Archive for December, 2006

Pro Bono Work

Tuesday, December 26th, 2006

Pro bono is an interesting concept and if used appropriately can be a valued asset to any business owner. But what to do when approached with a request for such work?

I was recently contacted by my former employer to design a logo/patch for a new division in their department. I was thrilled that they would think of my company for the work and I was even more excited to do some logo work. But that excitement also needs to be contained somewhat and a business owner needs to tread lightly when agreeing to pro bono work.

The first thing you want to think about is the organization you’re working with. Does the organization support a cause that is close to you? Is their message something clear and positive? All in all, can you look at the project and feel that your morals or values are not being compromised?

Next, if you’re a service oriented business make certain that a fair agreement (or contract to some) is one of the first steps to complete before any actual work begins. The intention of the agreement are not meant to discourage the client but is meant to set a certain amount of parameters on the project. Once the agreement is signed, then the real work can begin.

But what if the timing of the request is just not right? Maybe you’re swamped with another project that isn’t pro-bono and you need to say “no”? If that is the case, maybe you have another business associate that you could refer the client to? Just be careful not to try and dump a crap job on someone’s lap just because you’re not interested. And also make sure that the person you’re referring the client to is even interested in any work at the moment.

So the next time you’re asked for some pro-bono work, weigh-in on the project, look at their values/morals versus yours and most of all, make sure you enjoy the work you’ll be doing.

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Promoting Your Blog

Thursday, December 21st, 2006

This morning I was surfing through the posts at About.com in the graphic design community and came across a post from someone mentioning that many forums are going to WordPress. I then realized that About.com has a dedicated area to blogging. An article on how to promote your blog caught my attention and I think it’s a good read for anyone interested in blogging.

1.) Provide quality content.
Now this is the one that is probably the most difficult to achieve sometimes. I know I’ve sat here wondering to myself “What should I write about?” And my friend Cat Morely from Katz-i-design said to me; “Look at just a tree and not the whole forest.” How did she get so wise anyhow? But it’s true. Pick a topic/subject that you think is pertinent and write about it.

2.) Blog Regularly.
My first and most common mistake. I still have a tendency to look at the whole forest and not just a tree. So my upcoming New Years resolution is to blog more often. Those that do, get more traffic and keep interested readers.

3.) Define your readers.
This can be just about as challenging as figuring out what to write about. But I think it is better to have a particular subject or topic to keep in mind with your blog. My very first one was about anything and everything. Pointless. Now I have this blog that I hope can help some of you relate to my experiences.

4.) Think about your keywords and use of titles.
Now this one I had never thought of, but it does make perfect sense. I’ve always considered my keywords in web design, but not my blog. Google and other search engines take these things into consideration no matter what kind of site you have, so it’s no surprise that we should consider the same thing with our blogs.

These are just the first four tips from their site, I highly recommend reading the others and review your blog to see if it meets each of these criteria.

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Just Say No

Monday, December 11th, 2006

Just say no. The majority of us can remember this slogan from the early 80’s when the first lady, Nancy Reagan, made it a common theme amongst children and teenagers alike. But how does this pertain to the graphic design industry or business as a whole?

The majority of new business owners want to help their customers and provide as much service as they can. Be that as it may, there are times when you just have to say no to a request. Even the mega giants like Wal-Mart don’t have everything in their store, so how can you as a business owner provide everything? It’s not possible and it’s hard to turn down a possible paycheck from a customer.

But take a look at what the customer wants and maybe there is a way you can help them, by not actually providing the service yourself. For instance, let’s say someone refers you to an auto body and repair shop, but you have a tire problem. You take your car in there and the employee tells you that they do not provide tire repair and/or service, but they do recommend Acme Tires down the street. As a business owner, you have just accomplished two things.

First, you satisfied the customer’s needs by directing them to a business that can probably provide a better service than yours. Secondly, you have created a relationship between you and Acme Tires. By referring business their direction, they could in turn send business your way.

So, when you just say no, you might actually be saying yes to a future customer and business relationship.

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I Have A Disease

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

No need to panic just yet, I’m not dying nor am I contagious. But what I have can be contagious to others and deadly to your business. I have PATT – Procrastinate All The Time and if you’ve experienced symptoms such as putting off calling a client, finishing up a project or making a meeting on time, you too might have PATT.

First of all, I think procrastination starts with your personality. Do you fear taking a risk or trying something new? Do you stay at home or in the same old job you’re really not happy with? Maybe you blame others to avoid doing something? If you answered “yes” to any of these examples, you’ve developed PATT.

So what is the cure for this common illness that nearly every single person has been infected with at one time or another? Learn to procrastinate well, because quite frankly, I don’t believe there is a way to totally eliminate procrastination. Every single chore/task in your life will almost certainly involve one of these three variants. You could work on:

A.)  Nothing

B.)   Something less important

C.)  Something more important

The third part of this list could be the best part of procrastination. For example, you have a client/customer who needs a quote. What’s more important in achieving that goal? Developing a nice looking estimate sheet that you’ll fill in once you get around to the estimate or is it better to actually figure the estimate, call the client and ask if s/he would like you to send a hardcopy? If you procrastinate on developing the nice looking sheet until you have the quote, your disease may slowly start to subside as you learn to develop better organizational skills in your personal and business life.

*Note: I’m not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be. Take my advice as strictly opinion please. My signature is barely legible, but I’m not signing any prescriptions to cure you of PATT.

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