Are you a freelance professional or are you considering the idea? Do you feel like you might need some tips on how to survive a freelance career? If you want to know how Axelle Brown-Videau, PR and PWA member, manages her freelance life and what she learned in 4 years of freelancing, check her post “Freelancing – quello che ho imparato durante 4 anni in 10 punti” (in Italian).

…as seen by an insiderWhen I first decided to see what PWA was all about four years ago, I had not the slightest idea of what it would be like. I arrived at my first meeting with an open mind; concepts such as “networking”, “coaching” and “mentoring” were utterly foreign to me. I had never belonged to a group of women, other than my group of girl scouts quite a long time ago! Upon the recommendation of a friend, I attended PWA in the hopes of meeting professional women, including some from abroad like myself, who had issues similar to mine. I was more than pleasantly surprised with my discovery.

Since that decisive Wednesday evening, I have made some solid professional and social contacts, learnt new skills and made great strides in English. I eventually accepted a position on PWA’s Board of Directors – and have not stopped serving on the Board since. This is my third term. Driving my decision to continue this year was my realization of the importance of building upon the work done up until now.

The Board’s main focus last season was to improve PWA’s professional services, benefits and status, and at the same time increase membership. With this in mind, a number of longer-term projects were set in motion. For example, PWA joined the European Professional Women’s Network (EuropeanPWN) in January 2005 (more on this below), but only in September were we able to implement some of its features, such as online registration and payments. Additionally, last year’s Board laid the groundwork for an improved Career Services function, with easy access to further career and business opportunities. We began to reinforce PWA’s professional image and identity by revamping the website and other aspects of visual communication.

It was (and is) important to me, and to other Board members who continued on from last year, that we keep the momentum going, in order to see through to fruition some of the many projects in the works; hence our desire to continue serving on the Board.

Being a member of the Board, and belonging to PWA in general, has contributed greatly to both my personal and professional development. It has reinforced my convictions and put a name on certain concepts that I intuitively knew were important: openness to others; generosity as applied to professional growth; and total sharing of information. I have developed my ability to question continually my work methods, discovering new and better ways in the process. Moreover, I have been able to develop systematically my own network of contacts.

Building one’s network is fundamental today, whether it be professional or social. A well-organized network saves time, allows one to acquire professional visibility and facilitates rapid information exchange. Our era is characterized by the ultra-rapid development of means of communication. If we do not jump on that train, we shall be left by the wayside, reduced to simple spectators of the times.

PWA was one of the pioneers in formalizing and developing women’s networking in Italy. PWA has now made yet another step forward by federating with similar associations across Europe through its membership in EuropeanPWN. It is about creating synergy, the principle of which is by putting one and one together you obtain more than the sum of its parts. By federating, PWA acquires strength, credibility and visibility. And, especially, PWA and its members enrich their European network of contacts, a network constituted of professional profiles that are rich and varied, all available to be contacted via a simple click.

What is more, PWA is developing new ties with other organizations based in Italy: Manageritalia through their Women Manager Group, for example, and the International Women’s Forum of Bologna, always with the goal of continued growth and development. PWA, as a partner network of the Milan-born Women’s International Networking (WIN), participates actively in the annual conference (see WIN Conference 2005, this issue).

All of these changes – which I would prefer to call evolutions, since they seem so natural – have been carried out transparently and in accordance with the democratic principles that govern the association. They are the result of the reflection, choices and hard work of the PWA Board of Directors over the past months and years. Joining PWA was one of the best things I have done in terms of my career advancement; I am confident that these ongoing evolutions will continue to contribute to my professional development, as well as to that of all members.

Axelle Brown-Videau
Orientation Director