The Big Clues.
June 28, 2011 § Leave a Comment
One of the hardest decisions you’ll make as a creative business owner is when to say “no” to certain potential clients and partners. I’ve had my fair share of incredulous transactions. A client who hired me to write for his site then used my name to re-post articles from the LA Times. Another asked me to do some marketing consulting for them and then asked me to work full-time at a lower wage, acting like it was I that needed to work for their approval. A third still paid me for the first five articles quickly and easily and then never gave me another penny thereafter. My favorite though might be a much-trusted client who asked for a marketing strategy and never paid. Three months later, I received a mass email from said person: they had implemented all the ideas I had outlined. What a compliment! At least I know my ideas are actionable and work.
Sadly, these scenarios are not uncommon. And I’m sure each could have been worse. In my previous post on contracts (Cover Your Butt), I outline the importance of getting things in writing. Whether you’re the one striking the bargain or providing the service, a contract is necessary. In all of the above scenarios, I had written a contract and either had them sign it in person. Or I had them print it off and mail it back. In short, I was legally covered. I could have taken them to small claims court and fought for my money. For one reason or another, I couldn’t be bothered.
Perhaps it was something I knew deep down inside. Before I even began the process of working with those listed above and others that have royally screwed me over. A gut instinct. There were definitely some big clues that were there that I completely ignored.
1) Communication is Amiss: When you’re working with potential clients or partners, you should get each other most of the time in person, on the phone, and through email. If you find that they’re simply “not getting you” and you haven’t even started on the project, consider that a red flag.
2) Timelines are Different: You’ve got one idea of how things should be moving along and they’ve got another. Case and point, I’ve been working with a potential partner. They write to me, I write back. They respond 10 days later. This isn’t going to work. Clients might also expect you to drop everything and start on their project, perhaps even pull an all-nighter. Unless that’s your thing, your timeliness don’t match up. Don’t do it.
3) Money Talk is Avoided: If the transaction involves money or trade yet they are avoiding the discussion altogether or putting it off (“we’ll figure that out later,” they say.), watch out. About 99% of the time, this isn’t a good thing. The end result will be either getting paid less than what you were hoping or not at all.
I could make a four that encompasses what we’ve just talked about and it would be: People have issues! When individuals are unhealthy and have different perspectives, sometimes they’re just not worth working with. I know money is tight and things are tough right now. We’re scraping by month to month too. Yet heartache that comes with working with stupid people is not worth one minute of your precious time. That’s time that could be used finding the right client or partners! Best of luck. Don’t ignore the big clues.
Increasing Creativity Part II.
March 21, 2011 § Leave a Comment
If you’ve read Part I, you know that having an online presence is absolutely imperative as a freelancer. Whether you’re searching for full-time jobs in at a brick-and-mortar company or most of your work is done in the virtual realm, you must have a blog, website, flickr account, or the like to show off your work. Most positions won’t even accept your application, resume, and cover letter without a URL (your online address that starts with http://). The following will help you get started in the right direction.
A blog can be very beneficial to you if you just want a place to store your work for free. Especially if you’re a writer, you can gain more credibility by having a blog and by posting your written work on it. You can post music and graphics to your blog as well, so if your creativity has anything to do with music, graphics, or photography, you’re in luck. You can even create video (vlogs, instead of blogs) and slide show feeds that can be easily viewed.
Blogger.com and wordpress.com are the most popular and accepted blogging sites. Tumblr is a newer blog site on the scene that is breaking in the artistic realm for it’s snazzy design and easy-to-use-ability. There are also blog spots that are geared towards more industry specific areas. Blogs can also improve your search-ability on sites like Google and Yahoo!, which can increase your client traffic. So even if you have a website, it’s a great idea to put your “thoughts” on a blog…putting your most recent discoveries and projects is also a great way to gain expertise points in your field. Connecting that blog to your website then streamlines your online presence.
Whether you’re just a DBA (doing business as) or you’re a full-fledged LLC, having a website is a great way to get more clients. First, you have to purchase your chosen web domain name online. The most inexpensive sites to date are godaddy.com (which is PC & Mac compatible) and 1and1.com (which is only PC compatible). They cost about $6.99 per year for a domain name more or less, depending on the extension you choose (.com, .biz, .org, .info, etc.). They also have website builder’s online, which you can place music, video, photo’s, slide shows, and much more on. There’s usually a yearly or monthly fee for web hosting (placing your actual website online) no matter what website builder you choose to use and whether or not you build it yourself or have someone else build it for you. Here’s the solution I’ve come up with:
I currently use WordPress for both my website and my blog, since I don’t have much use for a full-fledged website yet. Although I purchased my domain through godaddy.com, I changed my blog address path (jennylvoe.wordpress.com) to my domain (jennylvoe.com) for $9.95/year. I think it sounds more professional than using the WordPress address. Plus, when I’m ready for a site, I can hire a web designer to create what I want using CSS (a script that can be read by WordPress) and I’ll be able to edit it when I need to without needing a web designer on a consistent basis to make on-going little changes (ie post new blogs, upload new songs, add newer content). It might cost more upfront for the site design (say $3000 or so), but it’ll be easier to edit myself through WordPress.
The pro’s of building it yourself though are that you have more control over the site, what goes on it, when it’s placed on it, overall organization, and ease of use. The con’s include slow moving website builder’s, issues getting the site up and ready, non-personal templates, and probably a bit of frustration. (I took three web design classes and learned HTML, DreamWeaver, and JavaScript, most of which I still remember and have used to build sites in the past.) Having someone else build it for you means a higher price tag and a lot more vulnerability, but you can bet on getting something more professional and unique than what you’d do on your byself. If you have a big budget, then, by all means, have a professional web designer or web design company build it for you. If you’re working on a small start-up budget or you don’t have much to place on the website, you can always start by building your own and choose to switch over later to something more professional down the road, as in my example of what I’ve chosen to do via WordPress.
Whatever you choose to do, it’s important to have a website available. Even if it doesn’t have a Flash introduction, that’s okay. What you need is the online presence. Keep it simple and up-to-date (no nineties templates, please!) and it will get the job done. You’ll have more clients and a greater flow of traffic if you can give them an address starting with http:// and not just a card with your e-mail and phone number. You can also create a flickr, shutterfly, or tumblr account for website examples or templates, graphics, logos, adverts, photos, videos and much more. Sites like these can enable your customers to view your work easily and even create a host of other items on one website (that you will get paid for).
If you missed it, you must be online. You must be searchable. You must have an online presence. If your clients can type in your name after you’ve given them your business card or they’ve received an e-mail from you and your website is the top hit, your credibility will go up insurmountably. And I can guarantee that your project list will go up insurmountably as well. And increased projects=increase creativity.
(This post is part of Monday Madness: Creative Consulting Tips and Tricks of the Trade. Sign up for the RSS feed to never miss a post!)
Increasing Creativity Part I.
February 22, 2011 § Leave a Comment
It’s your creativity. It’s unique. It’s 100% you. And there’s a whole list of clients out there that are looking for exactly what you have. What you do. And what you can create for them. Whatever type of creative medium you use, you have your own unique style. I’ve heard business clients say often, “I love working with so-and-so because she just gets it when I tell her what I need.” I’ve also heard, “I have a hard time getting my ideas across to him. It’s like we don’t communicate on the same level. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t understand what’s in my head.” And that’s just it: we’re interpreters. Some people are harder than others to interpret. On the other hand, some of your clients might not know what they want.
If you’re just advertising your creativity and your clients never get to see your work before you start on it, you might waste a lot of your time creating mock ups before you “discover” what they want. If you guarantee your work, this may end up costing you more than you would like it to. Whether or not your client knows it at this moment, they do have preferences. In music. Art. And madness. It’s in your best interest to show off your work through your portfolio both online and off to the best of your ability to gain a larger market or at least find that sweet niche that really digs you. Although an online database version and emailable format is essential.
Some clients will often ask you to send them via snail mail your portfolio. Others will as you to meet with them to show them your work personally. Recordings, portfolios, and pieces of your work are great to have on hand. Sending them to clients though can mean more overhead than you need to be spending on. And often clients will not send your portfolio back to you, so you’ve lost profits and your work. Having your work online can get potential clients your work quickly and efficiently. Plus, you’re in more control of how much you and your finances you put into it. You do have a few options of which routes to choose from.
Most freelance databases won’t allow you to even apply for positions unless you have a URL. If you’re applying for a full-time position or a long-term contract, you will most likely have to have your work online so they can view it immediately without having to download it to their computer. Could you imagine if your client had to download the work of every single creative mind that they wanted to view? It would take up much more space than is necessary…none! All you have to do is set-up a blog, website, facebook, twitter, myspace (good for musicians) or flickr account, which will be covered in Part II.
(This post is part of Monday Madness: Creative Consulting Tips and Tricks of the Trade. Sign up for the RSS feed to never miss a post!)
Organizing You Part I.
February 4, 2011 § Leave a Comment
I can’t be the only one that feels that organizing one’s daily life is the hardest part. Ever since I can remember I’ve been a huge fan of organizing. I love to organize files, drawers, cupboards, thoughts, you name it, I’m there. When I was five, I would organize my toys. When I was eight, I would organize the pantry. When I was eleven, I would organize my dad’s work-related receipts. And by the time I got to college, I had organizing down pat. I could organize my homework, classes, work, and social life like no tomorrow.
Some don’t share the same zest with organizing as I do. I think I could even be a professional Organizer if I really wanted to. Definitely after I organized my ex-bosses 1700 square foot office that hadn’t been touched since 1996. It took me three weeks (whilst answering phones, putting clients’ individual taxes together, and doing other administrative tasks). But I did it. I think that’s what draws me to consulting, I feel like I’m helping people organize their lives.
That being said, I’ve noticed over the years, creative people often have the hardest time organizing themselves. Figuring out how to get your schedule organized and which project is the most pertinent will really help you see and track your progress (for lack of a better word). That’s Part I. Part II will go over how to estimate how long a project will take you and when you can expect to be completed. If you want to get organized to the max, be sure to come back and read Part II.
This post is obviously all relative to where you’re currently at. Some of you are trying to figure out what you want to do creatively, while others have been doing what they love for a while now and just need some organization. Trust me, we all do. The first groundwork that you’ll want to lay is your daily schedule, even if it be loose at best. I helped Trever with his when he stopped working a 9-5 back in October. He kept saying, “I can’t figure out how to get all this stuff done. I wish I had a schedule!” (If you need a more personal approach, contact me regarding one-on-one consulting at jennylvoe@gmail.com!)
It’s fairly simple. Here’s an example of a full-time creative freelance work day:
9:00am Wake-up, eat brekky, and walk the dog
10:30am Do social networking/blogging
Noon Eat lunch/Make phone calls
2:00pm Do administrative/marketing tasks
4:00pm Run errands
6:00pm Eat dinner/network/schmooze
8:00pmish till midnight etc. Start creating!!!
It may seem silly, but breaking up your day so simplistically and even setting alarms so you don’t forget what comes next (like eating!) can help you simplify and really see where you’re going. It’ll also help you actually get things done. Because if you’re not setting out time to eat, market yourself, be with other humans, and create, something is going to falter and take the brunt of it all. Never a good thing.
If you’re still working that nine to five (whatever your hours may be), the best way to chip away at your creative process is to make time for it. Whether it’s two hours every night or on the weekends, do it! You’ll only work on it if you actually commit to putting it on your schedule. Once you do this, you can use a system of trial and error to figure out when the best time for you is. The above schedule is obviously for that artsy night owl. But you might write your best works in the am. Whatever it is, figure it out and schedule it in. Even if it amounts to getting used to living off of less sleep, the results from the creative output are tenfold in satisfaction.
If you are client-less at the moment (and not for long), you should seek out projects and goals that will help you get started and use the same client-importance timeline below as if those projects were paying clients (money should never be the #1 deciding factor).
When I ask a fellow artist how they decide what project they put the most work into or what they usually finish first, their response is usually whichever pays the most. In our social networking world though, that’s not what will help you to get your name out there. And your name is what you want to develop (whether it’s a pen name, your original name, your website, or anything else you go by). Even if you finish a few awesome projects and they take you forever, yet you don’t have a blog, a book, a website, or anything else to draw in your target market (the specific market segment, separated by age, geography, industry, gender, socio-economic status and so on, whomever you market your work to), no one will know who you are and your reputation will not be being built.
Let’s pretend that you have four clients to do work for. Organizing each client/project will be the most important factor in what you start with. Although the following list of bullet points is inconclusive and albeit relative, take time to figure out what is important to you. This is roughly what I go by:
• Who hired you first. The client that asked for a project to be completed should be the first to be completed, no matter who they are and regardless of pay.
• Who needs it first. If you have some clients who are more flexible on time, complete the projects that have the closest deadline.
• Who is communicating. Some clients have a more difficult time expressing their creative wants and needs. That’s normal. It’s important for you to have a list of questions to ask that will help you get started on their project, but if you get stuck and they’re not communicating, contact them every 48-72 hours and move immediately to the next project until they reply.
• Who can get you ahead. This should be the fourth thing on your list, not the first. If they hired you at the same time, need it at the same time, and are all communicating, choose the project that will stretch you and grow your rep.
And that’s the short list, but it will help you to get started towards some type of organization of your current projects. To run your business well, you have to be able to give your clients an estimate of how long it will take you to create what they need. Knowing how quickly you work is pertinent.
Also, communicating with your client how much time needs to be taken for their project is primary. You must send them a guesstimate of your date and time of completion as well as an estimated invoice for your work. Without this, you and your client are working blindly together. You don’t want either of you to be surprised by the outcome. These few steps will help you get more organized and use your creativity even more for your own profit, but if you don’t know how long it actually takes you be sure to read Part II for some simple tips.
(This post is part of Monday Madness: Creative Consulting Tips and Tricks of the Trade. Sign up for the RSS feed to never miss a post!)
