My friend Tim Murphy recently launched entrepreneur-startup-guide.com to chronicle his adventures in starting his own company, and one of his first pieces recounts a conversation we had over lunch.
So many people have helped me get started on my journey, I was ecstatic at the opportunity to pay it forward. Apparently he actually found something of value there, and I hope you do too.
I’ll be down on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville this week showing off Fwd:Vault at the Innovation Expo at Global Finals, the year-end celebration event for Destination ImagiNation. Our expo participation kicks off our new partnership with DI. The event is closed to the public, but if you’re an attendee, I’m looking forward to meeting you!
We have events planned throughout the weekend, and I’ll be chronicling them over on the Fwd:Vault blog. Keep an eye on that Thursday through Saturday for videos, pictures, and writeups.
I’ve been in event planning mode for weeks now, hopefully I can get back to the rest of my life afterward and enjoy the warm weather.
I found an article today describing the things that really lousy clients say that make their said lousiness obvious. I did a lot of head-nodding, but was disappointed that they didn’t include tips for avoiding these situations. Indeed, the comments contained horror stories of clients who literally ran roughshod over the freelancer, gouging work out of them for little-to-no payment.
I shuddered while reading their stories. The events themselves were bad, but my awareness that a freelancer can always avoid them made it even worse. While firing a customer can be a delicate process, screening a customer and covering your butt are super-easy, you just have to bring some business mindset to the table.
If you had a disaster client or two, but still wonder why you’d ever need to do your thing “like a business,” look at it this way: how does avoiding these morons sound?
Sound good? Okay, do this…
1. Interview your client
Approach the information-gathering stage as a possibility to interview the prospective client. What does the client do? How long have they been in business? How long has your contact been working for the company? What does the client hope to accomplish with your work, both immediately and longer-term? If they ask why you’re asking such questions, tell them you want to ensure that they would be a good fit to your business style.
This line of discussion does two things: makes you look better to professional clients and makes disaster clients a little uneasy.
Let’s quickly cover the benefits for good clients. Business people can talk business to anyone in business. These types of questions will reassure a knowledgeable client. Most professional clients recognize the need for a good fit in the working relationship. In general, they show the client that you have your stuff together, making the client feel more confident in the relationship.
It’s typically the exact opposite effect on disaster clients. People who have it together are intimidating to someone who does not. Plus, the questions themselves often bring potential problems to the surface.
2. Lay out your terms in clear, plain English
How much will the work cost the client? What’s your time estimate? How much money needs to be upfront? Do they need to pay in full before delivery? Answer all these questions straight up, with no fanfare. When everything’s out in the open, everyone’s comfortable. Conversely, when you nervously dance around the “money thing,” or speak in abstract buddy-buddy terms, you’ll set off alarm bells in the mind of the good client.
I was actually burned recently for not following this one. I hired a firm to do some work for Fwd:Vault, and they were pretty vague on the payment terms, beyond the total cost. But my point-man from the firm repeatedly reassured me that we were good as long as I paid, that he would “run blocking” for me with their internal accountants. When my first check ended up in a pile and not going out on time, that blocking ended up being about as effective as a 12-year-old girl facing the Eagles offensive line. After finding the check and sending it out, I get an email a few days later saying that they had the check, but were returning it and dropping me as a client to boot, vaguely describing internal billing issues associated with my delayed payment. Fortunately the relationship was on a trial basis, so there was no real harm.
This whole mess could have been avoided had they provided (or I required) a clean explanation of their payment terms. The irony that their accountants probably consider me one of those “lousy clients” is not lost on me.
When talking money, be clear, be concise, be confident, and all will be well.
3. Always have a written contract
You DO use contracts, right? Right? After you’ve laid out the costs and services to be rendered in plain English, every one of those points should make it into a written contract using valid legal mumbo-jumbo. Contract templates can be found for free around the web, and there are some sites that sell them. Either way, you’ll need to make adjustments to suit your business, and it should always be reviewed by a lawyer. I recommend finding a template, customizing it yourself, and then submitting it to a lawyer. You’ll save a ton of money on legal fees since he’s just reviewing it, instead of writing it.
I know lots of freelancers work on verbal agreements, but they don’t hold up in court. Don’t be dumb or lazy, get it in writing.
That one’s worth repeating: always get it in writing.
4. Require an upfront deposit
I do half up front, half on delivery for modest jobs, and thirds for bigger projects. Either way, I don’t do anything beyond the contract and simple prep without a deposit. It’s easily the most effective way to eliminate riff-raff. Going along with my point on clarity, make sure the client understands that nothing gets done until the deposit is in hand.
It blows my mind how many freelance designers and developers do everything off the cuff, eschewing any concept of business practices. Reasons I’ve heard include laziness, ignorance, even rebellion against the status quo and “the institution” (looking mostly at you “rebel” designers here). Business people are nothing if not efficient. Do you think they would waste their time on these hurdles if they didn’t provide an obvious benefit? These practices exist for a reason! If you’re still unsure, I’d urge you to save yourself future grief and listen to me now, believe me later.
I had the opportunity to exhibit at the Entrepreneur Expo in Philadelphia last week. As the first public showcasing for Fwd:Vault, I think it went pretty well. If you really want to hone your message, explaining it to someone in a very loud, crowded, busy room is awesome trial-by-fire practice.
Fwd:Vault was also 1 of just 10 exhibiting companies (out of a possible 40) selected to give an in-depth presentation. Following the format of the event, presenters told the story of their companies: the idea, getting started, challenges, successes, lessons learned, etc. In short, get up and say anything other than your sales pitch. It was a neat departure from the way presentations typically go at such events, and I was excited to participate.
My Flip cam was in attendance, so if you ever wanted to hear about how a solopreneur with no investor capital actually gets a company off the ground, enjoy!
P.S. The camera was angled to get the whole screen, but fell a little forward once I set it up. Sorry about that.
Next week I’ll be showcasing Fwd:Vault at the Entrepreneur Expo, powered by Philly Startup Leaders. The event is designed to celebrate all things entrepreneurial, and really show off up-and-coming businesses in the Philadelphia region.
A total of 40 companies will take part in the expo, and a lucky 10 of those will have the opportunity to take the floor and speak for about 10 minutes, sharing their experiences, how they got started, etc. This part is the most exciting for me, because the rules for presenting explicitly say that it’s not a pitch…
Tell Your Story: Provide a presentation by which the idea has either become or is becoming a reality; include the genesis of the idea and the path to bringing that idea to reality.
…
It’s Not a Sales Pitch: This is not meant to sell the product or idea to the participant; it is also not meant to pitch to any one segment of attendees (e.g. investors).
I’m hoping that the narrow focus will really encourage the speakers to dive into something more than our usual polished sales and pitch jargon. No word on which of the 40 companies have been chosen to speak, however I did apply for a slot, so we’ll see.
Update: Selections have been made, and I was picked! So come check out Fwd:Vault and 39 other awesome companies, and stick around for the backstory on how I got here.
The event is also organized entirely by volunteers, spearheaded by my friend Gloria Bell over at Red Stapler Consulting. So if nothing else, come and celebrate what passionate people are capable of doing with limited resources. That’s what being a startup is all about, isn’t it? Yours truly is even responsible for putting the site together. It’s amazing what you can do with WordPress and a little know-how these days. (Disclosure: I don’t handle site content).
The PSL Entrepreneur Expo
April 13, 2010 6 pm – 9 pm
Solmsson Court, Hamilton Hall
University of the Arts
Pine & Broad
Hopefully I’ll see you there!
I hear Toyota is contemplating a quick makeover to their current logo and tagline…
Wish I could take credit for it, but at least it comes complements of fellow PSL member Eight Eleven.
Update: I complimented the author Aaron, and the following conversation ensued…
Aaron:
I’m going to end up in a lawsuit with Toyota for sure on this one.Frank:
As a design firm, what a boon for business THAT would be!Aaron:
Yeah, I can see the headlines already: “Japanese automaker Toyota files lawsuit against New Jersey based Advertising and Marketing Agency, Eight Eleven Inc., then mid-suit, hires them to execute a new branding campaign.”
Fantastic.
My wife says I’m too much of a cynic. That may be true, but this is one beef that, after 200,000+ flight miles, I simply cannot ignore any longer. Why should anyone suffer needlessly? I spent the last week visiting my sister out in Denver, thus necessitating the need to fly out and back into Philadelphia International (PHL).
I’ve had bad experiences, but after this last trip, I’m going to do everything in my power to avoid this travelers’ hell-hole in the future.
I flew out Monday morning, which is one of the most popular days for business travelers. That’s not necessarily a problem, as these types of travelers are experienced and jump through the check-in and security hoops with relative ease. However, PHL has recently made the genius decision to consolidate their security checkpoints in the various terminals down to a single checkpoint.
Many airlines use this layout, but do so in buildings designed to handle that type of arrangement. The PHL terminals are like unique islands, without one main entry. None were intended to handle all the passenger traffic, so to force everyone go through one is pretty shortsighted. The space they chose, outside Terminal C, can only accommodate 3 scanners, and the inevitable line extends across a walkway back towards baggage claim at Gate C.
To make matters worse, they decided it would be a great idea to break convention by redefining the security lines. Most airports have a separate, faster line for first class passengers and employees. Everyone else gets into a general line. PHL breaks up the “general” line into two subdivisions: “expert travelers” and “newbie/families” (my terms). The difference here? Absolutely none: anyone can get in either line. However the “expert” line layout is shorter, so it typically goes faster, but you can’t see that until you’re in line, since the expert one sneaks around back of the snaking, Disney-ride-like “newbie” line. I learned this the hard way.
Let’s put this silliness in perspective: My destination, Denver International Airport (DEN), has a massive entrance atrium with no less than 12 security positions, and they separate the waiting lines into the usual “Employees/First Class” and “Everyone else.”
I fail to see the efficiency improvement, how about you?
Fast forward to my return flight, which was completely painless up until we landed on the tarmac at PHL, at which time the pilot told us that our gate was “occupied.” He put it best: “I don’t even know what to tell you about that, folks.”
Anyone who’s flown anywhere other than PHL knows that this is a prime situation for a fancy technique called the “gate change.” We were slated to go into Gate C28, but I could see from my window that C27 and C29 were available. I’m pretty sure they can make the same observations from the control tower, seeing as how it’s, y’know, a tower. With huge transparent windows.
Instead, we cruised the tarmac, past untold empty gates, for about 30 minutes. Again to put it in perspective, 30 minutes after my arrival in Denver, I was in the car, out of short term parking, and on on the highway with my sister.
Oh, but they saved the best for last.
If PHL is generally lackluster, they become out-and-out incompetent when it comes to baggage claim. Let’s start with the comparison up front: Denver had my bags on the carousel within 15 minutes, including oversized ski gear. And I had to take a tram to get to the baggage area.
PHL made me wait 70 minutes for my bags.
Let that one sink for a moment.
Fun with math: My entire flight was 3.5 hours, or 210 minutes. That means my bags essentially “flew” an extra 1/3 of the flight I just finished.
It seems almost non-sequitor to even mention the fact that the newly-installed LCD’s over each baggage carousel weren’t updating the flight numbers, instead showing flights from hours earlier. Hey guys, that fancy new technology is only cool if it’s actually working. Oggling flat screens simply because they are flat stopped being cool 5 years ago.
It’s a damn shame that natural market forces are unable to correct this problem-child of an airport. In a sane world, PHL would be bankrupt and/or under new management. Instead, regulation and lack of competition have allowed this wreck of a business to limp along, disappointing passengers and providing a horrendous first impression to Philadelphia visitors. Between this place and Newark, an airport located in South Jersey or northern Delaware would do awesome business.
We all know most TV is pretty banal, but every now and then something comes along that provides insight, makes you think. So if you ever wondered what it’s really like to be the boss, you need to watch the latest episode of House. They’ve done an excellent job (based on my experience, anyway) capturing the reality of being in charge. Everyone looks to you to fix problems they can’t handle, and everything that goes wrong is ultimately your fault. It also gets really lonely at times. If you’re one of those people who think that the boss just sits at his/her desk and collects a big paycheck, this is a must-see.
The show’s writers and producers get extra bonus points from me for taking on the issue of healthcare, and having the stones to come right and say, “This is a business, and we need to make money.” They even couch the message in a scenario that most people should be able to appreciate from both sides. Very timely given all the discourse surrounding healthcare reform.
44 minutes, well worth it.
…I suggest you do so immediately. We’ll have a major announcement by the end of the day, and the perks that come with signing up beforehand will go away at that time. Basically this is your last chance to get into the Fwd:Vault Beta, and enjoy the perks we have planned for our beloved early adopters.
Not-so-subtle hint: Beta users will have the chance to enjoy a serious lifetime discount.
I had an interesting experience the other day at my local BJ’s (it’s like Sam’s Club and Costco). I had finished loading my items into my car, and was returning the cart to the corral, when I passed an employee gathering carts to reload the stack at the entrance. He had already gathered the carts from my nearest corral, so I figured I’d save him some work and tucked my cart onto the end of the line.
My good intentions were met with a lot of headshaking and a terse, “No, line’s full.” I apologized, and started to explain that I was just trying to help him out, and he repeated the same answer in the same cold tone. I took the cart off the end of the line, put it in the corral, and headed back to my car.
I didn’t even get to the car before I decided that, had that been one of my employees, I would have fired him on the spot.
From my perspective as the consumer, this gentleman couldn’t have done more to make me awful. He pointed a mistake I made, and blew off my explanation. I even apologized to him, and he still chastized my actions.
I walked away feeling like I had done wrong, like I had acted foolishly. No one likes making a mistake, but he only exacerbated my feelings by dismissing me again when presented with my explanation.
Having moved passed the experience, the business owner in me kicked into gear. I would be utterly mortified to know that one of my employees has left a customer feeling the way I did.
In this age of abundance, every consumer knows that they have a million options when it comes to just about anything. As a vendor, you simply cannot afford to give them excuses to look elsewhere. Forget being the stellar standout in your field, this is a minimum requirement simply to compete.
There is only one right answer for the employee in this situation: just say “thank you.” Wait for the customer to walk out of sight, pull the cart off the end, and go back to your job. I don’t care how much work they create for you, the customer has zero clue when it comes to the intricacies of shopping cart retrieval. And justifiably so: it’s not his job. I use the term “intricacies” here in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, but the same reality applies to almost any job.
The road to market failure surely begins where good (or at least neutral) consumer intentions meet employee apathy and negativity. If you can’t save the bad apple, cut it off.
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