Get A Contract. From Everyone.

Get A Contract. From Everyone.

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Woman on computer

 

If you ever find yourself thinking about working with another person. Get a contract. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dropped the ball on this one and have been left holding the bag.

So the story goes: You get a referral for a potential client from a friend of yours. The lead calls-needs a rebrand. After selling them on your company and services, you land the job. You talk prices, sign a contract and start the work.

You get halfway through the project before it dawns on you. Who the hell is going to pay the web developer? Then you realize that you are about to be screwed. You see, you did not think to get a contract from the developer because they were already in a working relationship with the client and you assumed they would have their end covered, right?! Nope! Hell no! It’s on you. It’s fucking all on you.

After kicking yourself and questioning if you are even cut out for this line of work – one of two things can happen next:

1. You get into a pissing match with your client and the developer over who’s gonna pay the man. Oh, did I mention that the 3 of you are friends? So the option of killing a friendship is now on the table.

OR

2. You get him paid. Learn from the mess up and move on. And you don’t touch another thing between you without a specific agreement that outlines who’s doing what and who’s paying who.

This may be the most important lesson of the business because losing money you don’t have, that’s lame as fuck.

Doing Vs Thinking

Doing Vs Thinking

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Yesterday, I almost fell back into my freelance mind. I almost allowed a client’s response to a second round of logos push me into a corner instead of insisting (to both him and myself) that he hired me for a specific reason. I felt myself slipping into “the client must be right, and I’m just here to make them happy” mode. I even considered not invoicing for the work I’d submitted, as though it was that work that was not good enough to get paid for.

And it was really good work. A few deep breaths and a “big fuuuck that shit” later, I was back! I remembered why I’d started this in the first place. My business is to help them in theirs. Not just to push pixels around on a screen to their satisfaction.

They hired me to work with them to help them think through bigger problems. Not to be their personal Photoshop monkey. They hired me because my skills go beyond the actual work of being a designer. It’s because of how I think about design and how those thoughts inform the choices you make for your business. That’s why they hire me, and not the other way ’round.

It’s pretty normal to squirrel about and second-guess ourselves at times. But the faster you get back to realizing why you’re the person who is capable to provide the type of service you do for your clients, the more productive and valuable you will be for them.

Are We All Creative?

Are We All Creative?

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Are we all creative? Deep down inside everyone, is there a problem-solver waiting for permission to come out and contribute? Why are there still so few of us who step forward and accept the responsibility and the risk of being called “creative”? We all have the capability to be magical. To be visionary. And the only thing that separates us from the non-creatives is the tenacity to keep creating, no matter what.

What Streams Of Income Should I Have?

What Streams Of Income Should I Have?

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What streams of income should I have? This was one of the hardest questions to answer as I started to focus more time on my business. I spent a lot of time with this question because of how I got into being an entrepreneur in the first place. I had always been working toward owning my own business, but I was taking it slow. Picking up jobs here and there as I worked more steady full-time gigs. As time went by, I got more comfortable with having a job and stopped thinking about my business as much.

So my arrival here has been pretty unconventional, by my standards anyway. I got fired from a job I had at the time, and I was not prepared to make my next move. After looking for a steady gig for a bit, it did not take me long to figure out that I didn’t want a job in the first place. And that I’d be better off doing this for myself.

I needed money and I had to figure out how I would make it without doing things I knew I’d hate myself for later. So I made a list. I sat my ass down and made a list of things I didn’t mind doing on a daily basis, which would allow me to keep my schedule free to work on learning to be a better businessman. None of the jobs I eventually chose paid me large amounts of money, but they demanded less of my time and more importantly, less brain power.

Freeing me up to figure out how Beach And Main is going to make money. After making my list of small jobs, the answer to how I was going to stay afloat was simple. Stick to things you like and that come naturally to you. Do the things you may be doing already and not getting paid for, no matter where you are in your process of becoming a business owner. Keep a few side hustles. If you don’t know what those side hustles need to be, sit down and ask yourself …

-What are the things I’m already good at doing?

-What things would I not mind getting paid to do?

-How much time am I willing to spend on those tasks?

-And will it allow me to grind and stay focused on my goals for my business?