Human Cloud podcast

Joy Batra
Founder, Quartz Consulting

Leaders, Joy Batra is the founder of Quartz Consulting, a freelance consulting firm that has advised start-ups, venture capital firms, and Fortune 500 companies. Joy is also the author of “The Freelance Mindset” which has been featured in The Washington Post, Fast Company, and Oprah Daily.
Joy represents the trajectory of the freelance economy, particularly with regard to the freelancers themselves. At the forefront of this evolution is the growing category of executive-level freelancers. These individuals embody a profile that aligns seamlessly with roles such as directors, vice presidents, and general counsels — Joy herself serves as a prime example in the realm of general counsel. While certain datasets may categorize them as freelancers earning over 100k, this segment signifies an exciting transformation in the freelance landscape, showcasing the capacity of freelancing to unlock expansive and diverse scopes of work. Enjoy!

Our Favorite Quotes

Quartz Consulting – Swiss Army Knife

“This is one of the biggest challenges that freelancers have, and it’s really this communication gap between the many things that might be in their portfolio and what somebody who is not a freelancer can really understand and articulate. This is one of the things that we’ve done with Quartz because given that I have a variety of training and background, I can actually work and contribute in a number of different functions, and I like doing so. So to me, that includes legal, operations, strategy, and marketing.
“Quartz is this umbrella which allows me to basically custom make the projects with the right clients when we find a problem that they need to solve. And I can be the Swiss Army Knife that helps them jump in.”

How do you describe being a freelancer?

“I love this question because this came up over and over when I was writing my book. So in the process of writing my book, I interviewed 50 freelancers and I had the opportunity to reflect on my own journey with freelancing and hear other people’s experiences. One of the common themes that really interests me but also frustrates me is the way that entrepreneurship is really fetishized in our society and freelancing is stigmatized. And if you really think about it, both of them have the same skills.”
“I consider myself a freelancer because I want people to understand just how much work goes into being a freelancer. And really this is true for any solopreneur, whether you’re a fractional executive or you’re earlier in your career or taking a different path, that kind of ownership and entrepreneurial ability is super important.”
“There were a lot of freelancers that I met who were afraid to call themselves freelancers because they thought they might not be taken seriously by the market, that people might think, oh, they couldn’t get a real job or, oh, they must not be successful and they haven’t done anything big yet. I think that’s part of the problem in that the people who are branding themselves as not freelancers may actually be the most successful freelancers and are not necessarily getting associated with this entire group. So I love that this podcast is really diving into this issue because I think it’s something we need so much more awareness on.”

Joy Batra, Founder Quartz Consulting

Human Cloud podcast