Cupcake Economy

Just found out, through a post on Buzzfeed, that Google Trends shows that the world is far more interested in “cupcakes” than “financial crisis.”

Cupcakes FTW.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge cupcake fan. Recently, on GigPark, I decided to recommend my two favorite cupcake-makers in the world so that more people can revel in the wondrousness of their baked goods. Here’s a quick look at them:

Sugar Baking (Toronto, Canada)
Cupcakes are definitely the “in” thing right now, and nobody in Toronto does cupcakes like Sugar Baking. (Trust me, I’ve checked.) Catherine is not only one of the most pleasant people I have ever met, but she has immense skill in blending exotic flavors to make every cupcake delectable — all at a great price.

Lola’s Kitchen (London, UK)
Tasty cupcakes and an easy-to-use website ordering system aside (and that’s a lot already), the people at Lola’s are wonderful. When I had a problem, they not only answered my question immediately, but they fixed their entire ordering system to meet my needs. Plus, you really can’t go wrong with the delicious pastel icings they use on their cupcakes.

If you order cupcakes from either of those two places, let me know — and more importantly, recommend them on GigPark. We need to spread the cupcake love.

Thank you for being my friend (and referral)

This short note is my small way of saying thank you to all my friends. Or more specifically, to all my friends that have helped me stay employed over the past three years.

See, when you’re working as a freelance consultant, your next paycheck is never guaranteed. Most freelancers I know spend almost as much time looking for new gigs as they do working for their current clients. The benefits of self-employment are great, but you’ve got to go in expecting that you’re going to be working for many more hours than you’re actually billing out to your clients.

Me? I’ve been lucky.

Most of my clients have come to me through referrals. When you’ve got other people speaking on your behalf, it drastically reduces the time you spend looking for new work.

To all of you that have been Sameer Vasta evangelists over the past three years, thank you for saving my sanity — and my social life.

The peer referral is often as, if not more, important than the client referral — particularly when the person referring you is in the same industry. It says a lot when a peer can turn around and tell a client, “I can’t do that for you right now, but I know someone that can.”

In a recent article on peer referrals on Web Worker Daily, Jenneth Orantia writes:

Peers aren’t going to risk tarnishing their reputation by recommending someone whose work they’re not familiar with.

Giving a peer referral implies a large amount of trust, and I really appreciate everyone that has trusted me enough to sing my praises from time to time.

I’m trying to return the favor in any way possible. One way is by spreading the good word in person, but another is by recommending people and services on GigPark. (If you’re not using GigPark yet, go sign up now, I’ll wait here until you get back.) If I’m already your biggest fan and I haven’t recommended you just yet, let me know and I’ll fix that oversight.

Thank you again to everyone that has been my friend and my referral all rolled into one. I owe you dinner.

Special thanks to the always-awesome Connie Crosby who was influential in helping me score my most recent gig.