we have a diverse and global perspective that others don’t often get.

If you’re an info-entrepreneur and you’ve encountered any myths you’d like to add to the list, let me know.

Note: To learn more about this career option, check out the website for the Association of Independent Information Professionals.

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