The editors of HOW magazine have assembled a powerhouse line-up of today’s hottest art directors, creative managers and industry experts for the 2007 In-HOWse Designer Conference — September 9-11 at the Hyatt Regency Austin, Texas.

It’s the business event for in-house creative managers you can’t miss — 3-days packed with intense workshops, professional advice, creative rejuvenation, and even a little group therapy.

Registration is now open at www.inhowseconference.com. Last year’s event sold out quickly, so be sure to sign up right away to reserve your spot.

You’ll enjoy exciting, inspiration-filled sessions from a select panel of experts, each with their own unique background. They’ll share what’s worked for them and what hasn’t, and identify best practices on everything from rediscovering “play” in the workplace to refining your operational processes.

You’ll network with hundreds of your peers all facing similar in-house challenges and identify methods for balancing your multiple roles. And you’ll leave feeling revived with all the insight you need to build and manage a creative team that’s downright indispensable to your company.

It’s going to be a real lifesaver.

Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind business conference. Registration is now open, and super easy with our secure on-line form at www.inhowseconference.com. Plus, we’re offering deep discounts for 3 or more registrants from the same company.

Don’t delay … register yourself (and your co-workers) today.
www.inhowseconference.com.

“Losers are people who are so afraid of not winning, they don’t even try.” (Grandpa, Little Miss Sunshine)

So…my plan for this article had been to write about everything I’ve accomplished in the last two weeks and the steps I’d taken towards fulfilling the next set of goals on my list. At least that had been the plan.

Of course, life had other plans for me, like a broken down car, and a child who just doesn’t understand why Mommy can’t play right now. And every time something took me away from actively trying to accomplish those goals, I’d feel awful.

Sure, I got out the press release for Create Magazine on time, and I wrote my book proposal. But I didn’t submit it, and as of last night, the proposal was 10 days past my self-imposed deadline. And on top of that, I’m nowhere near where I wanted to be with my website update.

So when I saw the movie, Little Miss Sunshine, for the first time two nights ago, the line, “Losers are people who are so afraid of not winning, they don’t even try,” really hit home. Hard.

Then a friend of mine helped me put things in perspective. He helped me realize that I am trying – that regardless of my personal fears and insecurities, I am making a conscious effort everyday to meet my goals and rebuild a successful business. A successful businessman himself, he explained that in business, goals are merely guidelines. Things can happen unexpectedly and deadlines get missed, but there’s always tomorrow. And as much as I hate to admit it, he’s right.

So after talking to him, I revisited my to-do list, and looked at what was done (my press release), what needed to be done (writing this article), and what could be done tomorrow (typing up and submitting my book proposal.) And…yeah, maybe I was slightly over zealous with my three-month plan. Or maybe it’s a case of poor planning. The truth is, that while I hadn’t expected my plan to be without bumps in the road, I certainly didn’t expect to run into them so soon.

Fortunately, though, I’ve just started this process, and I can make adjustments as I go along. So, I’m going to take my friend’s advice, and reprioritize my goals…I mean “guidelines.” And yes, I’m going to start thinking of my three-month plan as more of a guide to help me reach my ultimate goal: moving my office out of the bedroom. It’s funny how just changing “goals” to “guidelines” seems to take the pressure off a little, but still motivates me to action. Man, how I wish I’d figured that out sooner!

So to recap: I made a three-month plan of things to do. I met one of my deadlines, and missed one. I learned that I may have bitten off more than I can chew, once I actually started working on my list and came across that first bump in the road. But with a little help from my friends, I realized that the bumps are nothing in the grand scheme of things, and I’ve regrouped, refocused, and am ready to get right back on track to meet my next set of goals…whoops, I mean guidelines.

Join me next time, as I continue my journey Out of the Bedroom,
Tamar Wallace | Principal, TAMAR Graphics

In my last Marketing Minute, I wrote about tactics that involve an investment of time, talent and brains, rather than cash. Here’s the flip side. Maybe you hit the lottery or had a great night at the casino. Perhaps dear, old and obscenely rich, Uncle Waldo kicked off and left you a tidy sum. Either way, you’ve found some marketing moolah. Now you’re wondering where to drop that marketing dough before it burns a hole in your pocket. You’re in luck. Here’s a list of marketing activities that small businesses see as being the bee’s knees:

• Community relations – 55%
• Website – 47%
• PR/Media coverage – 31%
• Direct mail – 26%
• Yellow pages – 23%
• E-mail marketing – 21%
• Newspaper ads – 21%
• Search engine keywords – 18%
• Telephone marketing – 10%
• Outdoor advertising – 10%
• Print coupons – 6%
• Magazine advertising – 6%
• Radio advertising – 6%
• Web banner advertising – 5%

Source: Entrepreneur Magazine, August, 2005 / Interland

From this research, it appears that developing a program centered around community and public relations, reinforced with a solid website, is just the ticket.

So, get yourself a site, if you don’t already have one. Build it so it’s informative and useful to your audience. Consider adding some helpful tips, how-tos, articles, white papers and such. Think about what kind of information would be of aid to your audience. Put them first and the rest will follow.

Next, get involved in your community. Join a group or two that does good things for your hamlet or metropolis. Fork out some cash and join a business club or two. But, don’t simply join and just sit there … or worse, don’t show up at all. Yup, I’ve seen it happen all too often. People join a club with the best of intentions and they get busy, or are so slow they can’t afford the price of lunch, or they get just plain ‘ole lazy and stop going to meetings and events. The trick with a business club is to get involved and do stuff. Getting active in organizations helps to get you on the radar screen and you’ll have those nice warm fuzzy feelings from being such a nice person. Also, you might consider donating some design time to a worthy cause that’s close to your heart.

Plus, joining a group or two or doing a pro bono gig can give you some ammo for your public relations efforts. For instance, if you chair a committee, write a press release about it. Maybe you did a nifty poster or other piece for a nonprofit. Fire up your word processor du jour and get the news out.

Speaking of your public relations efforts, consider creating a press kit and shooting it out to your media list. To build your list, look through a copy of the Standard Rate & Data (SRDS). You can find one at your local library. The SRDS is the hefty book media buyers use to do their buying thing. It lists loads of information about consumer and trade publications and there’s also a version that covers newspapers. The Web is another source. Don’t forget trade organizations. They often produce newsletters or magazines and also post newsy stuff on their sites. After you have your press kit, keep up the good work by writing a steady stream of news releases and articles. Your first few attempts may not be published, but once an editor sees that you’re a consistent and a reliable source, they’ll start to print your nouns, verbs and even the occasional adjective.

Weighing in at 26%, direct mail’s another good tactic to round out your marketing efforts. Consider creating a postcard, letter of introduction or other mailer as one more touch point. If you choose to do a mailing, don’t forget to follow up by phone. That’s important. You might have a great mailer, but without a follow up strategy, you won’t pull as much as you could. Folks get busy and forget about you and your meritorious mail. What works for me is mailing in small groups of 20 - 25 or so and then making calls about a week after I’ve mailed the pieces. It doesn’t take too much time and it’s manageable. The following week, I repeat the process. Lately, I’ve been mailing out a brief, somewhat humorous, letter of introduction with a fax back form where folks can indicate their level of interest. It’s simply another point of contact and I still do the follow up calls.

Check around with other [noncompetitive] designers, photographers and writers to see how Yellow Page listings and ads work for them. I used to run a Yellow Pages ad, but never picked up a client as a result. I did, however, get loads and loads of calls from people looking for a job or selling aluminum siding. That said, I do know several creatives who get a fair amount of inquiries and work from them.

Ironically, even though designers often create print ads, they aren’t usually a good option to generate prospects. Print ads (newspaper, magazine, etc.) are a good vehicle for products or services that have a solid offer, such as discounts. But for designers, they’re costly and don’t provide a decent pay back in most cases. However, if you have a good niche industry that you serve, it might be worth it to pop an ad into a trade association newsletter or magazine, as a test, for name recognition. You might consider an offer of a complementary design review or a free white paper or report. If it works for you, great, but, odds are a well-placed news release or article will be better to help to position you as an expert.

At the end of the day, be frugal and smart. Spent your money on sensible vehicles that will give you the biggest bang for your hard-earned buck.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

Four steps to a client contact policy

Dear jay,

I find myself in an awkward situation. One of my very good clients quit her job and has decided to go in to business for herself as a marketing representative.

She was a great client and we worked well together but the problem now is, she considers me a professional brain-picking source. She calls to ask how to set files up for press, to find out who the best printer is for a job, etc, etc.

I have told her repeatedly that I am not in the business of training competitors, nor a free ride. We had a big discussion about it. Two weeks went by, but now she’s back at it. I am really sick of it, but what can I do?

It does not matter what kind of consultancy/freelancing you do, you are likely to have to deal with this problem in one form or another. IT get callers asking how to clean up a virus, photographers are queried regarding light settings, etc. While a certain amount of free advice can always be regarded as good client relations, it is very easy for a drop to become a raging torrent!

1. Start from the beginning

Decide how much up-front consultation time you are willing to give a client or prospective client, taking into consideration what will work for both you and your clients. For example, you may decide that a set number of free hours or one free meeting is all you are willing to give and everything else has to be compensated.

2. When to give the green light

Decide if and under what conditions you will not charge a client. You might decide that having a five minute chat with a client now and then is good marketing strategy, but have a prepared phrase or approach to enter into a conversation that clearly signals the client when your clock starts ticking. A response such as “As a quick estimate, the answer to that question will take about (enter number) hour/s to put together for you. I can send it off (date/time) and charge you my usual hourly consulting fee, or would you like a more detailed estimate?” highlights your worth and puts the onus back on the client.

3. Get the cash

Decide how you are going to bill your clients for your advice. This goes along with the adage: A client will not respect your time if you do let them know what it is worth.

For projects, you could add in a number of hours into each proposal, calling it ‘Project Management’, ‘Client Liaison’ or ‘Consultancy’. On each invoice, highlight the number of included hours used and those remaining. Don’t forget to add your rate for time in excess of those included in the proposal. If your first meeting is free, add a line to your first invoice ‘Initial Project Discussion’ or similar wording and mark it ‘Free’ or ‘No charge’.

For times outside a project, you may decide to invoice monthly. I find this much more economical of my time than invoicing each 15 minute or half an hour job/telephone call. Keep a record of your client contact and the subject discussed or the job performed, and list each in your invoice.

4. Get the word out

Make sure new clients are absolutely clear about your client contact policy at the beginning of your relationship, by including a copy in your project proposal.

To put a positive spin to your current clients, announce it as a ‘new consultancy service in response to client demand’.

Until the next
Ask jay

You too can Ask jay!

Misstep Number One – Not doing anything

This typically is due to a few factors. First, a lot of designers think, “If I do great work, the phone will start ringing off the wall.” Sorry, odds are it won’t. You might produce a killer piece that your client is ga ga over. You expect them to tell the world about you. The usual truth is that they may be happy, but life happens when the project ends, they get busy and forget about you until they need your services again. That is, unless the designer down the street is a better marketer.

Another reason is thinking it’s just too expensive. Sure, it can be, but savvy guerrilla marketers invest time and intelligence, rather than money, with excellent results.

One big trap is doing a lot of planning, but never implementing. This is simply a type of cloaked avoidance. People feel like they’re doing something, but in reality, they do nothing, often because of a fear of failure.

Finally, one of the biggest reasons is simply not knowing where to start. It seems overwhelming. Well, that’s why you’re here. Over the next several posts and beyond, Team BoDo will show you where and how to start … and then how to keep the momentum going to grow your practice.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

The Designers Working With series is about getting real people to share opinions on how they work in, or with, the design industry. For the opinions, I went to designers from all walks of life, as well as the professionals who work with designers. For the guts of the series I requested tips and advice, known issues, anything to reflect how both sides work. Exactly what I asked for, in this series you’ll find professionals telling of their experiences with designers, designers with clients. Each will then go further with descriptions of how their profession works best.

A litany you’ll read on BoDo often is “Learning how to run a design company isn’t just about design, or even the clients we design for”. That’s right. It’s about the whole - organizing, bookkeeping, personality, dependability, marketing, management skills and more. They all come into play when running a successful business.

Visiting author Josh Jeffryes (Cube 2.0) joins the conversation with:

First off, your design talent doesn’t really matter. Sure, it matters as far as whether you’ll do good work, but it’s almost entirely meaningless when it comes to business success. There are plenty of terrible designers out there with clients lined up outside the door. The reality is that most of our clients don’t know anything about design, and wouldn’t know the difference between a genius and a talentless hack if they came pre-labeled and color-coded. Being talented might get you better clients, but it won’t make you a success, and lacking talent won’t hold you back.

You’ll be able to read Josh’s views in full in the next post, What does it take to run your own design business?

Apt to this series, in my first Podcast Humpday I quoted James Archer from Forty Media:

The creative side and working with clients are just a portion of your business … there is a lot of stuff you don’t want to learn, but you’ve just gotta learn … you have to do it because it’s what keeps your business operational.

A part of that “lot of stuff” (depending on your flavour), is learning how to work with the professions responsible (in various degrees) for getting a polished product to your clients - the professions working with and in the industry.

I asked 7 short questions of writers, photographers, illustrators, marketeers, programmers, printers and pre press specialists:

1. What are the main points that you’d expect / want designers to know before contacting you about a project?
2. When working with designers, what do you see as the top problem areas?
3. How do you work?
4. How should a company or individual in your profession be chosen?
5. At what point should your profession be brought into a project?
6. How do you charge?
7. How can a designer improve their skills in your industry?

I asked the same questions of designers, but with changes to question 1 and 2 (and a minor change to question 7):

1. As a professional designer, what are the main points you want clients (potential and present) to know before contacting you about a project?
2. When working with clients, what do you see as the top problem areas?

Months into research I came across the ‘Designers Survival Manual’ by Poppy Evans. The timing was perfect. I already had the series structure, so there wasn’t a blending of layout (although I will quote / plug Poppy as often as possible).

Starting with designers, followed by writers, I’ll work through the industries on my list. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, for three weeks each, we’ll get personal insight into how writers, photographers, illustrators, marketeers, programmers, printers and pre press specialists work. Also scheduled for the series are account planners, design agents and bookkeepers.

Note: In keeping with the rest of BoDo, those interviewed will be in alphabetical order, by first name. Quirky? I imagine so. It comes from going through grade school as a ‘W’.

If you would like to be included in the series, contact me as I’d love to hear from you.

until the next
Designers WW,
cat

In Are You Ready?, we briefly shared seven questions you should ask yourself when getting ready to start your own business. Brief, because the Niblets are just that, a taster. Later on in BoDo, we’ll tear into each subject covered in the series. Chunk by chunk, bite by bite. Until you are satisfied.

Was Jay ready?

The decision to run my own business was never a conscious step. It was an evolutionary process that started with me handling the bookkeeping, taking on more responsibilities and culminating in running the business itself.

Mainframes were my forté, so I took myself off to the local TAFE College to find out what these PC things could do and that combined with 6 months of basic accounting in University (way back in the …. er, nevermind) gave me the skills to land a part-time bookkeeping job in a small studio.

Being in a graphic design environment and having a solid background in IT and computers in general, I realised I had a natural talent for the work being done around me. I quickly learned the basic design skills as well as the software packages (then Quark, Illustrator, Photoshop) and when one of our designers left the company, I applied for her position successfully.

As my skills improved (thanks to my mentor), I kept up a furious rate of learning more and more design skills and software applications. Many hours were spent on Graphic Design forums and websites. I really was burning the midnight oil during this time, and I kept relieving the pressure on my mentor by accepting greater responsibility. I was essentially running most aspects of the business.

The business shifted focus from being mainly print driven to being mainly web driven. This was ideal for me as it combined my old skills of building computer systems with my new skills in design.

Was I ready? You betcha! In our industry it is vital to keep your finger on the pulse of all developments, especially technology and software. You need to be prepared for any shift in direction. Confidence in my own business management abilities was necessary as well. However, I would not have come this far without the support of my design mentor who was not only willing to give me the chance, but also willing to hand on his skills.

Jeanette (jay) Wickham | Systems Manager
FastCoconut.com | NO!SPEC | BoDo Team | Ask jay

How Leslie was ready

I don’t think anyone is ever fully prepared to launch their own business, regardless of what kind of business it is, but there are certain steps you can take to start strong. The first of those is to run numbers–if you don’t know how much you need to bill to make your nut, you’re going to get in trouble very quickly. There are several sources for learning how to figure your cost of doing business (CODB), from SCORE.org to AIGA to ASMP.org and books like the GAG Guide and there is software out there for developing business plans (always a good idea) which will cover CODB as well.

In my case, before I launched I had a comfortable savings account to live off while I built my business, I did lots of math to see what I’d need to make it financially, and I bought a copy of QuickBooks (which I already knew how to use). Most importantly, I talked to my friends and family about the idea of going on my own and got their emotional support. While you can run a business alone, you can’t do it completely alone…not and stay relatively mentally healthy.

Leslie Burns-Dell’Acqua | Creative/Marketing Consultant & Coach
Burns Auto Parts–Consultants | Burns Auto Parts blog | Podcast | Book

Neil made ready

My folks each had their own businesses. So did my grandfather and great-grandfather. As such, working for someone else was a bit unnatural for me. From my teen years, I had planned to go into my own business. I started freelancing, as a photographer, when I was 17, shooting garage bands and working with a publishing house that did school books.

At the time, everything was pretty free-wheeling. So, I felt I needed to learn business skills as well as getting some more formal training in the creative arts. Off I went to college and then to art school where I concentrated on commercial photography and graphic design. When I got out, I continued to freelance. One client, a cosmetics company, asked me to come on as their in-house art director. I took the job and learned a lot. From there, I jumped ship and started working for a major newspaper in South Florida. I hooked up with a guy (my boss) who became my mentor. He taught me loads about marketing, sales and business. I decided to work for some other companies, ad agencies and design firms, learn all I could and then start my own [formal] business in my early 30s.

Neil Tortorella | Marketing Manager
Tortorella Design | The Marketing Mind | Creative Latitude | BoDo Team | Marketing Minute

Alina’s ready

I had always excelled in art from an early age, so it just seemed natural to follow the course and study as much art as possible in grade school, high school and college. I got a BA in Visual Arts from UCSD, which at that time was pre-computer, and was more fine art than “commercial art” (as it was called back then). Upon graduating, it suddenly dawned on me that I had no idea how to WORK in this field! Life is what happens while you’re making other plans, so I ended up starting a family, and the career was put on hold.

Later came my divorce, and I found myself living in Europe for almost three years, which had a tremendous impact on my design future. It was so exciting and inspirational to see European graphic design. Once I moved back to the States, I went back to school to study graphic design for three more years, and I continued to increase my work experience on the job as a design assistant, then graphic designer, until I advanced to a senior graphic design position.

I actually started learning computers while in Germany, so I “learned in German” since the software there was obviously in German. Once back in the States, I continued to learn on my own, in classes, and from co-workers. One tremendous source of education and support came from the About.com Graphic Design forum. It’s there that I learned a lot about the business side of design, in addition to all the other aspects of designing.

Alina Hagen | Visual Communications Designer
Alina Design | Creative Latitude | BoDo Author | Alina’s In-sights

Stefan was ready

It seems that for most of the past few years all I did was prepare for running this business. I had a few intro business classes my senior year of college, but as I learned there is nothing that prepares a business owner more than digging in and getting your hands dirty. But that wasn’t to say I didn’t look for advice and guidance from other business owners, specifically ones that owned a similar business. I was fortunate enough to trade emails back and forth with Joe Duffy of Duffy Partners, which was a real thrill and an honor. I also tried to read about successful businesses in other industries and try to glean insight and inspiration from their success. I think what has really helped me is just being curious and observing what works and making that work for my company.

Stefan Bean | President/Creative Director
Pulse Creative Partners, Inc. | BoDo Author | Bean’s Biz

Cat wasn’t

Boy, even though I came up with these questions, they’ve even given me pause to think. Way back.

I started my own design business out of desperation. Not mine (that was still to come), the desperation belonged to a company who had tried out the local designers, one by one. Then discarded them, one and all. They were desperate enough to take on someone who had drifted around the industry as a portrait artist, draftsman, Geotech, graphics specialist, photographer and quasi Art Director.

I could draw, I could design (or thought I could), I knew my way around graphic software (the wrong ones as it turns out), but not how to prepare files for print. And I knew next to nothing about the business of design.

Desperation does different things to different people. Everything was “no problem!”

On the plus side of this arrangement, when it came to working with designers the client didn’t know what they were doing either. On the minus side, the client didn’t know what they were doing either.

I started out slow, but not slow enough to stave off snafus resulting from a lack of preparation. At the same time I was getting projects out, I was learning how to deal with client situations, teaching myself new graphics packages (Adobe), fudging bookkeeping, working with printers (who kindly taught me how to check my files), sparing with business partners, and hiring staff then listening to their problems (and there’s always problems).

I worked long hours (12 – 16 a day) and most weekends. For the first three years, any holidays I did manage were a blur. I even slept through what I imagine was a great time in Bali.

If you are wondering what my strengths when sharing my experiences on BoDo, I’ll gladly tell you.

I’m here to advise what one should NOT do when running a design business. Mistakes, yes, I’ve made more than a few. And I’m here to tell all. Most all anyway, as there’s always the safety net, the nondisclosure aspect of our industry …

Catherine (cat) Morley | Project Manager
Creative Latitude | NO!SPEC | Katz-i | FastCoconut.com | BoDo Team

Next up in the series we’ll talk about Taking It Personally. But before that we’ll have the first of our (to be) regularly scheduled Podcast Humpdays, where Cat reviews an entrepreneur interview.

Until then,
The BoDo Team
cat - nt - jay

Welcome to BoDo:
The Business of Design online launch

Introducing Ask jay

Ask jay is the Dear Abby of business.

BoDo’s own Jeanette (jay) Wickham will give advice on hard core business issues like, ‘What the heck is a general ledger and balance sheet?’ and ‘How do I confront a thunder stealing client?’ and ‘How do I get control of my finances?’

Juggling client projects, BoDo and handling the technical bits on NO!SPEC, Jay is a tireless superwoman (well, ok, it does take multi-injections of cappuccino frappes and coke lights before she wakes). Although it hasn’t been confirmed, there’s talk that she’s planning to have her keyboard surgically attached. Her broad experience in IT, design and business administration is the critical shot in the arm to keep BoDo running smooth. We owe her a debt of gratitude. Without her vigorous work, BoDo would still be just an idea.

Go ahead, try her out. You can Ask jay.

The BoDo Team
cat - nt –> jay