Posts Tagged ‘business of design’

Even though I have said that a lot of search engine optimization companies sell a load of bullshit to their customers (check out the article to see what I mean), we as web designers can benefit from it. You may be wondering why I would dump on SEO one moment, and then praise it a couple of weeks later? Well, it is because this article actually has little to do with SEO, and more to do with the power of persuasion.

Every designer knows what I am referencing, those little changes that clients ask for at the last minute. They are requests that are not thought out or followed by reason, yet they must be completed in order to reach a sign off or finish the project. You have heard it numerous times before “I am not sure if this would work, but can you just quickly try making the copy more bolder.” Let’s take a second to discuss why this is not an ideal situation to be in, and actually how insanely counter productive they can be.

The discussion going on right now on the Speak Up article Top 10 Design Questions: Student Edition had me thinking about resumes. Currently a small debate is being hashed out about whether designers should design their resumes (i.e. conceptual) or just apply good typesetting. More specifically I find myself disagreeing with the Speak Up user agrayspace’s comment:

Maybe you have been in the same position as me lately, picture the following example. Your potential client comes to you looking for a website. They express their concerns regarding being able to update the content, the people they would like to reach, and what they would like their site to accomplish. However they have not mentioned the other majority of the project. Who will be responsible for organizing all of their company’s information, and who will be responsible for the upkeep? While the client is convinced that they need a website, they do not realize the commitment that a site can be.

Inevitably in every designer’s career there comes a point where you no longer feel that a client is a fit with your business. If you have never had to fire a client, there is sure to be a time when you will. This is unfortunately just a part of doing business that is pretty much unavoidable. Even the strictest screening of potential clients is not 100% fail safe. Organizations can restructure, move, or corporate cultures can change. I tend to look at the client / vendor relationship as a “team”. When one side feels the need to control the other, then usually this is the time where you decide whether the relationship can be salvaged or it‘s time to move on. But how do we handle this potentially awkward situation?

It is amazing how long a moonlighter or even full-time freelancer can go on without having to determine what their price is. Sometimes this is because you already know what the project budget is or because you are so unsure what to charge that you take what you feel the client thinks is fair in order to get the work. The is especially true when you are first starting out and are hungry for work, however this is actually probably the worst way to acquire new business. Clients can smell your hunger and some will capitalize on it in order to receive a deal. By setting a firm price you can assure that this does not happen, decrease the amount of time it takes to do a quote, and appear more professional.

Today I was looking through the article archives on A List Apart, and I came across the article When You Are Your Own Client, Who Are You Going To Make Fun Of At The Bar? written by Jim Coudal. As many of you may know, I find Jim to be a revolutionary in thinking outside the client / designer relationship and fully embracing entrepreneurship. I have written about him numerous times. In this article Jim raises the question “Should my blog have a business?” which instantly stuck with me.

When was the last time that you had a great idea, but never saw it realized because you got too caught up in all the details? I have entire Moleskine books full of great ideas that were never realized because I got lost in the minutia. I was so caught up with all these details that nothing ever happened with the idea. Inevitably someone else comes along with a similar idea, and I have lost the competitive advantage I would have had by just getting started on the project. The repetition of this process over and over again has led me to one conclusion; stop thinking and start doing.

Why bother worrying about what could happen in the future, when you can get right into the project and actually see what will happen. Chances are that you will figure out whatever problems may arise, when they do. By over thinking what could happen, not only do your persuade yourself not to take risk, you also plan for contingencies that may never happen.

Why you may be worried about what the consequences of these actions could potentially be, I ask you to think about what you could be missing out on instead. What if your idea does take off? What if you get 300 potential clients knocking your door down asking you to work for them? Those are great problems to have, much better than worrying about where you will get your next client from, or what kind of project you will have to accept just to pay the bills. So next time you think you may have a good idea, why not try it out before writing it off? At the worst you will learn something along the way.

How many times have you attended a meeting and realized that by the time left you have actually moved backwards in your progress on a project. Because of this and other reasons, I have come to the conclusion that meetings are just utterly pointless. I have come up with a few reasons that hopefully may help you see my side of the situation.

What can I say, the event was just spectacular. Each presenter had their own memorable and interesting points however to me the overall underlying theme was taking control of your business. Carlos Segura persuaded us to take control by setting precedence up-front with our clients. He suggested that we as designers inform our clients about how we function, and give them a take-it-or-leave-it mentality. Jason Fried gave us ten tips of starting a business and how having a small business can be more productive. He also stressed simplicity in everything we do, from our business models, to the products we develop. Finally, Jim Coudal presented the idea that a short attention span can be a good thing, leading you to new and interesting ideas. He also urged everyone to take greater control of our own crafts or means of production to create new business opportunities.