Resolution Revolution 2008

If only.

Well, let's review a bit, shall we? Last year, my resolution watch word was "attainable." For that reason I only created about five business goals that I felt I could relatively keep. So, here we are a year later...how did I fare...or as is the case, where did I go wrong?

2007 Resolution 1:

Increase Profit. Didn't see that one coming, did you? But it isn't enough to make a general declaration as though the intuition to accomplish this will mystically materialize. Chris Gee of Cube Interactive, LLC and ringleader of The Prepared Mind suggests arriving at a target amount you want to make in a specific time period (in my case, how much I want to earn in one year) and working backwards. Forming a plan this way seems less like an uphill struggle when strategizing a means towards your lofty objective.

Although my profit did increase, I still didn't hit my goal. So, what happened? I started at the end, but didn't work out a detailed enough plan to take me there. Or it could have been that my aspirations were a bit too ambitious. Either way, I didn't realistically factor the time that was needed to research and reach certain benchmarks, particularly when last minute projects or personal emergencies popped up. My plan looked pretty good on paper, but fell apart in practice.

How to resolve the resolution: More research. Others reached their fiscal goals, so can I. And with a year's worth of data from the past year to use as a comparison, I should ideally be able to devise a more effective attack plan that will either bring me closer to hitting this year's goals or surpass them. It's good to dream.

2007 Resolution 2:

Launch a Self Promotional Campaign. I've fussed and balked long enough, it's time to heed the clarion call for action. Part of the reason, well, most of the reason why I still don't have a website or a stationery system with my redesigned logo is that I'm too anal, I feel as though I can always come up with a better solution and end up changing strategies. In short, I'm my worst client—EVER.

Not surprisingly, I'm still my own worst client. Unlike my other (real) paying clients, I ended up putting my business marketing projects on the back burner for real work more often than not. An effective strategy is only good if I stick to the deadlines I place on it. If I don't treat myself like a real client, the obvious result will occur.

How to resolve the resolution: I still had a solid game plan, however I have to stick to my agenda and not set my work aside whenever a paying project or "life" compromises it. I have to think of it in this perspective: if I don't promote my business, I won't get any new business and won't reach my year's financial goals. What I'm going to do is schedule a consistent block of time during the week (Thursdays between 6 and 8pm for example) to specifically dedicate towards the growth of my business.

2007 Resolution 3:

Get Fresh Blood. In order to reach my lofty profit goals, I need new clients. For this, as I stated in the previous resolution, I've been driving and walking around town taking down company names that are in sore need of a re-brand, visiting "noteworthy" yet poorly designed sites and developing a good promotional campaign that targets their needs. In all of these cases, I took a page from J.P. Morgan and "followed the money."

Well, if I only had that gosh darn promotional collateral that I kept putting off in the previous resolution this one could have worked. And in truth I didn't participate in the start-up forums as much as I should have. To be quite honest, I was indulging myself in all the wrong forums.

How to resolve the resolution: It's still a good idea to create a custom mailing list, but like a well oiled machine, all aspects of my business model have to be in place and running. So for this to have a chance I need to prioritize some of my other resolutions. Regarding the start-up forums, I'm going to pick at least two and slot time every week to hob nob with the locals. Considering that I am already an active participant in so many other groups, I think two is a nice number to get my feet wet.

2007 Resolution 4:

Launch Website. Oy, what a headache this has been. The fact of the matter is that I wasn't really satisfied with any of my concepts.

It's still a headache, but I finally decided to move in a direction that ties into my overall branding agenda. Although I don't have a "complete" site, I did put up an interim page with redirections to a portfolio of featured projects (which will soon be moved to another, more private location) and my web log.

How to resolve the resolution: There are two ways to go about this, either whizz or get off the pot. Realistically dedicate time to learn Flash and/or Dreamweaver (to start) or outsource the coding. It's that simple. Times are such that I can't afford not to have my site up—people seem to be using it as a benchmark of professionalism (how many times have you been asked if you have a web site?). Regardless of whether the bulk of my work comes via referrals, if I want to generate consumer interest from other sources, then I have to have one up.

2007 Resolution 5:

Enter Industry Design Competitions. NO, not spec run "contests." Here's the major distinction between the two.

Actually one I kept, so huzzah for me! So nothing to resolve except to continue to enter this year. Time will only tell if it will prove a beneficial promotional tool. Even if it doesn't, it certainly can't hurt to add the title of "Award Winning Designer."

Conclusion:
Rather than create new goals for this year, I'm going to try to keep to the ones I formulated in 2007. The only difference is this year, I'm going to try slightly different approaches, both in my plan and in my perspective, to stick to them...or well, most of them. I don't mind taking baby steps so long as I continue moving forward.

Janfirst illustration ©2008 Dagmar Jeffrey. All rights reserved.

A design:related Buzz

I love forums. Really I do. Amidst the camaraderie threads one can always run into some very useful resource tidbits every so often. design:related is one such tidbit.

It's essentially a network (one of many—but that's an article for another day) that uniquely targets Creatives, a big "pro" over other networks like Facebook, which although good, was originally meant to cater to the scholastic crowd, then adapted. As with other networks, they have the obligatory "profile" interface, where you can input likes, interests network groups (basically your base of operations) and so forth. Because it's catering to designers, illustrators and other creative ilk, it also offers a dedicated page just for you...like a free webspace server...and a section to upload a portfolio of work along with room to post the project details beneath the image (client, description, etc). When a person viewing the piece clicks on the image thumbnail, it acts as a link to that project. When clicking on the larger image header, it opens it at the center of the browser window (think "flash" pop-up) and...best of all...allows one to upload up to three different images related to the project. Just think—you can put up different product shots, or variations. It adds a refreshing dimension to the usual "one product image per portfolio piece" norm.

Taking a page from other sites like the new blogger, design:related doesn't bog you down with too much copy. Wisely catering to this visual (likely ADD rampant) market, they let the image stills of their site do the talking in their quick tour. Although I would've preferred the option of a short video tour with a narrator entailing the benefits in brief detail as well, what they had was sufficient enough to seal the deal.

There are also other issues that could have been addressed, like a dedicated "help" page. I for example had to discover some of the better bits on my own. I know many designers who neither have the time nor patience to sit and play for extended periods of time. They are however aware that there might be some kinks in the works and are eager for our input, which is good. Time will tell just how adeptly they apply the suggestions that are offered.



If you are a designer like myself who doesn't have a live web site for whatever the reason, this is a nearly perfect alternative. "Nearly." To ensure a higher degree of visibility, I resorted to taking a snapshot of their logo (no, it's not pirating, read on) and create my own affiliates link from my splash page to the site (yet another resource they should offer, to increase their viral power). Creating your own link and adding it to one's sig (if they are forum advocates like myself) is another good advertising tactic.

Even if you do have a website, it doesn't hurt to try design:related if for any other reason than to extend your networking base in a site that specifically caters to our creative ken. I imagine as their popularity continues to grow, more prospective clients will visit when looking to hire a designer.

Tooting Your Own Horn Series—P1

As some of you might have read in my previous entry, I thought it a good idea to take a page from award winning industry leaders like Jeff Fisher of bLog-o-motives and start promoting myself here. After all, we're essentially in the business of effectively promoting others, so why do visual designers find it such an obstacle to do the same for themselves?

Designers or Businesspeople?

Designers seem to have a hard time remembering...or accepting...that they are running a design business. They conduct themselves as people who happen to be talented designers, but not as professionals who are selling design as part of their range of services.

If one doesn't see themselves as a business first and a designer second, then they won't think to shed their "student" mentality of only working on a good portfolio and start to promote their business as other entrepreneurs do. For instance, utilizing targetted marketing campaigns throughout the year and attending networking events as marketing tools largely end up being passed over. Their business likely won't grow as much as it could because they didn't think to tap into all of that promotional potential.

While a smart looking portfolio and website presence is important, it shouldn't be the "end all" of self-promotion. Truth of the matter is, for those who had a formal college education, the latter is the only thing that is often emphasized in their curriculum, and so it's the option the end up focusing on without considering alternatives.

Employees Need Promotion, Too

Just because one isn't an independent contractor or running their own firm doesn't mean that one shouldn't promote their creative accomplishments. While I'm on it, note that I didn't say, "freelancer." I don't particularly like to use that reference, because these days, potential clients seem to think that it's some sort of code for "you-can't-land-a-real-job" or that "free" means just that...work for virtually nothing.

A designer should always think about promotions because you never know where your next business opportunity will come from. You never know who's going to flip through a design annual of inhouse communications work and run across an ad campaign you did for your employer. Or perhaps see your latest illustration submission in Illustration Friday and present you an even better position at an esteemed firm. At best, it's another means to just get some positive exposure and generate interest in your work, possibly build up a referral base for the possibility that you do branch out on your own, use as leverage when vying for a promotion or a better position elsewhere, or for those who's submissions are accepted into celebrated industry design annuals or industry accolades like The Summit Awards, the chance to add "award winning designer" to your name.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of Word of Mouth Referrals

I originally generated a good deal of business through what's called word of mouth referrals. Basically, one good design gig lead to another because the original client referred me to friends, and they referred me to other interested parties. It was a sweet deal really. I didn't have to go through the "portfolio interview" or work very hard to convince them the pros of hiring an experienced designer who can effectively develop creative solutions to communicate their promotional goals. The person who referred them to me did most of the sales for me and the deal was already pretty much in the bag before I even met them.

Life was indeed good, but "life" being what it is, it didn't last.

For one thing, 9/11 happened. Being a New Yorker and having most of my client base affected by the events of that day blindsided my business. Businesses either suffered, folded or moved away. Of those who remained, they struggled to recupperate losses, which essentially meant that they couldn't afford my services as they tightened their belts. My referral base was a pretty mess, indeed.

I had to rebuild. However I wouldn't have had to do that if I had worked to promote myself during the good times—if I had been submitting my work to annuals and erected a professional web site even if I felt it wasn't necessary at the time. If I had been sending out periodic self promotional collateral to build my business, I might've been minimally affected. I wasn't prepared because I didn't see the hard times coming. Who ever does, really.

And I feel that in part, promotions are not just a means to generate more potential clients, but also use as leverage to build a strong marketing base that can keep your business afloat long enough to weather the storm of the lean times.

Next: Part Two

Forum Anecdotal Nuggets—Design Startup Bloopers and Basic Upchucks

A couple of posts ago, I recounted in my forum travels how a poster wanted to "simplify the ca-ca" in the hopes of receiving a list of ten easy steps in starting a successful design firm [insert skeptical laughter here]. A bit further along in the thread another poster asked me to elaborate on this line within the body of my initial reply: "I neglected a few key business applications that I thought I could afford to skip." I thought it was worth re-opening some of the painful, torturous wounds I received during my "hard knocks" business training to retell it a second time here, if only to help another Creative Kinsman from meeting my blissfully naive fate. Learn. Enjoy. Learn. Did I mention Learn? I think I did.

For starters, I didn't see myself as a business. I saw myself as a freelance designer. There is a difference. How you see yourself is very important. I never thought of myself as a business entrepreneur in the formal sense so I never distinguished that definable distinction. You must see yourself as a businessman/woman first, designer second.

Next I didn't draft a business plan. You can google online for any number of sample plans but in a nutshell, a business plan is a descriptive outline that details your operating costs, marketing objectives, mission statement, capital, overhead and other projections. If you want to apply for any government, private grants or looking for investors into your company, you'll be required to have one of these on hand anyway. If upkept regularly it also keeps your business priorities aligned.

I had these from the beginning, but I should mention that you should always work on CONTRACT. Never work without one. GAG, AIGA, Creative Latitude and other great resources have a myriad of extremely useful templates for you to download and tailor to your needs.

Establish the proper business accounts. That includes keeping the books. If you work from home a separate phone line and address (P.O. Box for example) dedicated to your business is advisable. You don't want every Tom, Dick and Jane you give your business card to know where you live. Keep work and home separate even if they reside in the same space. Plus, by establishing a good business proposal you'll have an understanding of your overhead and the capital you'll need to maintain your day to day expenses. I didn't have a business proposal so I miscalculated my overhead capital which led to problems further down the line.

It's been said that one should ideally have about three years of overhead capital saved up. Some have done well with a year, some with less than that. What you need to calculate is, when you hit those valleys, and they will come, do you have enough reserves saved up to weather the storm until you reach your peak again? This includes your overhead for your marketing campaigns, as well as business cards and any other direct mail or physical promotional pieces you regularly replenish. So even athough you might do well enough with a few months of reserves, having about three years of overhead saved in the coffers creates a more comfortable safety net.

Even though I had the presence of mind to have one from the onset, now's a good time to add that it pays to bank on a good accountant who is familiar with all the latest tax laws. Also choose one who is available anytime throughout the year—accountants aren't only good for tax time. Turbo Tax may appear to save you a few bucks in the beginning, but you may unwittingly end up losing far more than that in the long run in unclaimed or poorly returned taxes. Invest in an accountant for the same reasons a business client should invest in your professional services over some inexpensive logo making software.

I didn't study or establish my market. A client was a client was a client to me. Not so. Clients and their businesses have different needs and thus they spend accordingly. A smaller business won't invest in design and advertising as a more modest or commercial or trade oriented business who might have a clearer appreciation or need for the power of advertising towards their market.

Also, take care not put all your eggs in one proverbial basket. I had a few really good clients—all downtown. What do you think happened after 9/11? They all were either gone or restructured or moved and I was eventually factored out of the equation as a result. And because I didn't have a formal studio near GZ I couldn't collect on any of the restitution that some of the other businesses were receiving. I was just plain screwed. And who could've honestly seen that coming? But if I had structured my business properly and planned for the future instead of living in the success of the moment, the losses I incurred would've probably been more tolerable. There were other factors as well that came into play, all at just the right time to contribute to my inevitable downfall. Kismet is something else. Recovery has been one long haul. Perhaps if my foresight were as keen as my hindsight, it might not have been so. Learn from this if anything else, kiddies.

I knew next to NOTHING of effective sales techniques. I simply lacked the confidence to apply them with success. Learn how to negotiate. Buy How To sales books. Take courses. I can't stress it enough. Designers I've found seem to lack in spades in this area for the same reasons as I. I enjoyed a good deal of word of mouth referrals and that requires no salesmanship at all by comparison. Learn to network. When the well ran low I had no networking base established and had to start over. Creatives will either accept whatever offer is on the table or walk away. A good salesman will find a way to negotiate a good deal and still somehow come out on top.

I didn't promote myself. That pretty much speaks for itself. Because I enjoyed word of mouth referrals I didn't need to do much in that area. When the well ran low I was feeling the hurt. So I essentially lived for the moment and didn't plan ahead for the future, lesson learned. By far the best and easiest form of promotions are joining the design competition circuit—that is, entering work already completed for recognized industry annuals like HOW, Print, CA, Rockport, etc. The added bonus of this is if you are selected you can add "award winning designer" to your name and a list of accolades to your site.

Most important, know the value of what you're worth. When I started out many of my blunders came by way of what I believed were discounted rates which I believed would attract more business. Not so. All I did was sell myself short. Joining design forums like About GD, HOW, About DTP, the GDF to name a few was the best decision I ever made. I learned a great deal business wise there, mostly how I don't have to sell my left arm to make a good living. This is another reason why I am oh so against spec work of any kind. That is NOT good business. It's NO business. Who works for free? I found out first hand that giving away services in the hopes that the exposure will land me some "real" business only revealed my own naivete and lack of professional experience. And it rarely works. Not good odds to bank on.

That's sort of the long and short of it. There's a LOT of work involved and no measure of guaranteed success even if you manage to avoid all of my pitfalls (there's still the little issue of supply, demand and salary demands of your region, global competition, "life," etc.) but hopefully it will lead to less startup upchucks than mine.

My Mad Mad Marketing Plan—Phase Two: Scheduling

It's been said that timing is everything. So in my endeavor to organize a time-sensitive campaign that I have to develop, design, output, assemble and mail, it must also be scheduled in such a way that I can temporarily set aside (like last week's post which is now this week's) so that I can address any sudden, shall we say, pressing concerns.

Like any good General, I strategized a plan to divide and conquer. First, still being the web derelict that I am, I mapped the project details on paper (although a PDA or other similarly useful digital media is a fine substitute) to have a clearer understanding of what sort of beast I was up against. I then segmented it into four main phases so that I don't become overwhelmed or side tracked, which also permitted me to establish appropriate deadlines within my limit:

1. Research
2. Execution
3. Printing
4. Delivery

Research.
Essentially brainstorming, budgeting and fundamental concept development. I had to come up with an idea that kept my "eyes on the prize." Best way to do that I surmised was to create a few brief basic criteria.

• It must be "general" enough so that I can use it as a promotional item for potentially any future client.

• It must be something they would want to use or pass on to someone who could use it (never know where your next client will come from).

• It had to be small enough to be portable, or be able to "set aside" on a work desk for example. Anything that was too large that the person had to take it off the table top to make room is a promotional bust to me (there are exceptions, but I digress). If they set it aside on their desk however, it's still within their line of sight and can always be picked up again or be spotted from anyone else who spies it on their desk (again, never know where your next client will come from). Concurrently, I didn't want it to be so small that it gets lost from someone's view.

• Most importantly, the subject matter had to reinforce and associate itself with the brand, in this case, Archetype Design Studio.

It's important to specify your campaign's goals and to outline a realistic timeline to develop an effective promotional concept. For example, I had a bunch of ideas from the onset that may have met some of my criteria, but really didn't meet my most important one, the promotion of my business. They just were good reference tools that I planned to lay out nicely. However how to tie it to my brand? That needed some thought—I felt something sufficiently clever yet simple was in order. I had to set limits because, overanalytical as I am, I've often mired myself in the research phase, literally planning ideas to the ground and beyond before they even had a chance to take off.

I decided, all things considered, that a month and a half of development was ample enough time to finalize the "bones" of this little project. Any less wouldn't have been enough and could've caused setbacks down the road if I wasn't satisfied with it's direction, any more would've been overkill, endangering the fulfillment of my predetermined mid year deadline.

Execution.
It pretty much says it all, I think. This not only includes the computer design, it also includes all of the pre-drafting, scanning and assorted materials gathering as well. Not to be understated, it allows plenty of time for revisions and in the most drastic of cases, the potential to develop another creative direction altogether (also known as "back to the ol' drawing board" syndrome, but if you research well enough, this extreme back pedal is usually not as severe or even necessary). For this project, considering it's scope and that it has to constantly take a back seat to other paying projects, I've given myself three months.

Printing.
The underestimated phase. My rule of thumb is to double their projected turn around time. Quite simply it's to account for output issues that might cause a delay. It happens more often than not, so always allocate extra time if you want to meet any deadline.

Delivery.
Another phase that requires the "printing" rule of thumb, solely because it's the one phase that is totally out of your control—your campaign if it is time sensitive like this one, will be left in the hands of another who may not prioritize it's timely arrival as you would. So it pays to do a couple of things here. Double (or even triple) the estimated delivery time (even if it's next day air) and get a delivery confirmation receipt of some kind (registered, etc) so that you can track your package.

This is also a good time to briefly address packaging. After all, it's part and parcel of your presentation as well, no pun intended. Imagine the difference between a plain shipping box or envelope over something more inviting like this (click on the little arrows). As a designer it'll further reinforce your creative talent in developing appropriate, attractive promotional solutions. And as the saying goes, Style is in the Details.

There is one last consideration, and that's "Murphy's Law," Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. After all your careful plotting from your promotion's completion date on back to ensure success, things can still go so far South that it falls off the proverbial radar, "...best laid plans" and all. Hopefully by structuring a more organized attack plan from the very beginning, it will keep most of your ducks lined neatly in a row instead of splayed all over the street.

Next time: First Dates.