Kinko's - The Free-Agent Home Office

Few companies have explored free agent nation as thoroughly as Kinko's has done. Its rise to prominence has paralleled the rise of the self-employment phenomenon. Through surveys, focus groups, and millions of customer interactions, Kinko's has studied what makes free agents tick and how they work. The questions it is asking reflect its evolving strategy and service offerings. The answers provide an intriguing glimpse into where free agency stands and where it's heading.

Who are these people, and what are they like? According to Kinko's, the free agents who frequent its stores are mostly college-educated, mainly between the ages of 30 and 50, and relatively high on the income scale. Most of them volunteered for their status. They chose the free-agent lifestyle before mass layoffs made it necessary or pop culture made it cool. They come from lots of different industries and backgrounds. But they share a certain outlook: optimistic, enterprising, confident. No surprises thus far.

How do free agents feel about the career choices they've made? Here, Kinko's offers a more surprising answer: many don't feel as free as they thought they would. "The media has romanticized being self-employed," says Karen Sophiea. "You know the image: Set your own hours. Be your own boss. Get rich." If only reality were so inviting.

Free agents don't punch a time clock or bother with office politics. They decide where and how they work, and with whom. But free agents also face tough customer demands; they often juggle multiple clients, each of whom expects top-priority treatment. And in areas ranging from health insurance to computer hardware, they still operate at a cost disadvantage relative to their old employers. The net result: free agents often work longer hours and under greater pressure than their colleagues inside companies. In the new world of business, it seems, freedom's just another word for something else to do.

Which is why time is a free agent's most precious commodity. "One of the strengths that free agents have is their ability to move faster than big companies," says Sophiea. "Free agents sell speed. Success is about using resources wisely and time is one of the most valuable resources that free agents have."

How do free agents use technology? These days business is as much about performance as production. Free agents are expected to create reports, presentations, and marketing proposals (even Web sites) that are every bit as elegant as those created at giant organizations like IBM or McKinsey. "No longer can you present low-budget, spartan materials and appear frugal," warns a Kinko's newsletter. "Instead, you simply look out of touch."

That's where technology comes in. True, solo practitioners can tap the power of PCs, scanners, color printers, and digital cameras to create stunning documents and high-impact presentations. Yet here's the dirty little secret at the core of Kinko's business strategy: few people do so on their own. In fact, the money and time required to master these digital tools keep most people from even trying.

"Let's say I own [Microsoft] Office," says Sophiea, who loves playing the "typical" free agent. "That means I've got Word, PowerPoint, Excel. But what I really need is Adobe PageMaker, which costs hundreds of dollars. And how often do I use it? Once a year? Four times a year? I can't afford the software or the upgrades."

Indeed, Sophiea says, every hardware or software innovation that raises the performance standards for free agents makes them less likely to use technology. She calls Kinko's "a soup kitchen for the technologically homeless." Wendell Wilson uses different language to make the same point: "Technology lets free agents start small but compete big. And although technology is much easier to use than ever before, it's still difficult to stay abreast of it unless it's your core competence. Buying is easier than learning."

Are free agents "Made in America"? In a word, yes. Businesspeople everywhere are rejecting the confines of corporate life and striking out on their own. But almost nowhere has the commitment to personal independence approached what's happening in the United States. In one form or another, says Mazen Safadi, 38, vice president of Kinko's International, 30% of the U.S. workforce is on its own. Millions of people now work as self-employed free agents. Millions more hold full-time jobs but telecommute. Millions more are Road Warriors with little support from their company. Small wonder that 834 of Kinko's 865 stores are in its home market.

What country comes closest to the U.S. trend? Kinko's points to the Netherlands, where its research estimates that 29% of all workers are on their own. The figure is less than 15% for the rest of Europe. Over the long term, Safadi says, Kinko's is enthusiastic about free agency in China, where the company just opened its first store. "Asia's long-term prospects are absolutely phenomenal," Safadi says.