putting the business back into design...

Your self-image: A review of what’s out there!

2012-04-22T03:15:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, a certain book started a lot of discussion. The book was title ‘The Secret’ and it was written by first time author, by Rhonda Byrne.

If you haven’t read it, I’d highly recommend it, if for no other reason than it brings together thousands of years of belief, teachings and writings from some of the greatest thinkers throughout history.

Paul Hanna wrote a very similar book titled, ‘Believe and Achieve’, a very down to earth book which suggests that we are what we focus our thoughts and belief on. If you want to be motivated by any book on life, business and self-improvement, this is another great example.

It's funny, but once you've read a couple of these kinds of books, you start to pick up some very common threads. It's interesting to see how the same thing can be written in a number of different ways!

In his book titled ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’, Stephen Covey also promotes self-centred leadership and becoming ‘your own first creator’.

What Stephen suggests is that our basic human nature is to act, not be acted upon and what’s more, even under the harshest conditions, we have the choice on how and what we think about. We have a ‘response-ability’ and can choose to take the initiative.

Another excellent author in the power of belief is Napoleon Hill. Napoleon Hill spent 20 years of his life researching the topic of success and how the most successful people in his era had made their fortunes. He interview and analysed people such as Henry Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller, Woodrow Wilson and Thomas Edison.

Hills best selling book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ sold 20 million copies when the author died in 1970 and his chapter on ‘Faith: Visualising and Believing in the Attainment of Desire’ is well worth a read, especially for any new entrepreneurs starting your long road to success.

For me, I like believing in goals that are achievable, realistic, attainable. Discussions I’ve had with friends / colleagues on the writings of Ronda Byrne and others go along the line of, “So if I think I’ll get a Ferrari, tomorrow morning I’ll wake up to find one in my front yard?” And how can you argue with that?

But what is the alternative, believe that you’ll never have a Ferrari and I can guarantee you one thing, you’ll be right!

As T Harv Eker states in his very interesting book ‘Secrets of the Millionaire Mind’:

“If you’re goal is to be comfortable, chances are you’ll never get rich. But if your goal is to be rich, chances are you’ll end up mighty comfortable.”

I guess what I’m trying to say is to take Harv’s point, you don’t have to think you’ll be the greatest designer who ever lived, or the most prolific architect in history, but if you aim to be great and define that greatness, even if it is a big ask, you’ll get a lot closer to achieving it than if you don’t.

And I think Ronda would agree: The law of attraction is one thing and yes, it can be argued both ways, but in business, you have two choices:

You either set a belief (call it a business mission statement, call it a business vision, call it a bottom line you need to make, whatever);

Or...

You can aim for nothing and play it by ear…I know what I’d rather do!

And just to show that it’s not just old fashioned authors who write poignant statements about aiming high and believing in yourself, here’s one from Kanye West in his song ‘Homecoming’:

“Reach for the stars so if you fall you land on a cloud.” Corny? Absolutely! But like most clichés, more than a hint of truth.

So don’t be limited by your imagination, think big! Just ensure you set a few small milestones along the way.

After all, success breeds success, so make your dreams big, but allow yourself some reasons to celebrate along the way.

I wish you happy thinking…!

5 ways to ‘advertise’ without advertising

2012-04-13T04:44:00.002-07:00

If you think it’s hard in an ordinary business and working out where to spend your marketing dollar, spare a thought for the lawyers, chartered accountants and architect out there.

For these and some other professions, it is against their professional code of conduct to engage in straight out advertise!

Buggar!!!

Right?

Well not really, it just forces you to focus on other means of raising your profile and engaging with potential clients.

So here’s 5 ways to raise the profile of your business without actually 'advertising':

1. Do some charity work

Whilst bad news sells, people do like to hear ‘good news stories’, it’s why the nightly news finishes each nightly broadcast with a human interest section.

Whilst you might think your potential clients are interested in your latest building, your latest award or your latest research project, the fact is, they’d be more interested in why you grew a beard (Movember) or shaved your head (World’s Greatest Shave).

Friends, potential clients, local newspapers, industry magazines, Facebook / Linkedin / Twitter feeds are all great sources of hearing about your philanthropy.

You not only raise the awareness of your business name, but you help a charity at the same time. It is a win-win and you’ll sleep better at night knowing you’re doing something worthwhile.

2. Engage in some topical research & development

You can’t simply sit back and wait for the phone to ring. Well, you can, but you’ll get fairly bored fairly quickly. If you have ANY spare time between projects / jobs, spend some time on researching a topic that is topical at the moment.

For example at The Buchan Group, we are currently researching the future of retail experience called ‘Retail 2030’.

It is giving us something interesting to discuss with potential clients and once it’s complete, we will upload it to YouTube and post it to our other social network.

What any one’s clients want to see is that you are abreast of the most up-to-date information and are the best consultant for them. So show them!

3. Enter the odd competition

Competitions in design businesses are commonplace. When new designers are looking to raise their design profile, the best way to do it is to enter a competition. When large design firms have spare design capacity between jobs, it is also a great opportunity to look for some competition work.

After all.....if architect Jorn Utzon hadn't entered a competition, we wouldn't have ended up with the Sydney Opera House!

If for nothing else, it keeps the mind active…at the best, you could win a potential job that you would never have had a chance to. The competition visuals will also provide valuable imagery to use in marketing material, brochures and websites. Even just entering the competition (let alone winning) will provide new articles to add to Facebook posts, Twitter feeds or Linkedin status updates.

4. Sponsor your local sports team

Okay, this one may be a bit left field, but sponsoring your local sports team should allow you to incorporate your logo onto sports kits or onto boxes at the ground. It’s all about having something fun to talk about with clients / colleagues / consultants and keep things a little different.

The support of your local sports team will also create some fresh news and give you good reason to update your other marketing channels.

5. Establish a ‘Potential Out-reach Strategy’

There’s absolutely no point pursuing any of the above ideas without a very clear overall approach that ties together your client out-reach strategy to the rest of your marketing campaign.

To really do well out of the above strategies, you must be honest with yourself about why you’re doing it. If you’re not passionate about it, it will show, and that won’t impress anyone.

Final Word:

To advertise or not to advertise….that is NOT the question. It’s not about advertising, it’s about following your passions…it’s about helping the community….it’s about trying new things and entering competitions….and it’s about researching new ideas. And once you’ve done all that and whatever else takes your fancy, it’s about telling people about it.

So do yourself (and your business) a favour….don’t simply assume that if you can’t or don’t feel comfortable advertising that you can’t raise the profile of your business. Get out there and give it a crack…you’ll be surprised at the conversations it will start and the doors it will open!

Which Social Network Platform is right for my business??? (Part 2 – Facebook vs Linkedin)

2012-03-26T05:49:00.000-07:00

You’ve probably heard the saying: “If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it fall, does it make a sound?” or words to that effect. An oversimplified explanation is that objects of sense exist only when they are perceived.

The same can really be said for marketing.

There’s no point paying for advertising in magazines, newspapers or sponsoring sports teams if your clients don’t see it. As mentioned in my previous blog titled Which Social Network Platform is right for my business??? it really is all about WHERE you advertise, what you say and how you say it.

So let’s take a look at Linkedin and Facebook as two platforms for what Catherine Parker in her book ‘301 ways to use Social Media to Boost your Marketing’ calls a way to “strengthen personal connections.”

Facebook

Facebook was born on February 2004 and since then has more than 845 million active users. Not what I’d call a passing fad. And for a business, especially a design business, it is a place where friends, family and general contacts can see what you’ve been doing and see your latest work.

You see, 90% of customers trust peer recommendations and only 14% trust advertisements. So if you’re looking to promote your business through Facebook, then you’re first tier audience should be fairly supportive and understanding. Well one would hope so anyway…!

Just do me one favour, and this is really important:

DO NOT SELL ON FACEBOOK!!

Now I’m not going to nit-pick, but there’s a fine line between informing your contacts and those who ‘like’ your business or service….and offering cheap renovation designs. If you’re going to be on Facebook, you need to use it to raise the profile of your business and activity, NOT to directly engage in touting weekly specials. That is the surest way to lose business contacts and friends!

If we go right back to the beginning, Facebook is about ‘strengthening’ your personal contacts. Your strategy for what you put on Facebook should be clear and simple. You are there to inform those interested in you and your business, this can include informing them of such things as:

· Any new projects you may be working on, may have recently won, or may have completed;

· Any charity work you may be engaged in;

· Any awards / accollades that your company may have achieved;

· Any events that might be of interest to your contacts; and

· Any news articles / web-links associated with your industry that might be of interest.

Just be sure when placing these pieces of information that you also cross-reference your other social media platforms. Send people to your blog or your Linkedin profile or to your website. Your social network should link seemlessly so you capture as much traffic from one news story as possible. Remember…if a tree falls in the forest…

Facebook has a number of advantages over other social networking sites. Firstly, it lets you set up ‘page’ which can be seen by anyone, even those not registered on Facebook. You can also add your company name as part of your URL, ingraining it in the minds of your customers and increasing the ‘visibility’ of your business in search engines like Google and Bing.

Setting up a Facebook ‘page’ and then incentivizing your contacts to ‘Like’ it, will ensure every update goes into your contacts ‘News’ section. So the key is to keep your page fairly fresh. Don’t leave it weeks and weeks before posting updates, people will lose interest. Once a week is probably the minimum you’d want to post updates to Facebook. But at the same time, make your posts interesting and engaging. No one cares what you had for breakfast or that you’re not having a good day. Suck it up, think about what might actually interest your customer base, and give them something useful.

The final word I’ll leave you with on Facebook is to be clear about your business first. Before setting up a page or your profile, ensure that your client base will engaged with your posts, ensure the look and feel of you Facebook page is in alignment with the rest of your media / marketing strategy and ensure you can devote a little time each week to keeping it interesting. If you can answer yes to all of the above, then Facebook…here you come!!

Linkedin

I set up my Linkedin profile about 3 years ago and devoted quite bit of time in making it as informative as it can be and learning some of the ways to promote my company in a responsible way. As with Facebook, Linkedin is a social network where you can ‘link’ with existing contacts, but it also enables users to engage in networking groups, attract potential employees and allows people to find your business easily on line.

If there is one main different between Linkedin and Facebook, it is probably that Linkedin tends to favour professionals somewhat. The reason for this probably goes right back to the birth of Facebook in a US college versus the more professional appearance of Linkedin. It is simply a slightly more rational, work focused, personal attribute focused network platform. But that's not to say it is better or worst than Facebook, there's definitely a place for both in your business.

So what’s good about Linkedin I hear you ask?

Well, Linkedin is like a professional resume right there on the internet. You only put the information you want people to see and you can chose who sees what, but typically you would note where you studied, where you worked, some unique selling points about you and some contact details.

Unlike Facebook which uses the ‘Like’, you can also ask for ‘Recommendations’ from your contacts on Linkedin which goes onto you profile page. Remember that stat that 90% of people trust a personal recommendation, so why not have a few kind words about you right there for people to see!?

To give you a personal example of how well this can work. Prior to joining The Buchan Group in September last year, I asked for a few recommendations from some previous companies I had worked for in the Middle East. One such recommendation came from a manager whom a Director of The Buchan Group knew personally.

So the Buchan Group director called my previous manager who had written some favourable words on Linkedin and enquired after me. Obviously he had nice things to say (I think he did anyway!) and without even needing to send a nicely worded cover letter or forward a written reference, I had a potential employer receiving positive feedback from their own trusted source. Bingo!

The other great thing about Linkedin is that if you connect with someone you know, then each time you post an update or share an article, it will go directly onto their News Updates page. The benefit here is that if you time it correctly, your potential clients, customers and contacts will see it.

And here’s a free tip for you:

Studies have shown that the most popular time that people check their Linkedin page is between 8:30am and 9am in the morning (when they turn their computer’s on) and between 4:30pm and 5:30pm in the afternoon (when they’ve almost had enough for the day).

So if you’re clever, you’ll post updates around those times to get the best exposure.

Linkedin is also an excellent tool at keeping track of key clients. The problem with business cards, phone books or even on-line address sites like Plaxo are that if someone’s details change, you’ve lost their details.

But on Linkedin, no matter where your contacts go (assuming they keep their profiles updated) you can follow their movements. Handy huh?

But as with Facebook, and at the risk of repeating myself (but I will because it is that important):

DO NOT SELL ON LINKEDIN!

Linkedin is not a place to post weekly specials, leave that to Spreets and all those plethora of voucher sites that are probably also flooding your inbox as they are mine! Linkedin is a site to raise the profile of your brand by engaging in group discussions, by commenting on other people’s posts, by joining on-line communities and discussing topics or simply keeping your target market informed of what you’re doing…

Oh and when you’re keeping people informed of what you’re doing, here’s another tip for you:

If you also have a Twitter account, when posting a Status Update, simply tick the little blue Twitter bird box and your Linkedin post will automatically go onto your Twitter feed.

So….(phew)..there’s a lot there…..but there’s also a lot I haven’t covered, like placing a Facebook advert, setting up a Linkedin Poll or incorporating a ‘Slideshow’ on your Linkedin page….that will have to wait for another day!

Hope you enjoyed Facebook v Linkedin, drop me a comment if you can, I’d love to hear from you and your experiences with Facebook and Linkedin for putting your Business…

Which Social Network Platform is right for my business??? (Part 1)

2012-03-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

Are you confused about social networking and the place it has in your life or worse still your business??

Well fear not, you’re not alone!

In fact, studies have shown that most businesses are either not using social media platforms correctly, are using the wrong social networking site for their clients, or are missing out on crucial business leads because they have not instigated an appropriate marketing strategy for their social networking platform.

So, WHY are they missing out on business?

Check out this 3 minute YouTube clip on the Social Media...

Here’s a few seminal stats:

1. 50% of the world’s population is under the age of 30;

2. Social Media has overtaken pornography as the #1 activity on the Web (can you believe it!);

3. If Facebook was a country, it would be world’s 3^rd largest country (beaten only by China and India!);

4. 95% of companies using social media for recruitment use Linkedin (that’s pretty impressive market penetration);

5. A new member joins Linkedin every second (impressive huh?);

6. Every minute 24 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube (that’s a lot of footage!);

7. 34% of bloggers post opinions about products and brands;

8. 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations, and only 14% trust advertisements;

9. 93% of marketers use social media for business (what does THAT tell you!) (http://www.socialnomics.com/)

It’s a worry right…….?

WRONG….!

It’s just the way social and business interaction has developed, after all, you’re either reading this blog having found it on Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook or Blogger!

“So where does all this lead and what social networking site is best for me and my business” you are probably asking yourself.

Well the answer to that question is…it depends!

Let’s forget for a minute the new age technology side and just get back to Marketing 101. If you were to ask any marketing expert, where should you promote your profile and / or business, most would probably respond: “Promote yourself, advertise and raise the profile of your business where most of your target market will see it.”

In other words, if you're going to spend time on marketing and communication, spend it in the right area to ensure you get the best exposure and leverage for your time and effort.

For example, if you were a photographer and wanted to market yourself you’d get more success out of site such as YouTube and Flickr than you would on Linkedin. Conversely if you were a service provider like a lawyer, an accountant or a stock broker, you’d probably receive more professional contact and keep track of clients from platforms such as Linkedin and Plaxo.

Social media networks are aplenty, that’s for sure, and a strategic approach to these platforms, their communities and your involvement in them is what is really called for. A relatively new name has been coined for this social network structure called a Social Media Architecture. I like it, not just because it has the word ‘architecture’ in it, but rather because it insinuates a creative, organised and considered approach to raising your brand.

So the question of where to focus your social media attention really does boil down to, what sites are your potential clients on? Does the persona and character of that social site match the persona and vision for your business? If the answer to both of those questions is ‘yes!’ then that’s a great place to start.

“Okay,” you say, “seems like a rational sort of approach, but there are so many social networks out there and it’d be time consuming to utilise them all, so which ones are best to use and what’s the best strategy for improving MY business?”

If anyone would like a copy of a very useful and interesting article on ‘Social Media Architecture’, leave me a comment and email address and I’ll flick you a copy.

End Part 1.

In Part 2, I’ll give you my very humble experiences on the most popular social network sites: Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter…stay tuned!

LOOK WHO’S TALKING!!!

2012-03-09T04:32:00.001-08:00

As a business owner or as a representative of a company, you are a walking, talking advertisement.

You’re an advertisement for quality work you’ve already done and a promoter for work you’d like to do. And that means two things:

It sounds simple, but you need to know a few excellent examples of work you’ve done and what might appeal to people you meet;
You need to think about where you want your business to be and explain that succinctly and expertly to your audience.

The good thing about being prepared is that if you’re ever caught off guard, you’ve got something quick to say. If you’re a graphic designer, you don’t have to tell people who ask what you do every logo, every re-branding exercise, and every billboard you’ve worked on. Just focus on examples that people will be impressed by, or high profile clients that will illustrate a trust in your abilities.

Remember, the aim is to interest your listener enough for them to either think they need your service, or at the very least, someone they know may need your service.

Michael Port in his novel ‘Book Yourself Solid’ suggests that we include 3 things when you talk about ourselves:

1. Start by clarifying ‘who’ you help;

2. Mention ‘how’ you help them;

3. Explain ‘what happens’ when you help them.

To illustrate this point, let’s look at an example: Let’s say you’re an interior designer specialising in home renovations and you’re at your next door neighbour’s enjoying a BBQ. You’re talking to one of the guests when they ask what you do. If you hadn’t done any preparation or if you didn’t know better, you could be excused for a response akin to: “I’m an interior designer.”

Now the person you’re talking to may have had a terrible experience with an interior designer, who had appalling taste and who had completely ripped them off. “Oh, well…an interior designer…great….well, we used an interior designer and geez, what a disaster! They knew nothing about interior design and they didn’t listen to a word we said, we’d never use an interior designer again!” BANG! You might as well say your goodbye’s and grab another glass of vino.

But imagine if we approached the response following Michael’s advice, your response might go something like this:

“Well, thanks for asking, I actually help home owners (1) improve the look and feel of their home (2) to ensure they enjoy their home life and maximise their profits (3) when selling their properties.”

The person listening might need some interior design in their home, or maybe they know someone looking to sell their home. Who knows?! But by focusing on a target market and focusing on how you help them achieve an outcome, you’ve opened up a potential business opportunity by explaining who you help, how you help them and what happens when you do.

So give it some time. It’s worth spending some quality time understanding your target market, drawing on what you do and explaining the results you get. If you can combine that with a couple of examples of where you’ve done it successfully, you’ll be on the path to opening up a myriad of opportunities.

Remember, you never know where the next business venture might come from, and the best ones are typically the ones from ‘left-field’. Don’t sell yourself short….you are a walking, talking advertisement, so treat yourself like one and invest some time in yourself, after all, if you’re not going to sell yourself, then who the devil is???

Happy business!

Where are you going???

2012-02-24T04:16:00.002-08:00

Can you imagine packing your bags, saying good bye to your friends and family and setting sail on a yacht out to sea without a navigation chart of where you are going or how you are going to get there? How can you negotiating rocky outcrops and submerged sand banks, understand the currents and utilize the wind, all required to move a yacht from where you are, to where you need to get to if you don't have a chart. If you don't have a plan?

It's the same in business. Sailing unchartered waters is akin to starting a design business, or any business for that matter, without a clear understanding or where you want to take your business and how you’re going to get there. Not the best idea. Just ask any sailor or navigator and I’m sure they’d give you the same answer, so why would you do it in business?

But this is exactly what many business owners and corporations do. And you know what…it’s natural, because it’s not easy to keep focusing on a positive end when the here and now is hard.

I don’t think I’m saying anything new, or anything you haven’t read in other books or books on motivation of achieving success. Stephen Covey the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People talks about “beginning with the end in mind” and focusing on what you want, desiring what you want and manifesting that in the here and now. The basic premise is that what you think about, what you focus on, you will head towards and ultimately achieve. It is a concept that has been popularised by Rhonda Byrne in The Secret and by Harv Eker in his book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.

So, how do we set our goal, define our end? The following is a good start:

1. Identify your strengths, your point of difference, your passion and where you want your business to be;

2. Once you’ve thought about where you want your business to be….think bigger! We are really only limited by our imagination, so don’t sell yourself short!

3. Establish a strategy of how to get from here to where you need to be. AND WRITE IT DOWN! Don’t worry if it seems a stretch or unachievable. Just like a yacht setting out from the wharf, you at least need a plan.
4. Tell people about what you’re doing, share the enthusiasm, share your passion, the more you talk about it, the more you visualise it, the more it will become a reality;

5. Finally, remain positive and enjoy the journey!

All that sounds easy right….? Well it’s not as easy as it sounds, but there are a few things you can do to help you along the way.

Firstly, speak your goals in a positive way each day. As Henry David Thoreau once said: “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Studies have shown the effect of positive affirmation on achieving what your mind has set itself on, so focus on where you’re going and positively affirm your direction each day.

Secondly, reward yourself each small victory. It is said that success breeds success and as Donald Trump puts his spin on it: “The old saying that “success breeds success” has something to it. It's that feeling of confidence that can banish negativity and procrastination and get you going the right way.” So back yourself, if you’re not going to, then who is?

I hope the above has been a useful read. Trust in yourself, it is within your grasp, just believe you can reach it and stretch out your hand…

5 THINGS YOU MUST DO when starting a new (design) business…

2012-02-03T02:16:00.000-08:00

New businesses start all the time. It’s great isn’t it?! Like when you’re best friend has a baby and it’s all new and exciting and fun. Or when you’re a newly married couple, all loved up, all teeth, all smiles. We've even got a name for it: ‘the Honeymoon Period’.

The unfortunate fact is that within the first 2 years, 9 out of 10 new businesses will fail. This is a fact. But rather than look at why start-ups fail, let’s take a positive view and look at 5 things you should do if setting up a new (design) business:

No.1: Set business goals

Setting goals is perhaps the most important thing you can do when starting out on any new venture, whether it be playing sport, losing weight or starting a business.

Leadership IQ President Mark Murphy‘s book of the same name, suggests that goals should come with emotional attachments, and I agree. But not only should they come with emotion, they should be realistic, achievable and measurable.

If goals are not measurable, you cannot check if you’re on track along the way. Similarly, if your goals aren’t achievable, they will have the opposite effect of that with which was intended. So think big, set milestones and track your progress on your way to achieving your business goals!

No.2 Get some ‘on the job experience’ before kicking off

My mother always said, never intentionally leave a job till you have another one lined up. If you’re looking to start a new design business, then you should ideally have had experience doing some design projects on the side.

Build some good experience through private jobs, learn how to price small projects, learn how to design quickly and efficiently and start building a client base and network.

It will take time and effort to gain initial experience in your new venture. Use the cash-flow from your current position to safeguard slow income from your new business. You won’t get much personal time, but you’ll gain some amazing experience!

No.3 Manage the business cashflow

It's true, cash is king, esepcially these days! If a new business runs out of cash and cannot meet its debt requirements, the life-blood for the business stops.

Studies at About.com have shown that insufficient capital, over-investments in fixed assets and poor credit arrangements are some of the main issues facing new businesses.

This is particularly important for design businesses because the way we are paid is usually AFTER the design service has been performed. That means we need to self-fund from before the appointment until the final service has been performed.

Don’t underestimate the time it will take to get paid, it is always longer than you think. If it is sooner, treat it as a bonus, as was once said: Plan for the worst, hope for the best!

No.4 Understand your unique selling point

Belief in yourself and your abilities, and that you are the perfect designer for your clients. For a new business, especially a design business where clients are relying on design skill and reputation, there needs to be a price point between getting paid for your talent and acknowledging the fact that you are untried and untested.

The entry point at this stage of pricing new business should be low and your efforts high! If you are supplementing your new business income with a regular job cash flow, then this is easy to do as your overheads will be minimal.

If you’ve already gone out on your own or running a small business, this can be more challenging, though trust in yourself and watch the time you allocate to various exercises. Just remember that you have a unique selling point, it can be price, it can be skill, but back yourself, because you won’t make a million dollars in the first year, but do a great job and earn a good reputation and soon you’ll be on your way to a respectable profit.

No.5 Ensure (potential) Clients know how to find you

It sounds fairly common-sense, but if potential clients don’t know where to find you, they can’t give you business. Think about who your clients are, then work out what they read, whether they are on-line, what social media platforms they use…basically, find out where will they see what you have to publish…then promote yourself.

It sounds kinda self-centered, but if you’re not going to sell yourself, then who is? But please just promise me one thing: no spam! It annoys people and drives business away.

Have something worthwhile to say, something meaningful, something of interest that your clients might like to know or learn. It will ensure they come back for more.

If you follow the above, it won’t answer all your challenges of starting a new (design) business, but it will certainly put you in the right frame of mind. Let me know how it goes....

5 things to avoid when reviewing design services contracts

2011-10-16T03:11:00.000-07:00

As designers we all get excited at the prospect of winning that elusive commission. We do a few freebies, we knock a little off our fee and we probably show our hand a little too early....But when it comes to actually signing up for the job, I think we're all guilty of not sticking to the basics of a firm, clear and equitable contract.

So, I thought I'd list down what I have seen are the most common mistakes when it comes to being appointed on a design project and what you can do to avoid them:

Mistake No.1: Not sending your standard contract with your bid

All businesses should have standard contracts that have been honed over time. Terms and Conditions created from lessons learned, the latest regulations and most recent hourly rates should all be sent to any potential client along with your fee proposal.

At the commencement of the design appointment stage, everything is up for negotiations, but if contract terms and conditions are not on the table from the beginning, then it is very difficult to introduce them later.

The other issue with sending out your contract and standard Ts &C's is that IF a client does request you to proceed on the basis of your proposal, then it is a good chance that you will have the upper hand when it comes to negotiating the agreement. If, heaven forbid, you commence work without a signed contract, at the very least, you will have a copy of your original fee proposal, with your standard contract and Ts & Cs and the client's agreement for you to start work.

Whilst I'm no lawyer, in some instances in law, being requested to proceed by a client can be taken as tacit acceptance of the contract, provided nothing is stated to the contrary.

Mistake No.2: Starting work without a signed contract

Let me fill you in on a little secret. Clients want good designer's as badly as we want the job! It's true. I've been on the other side of the fence, sitting client side and appointing a design team, and I can tell you one thing for sure: Client's want to appoint good designers.

Rest assured if you've got to the point in negotiations that the client has either verbally or in writing acknowledged your fee proposal and requested you to proceed, it would take an absolute disaster to lose the commission at that stage. It would certainly take more than requesting a signed contract or at the very least a "letter of acceptance", acknowledging your contract, the sum and your standard Ts & Cs.

Beware of larger clients who suggest that there is an onerous internal process to go through and simply asking you to start. You'll have spent so much time and money by the time the contract comes back that you'll have no choice but to sign the most onerous of contracts abortive work.

So hold your line. At the very least obtain confirmation that your contract will be used and acknowledgement of your Ts & Cs prior to starting. You'll not regret it later, I assure you.

Mistake No.3: Signing away your intellectual property

We have all undergone study, training and gained valuable experience which moulds us into the designer's we are. Be sure that in your own contracts that you retain the ownership of your design. This is very important.

Obviously if a client is paying for our services, then they have the right to use that design. But we need to be clear in our own contracts or those of others, that the client has the right to use that specific design, on a certainly piece of land. Client's should not have the right to own our design to replicate it whenever or wherever they deem it appropriate....that is unless they have paid additional funds for such a priviledge.

So try and keep ownership of the intellectual property....you deserve it!

Mistake No.4: Not reading the fine print

Contracts are boring. My father and brother are both lawyers and they'll tell you the same thing. They are. But they are bloody important and woe-be-tide anyone who signs a contract without reading it in full.

The thing about contracts is that they're generally not written by people like you or me. They're written by people with a mind on what will happen if things go bad and they want to avoid risk. As such, they are usually heavily weighted towards one party or the other.

But the trick with all contracts is writing onerous conditions which favour yourself without making appear too one-sided. And the people writing these types of contracts are master's at them. That's their job. So if there's one thing you should do, it's to remember to read all the contract. Not just the front page and every other page.

Read each and every single page, and in detail, because you'll find the most onerous conditions buried deep inside the most boring part.

Mistake No.5: Not running it past your insurer

A lot of designer's, architects, engineers and the like are required to have professional indemnity (PI) insurance, as well as public liability insurance and worker's compensation insurance. If there's one thing you should do if you are using a client's contract is have it run by a representative of the PI insurance company.

I used a few contracts which at first seemed rather innocuous, rather harmless in fact. So I threw it by our PI insurers just for a quick sanity check.....It came back with more comments than I could have imagined and had I signed it as it was, I would have been signing up for more than I bargained!

So there you have it....five things to avoid when dealing with contracts....it's a boring subject, but one that is so important, it can either make or break a project and even worse a business! Good luck.....

Every Design Process has a Beginning

2011-09-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

The best way to start is to just start....

As an architect and designer, often it's just good to put pen to paper. There's that feeling when the pencil is in your hand and you're staring at a blank piece of paper with so many endless possibilities that fear overcomes action.

So here I am...nie a blog to my name, not a logo on my site, not a follower in site...but as they say: 'Build it and they will come!'

So why am I here....I'm sure we've all asked ourselves that question over the course of our years. I don't know about you, but I'm still figuring it out....But I do know one thing....I enjoy helping people and the feeling that I've made a difference.

So for my first blog, I'm going to list the five reasons why I'm starting to write a blog and what you might expect if you decide to read a few of them:

To share some experiences

I haven't always done things right the first time, in fact I sometimes haven't done them right the second time, but I have had some useful design experience in some varied companies including my own.

I would like to share some insight into my views of making money in a design business, improving efficiencies and ensuring you can secure the right work with the right clients.

To share some useful literature / links

I will bring the best of various motivational authors, people such as Dale Carnegie, Napolean Hill and Stephen Covey, small business experts such as Michael Port and Tim Sanders and money experts such as Noel Whittaker, Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump.

I have full respect for these authors and their work, but I will put a design business spin on the principals they explain which will make more sense for anyone in the design field.

To collaborate

I'll be the first to say that I don't have all the answers. Who does? But hopefully through some observations of business basics mixed with the design process, together we can explore better ways to work and smarter ways to make money and build a solid reputation.

To provide a platform for raising your profile

I welcome all blogs, comments, conversations and links that raise your own personal or business design profile. We're all in this field together, so let's work together to improve our networks, our knowledge and our returns!

To learn

This is the beginning, my first blog. If you hadn't noticed, my site needs a lot of work....like der! But as I go through the process and get into the blogging community, I look forward to learning what you know and sharing it with others. It really is that simple.

So that's what I'd like to do. The training wheels are on and we're off!

If you'd like to read about it, please let me know. Or if you think there's a few other aspects of the design business you'd like to know, let me know that too. I'm here to help....