Tag: business
Do Things that Don’t Scale
I really like this piece, it’s a longer read but Paul Graham is worth reading in my opinion. The general idea he talks about really outlines a number of factors that usually scare people about starting things. While he’s speaking specifically to startups, we can really extrapolate those feelings onto just about anything, even personal […]
Posted: November 13, 2013
Taking Control of Contracts: What Every Creative Should Know
There is a lot of very practical advice in this article. The one I’d like to call out here is the following: Lawyers don’t typically advertise this, but the happy truth is, most people aren’t looking for ways to take advantage of you. A more common problem – but one that can be just as […]
Posted: November 08, 2013
5 reasons why hourly rate is better than fixed price
This dead horse just won’t die, and I don’t have a problem with that. Billing structure is a fantastic conversation to have, especially if you have a stance on it. I’ve spoken a lot about the topic to date, but in my usual format I’d like to respond specifically to the points raised in this […]
Posted: November 08, 2013
Why I Turned Down A $20,000/Year Client
If you’re in client service the business end of things is never finished. With each project you learn something new not only about yourself but clients in general. I know that culture frowns on generalizations, but I think in order to progress your business (in particular it’s strategy) you need to simplify processes. The overarching […]
Posted: October 15, 2013
Different Measures of Success
Success is a really funny thing. I like to tell myself that I’ve overcome the ingrained desire to be glowingly referenced by those around me in great quantities, but that’s a lie. Why care about how we measure success? Because seeing others have success in attention can cause us to question our own approaches and […]
Posted: October 15, 2013
Prequalifying Clients
This is a beautiful thing. Dan Mall is one of those guys that you can tell does his job really well. In this post he outlines so many of the lessons Kevin and I have learned at Iron to Iron when it comes to handling inquiries. Client inquiries are the lifeblood of our business, they’re […]
Posted: August 13, 2013
What’s Broken?
I like to pretend that I GTD. If I’m honest I only half-heartedly utilize such a system because I don’t make the appropriate amount of time to do so. I feel GTD is misunderstood in some ways, the primary being that it’s supposed to magically make your to-do list appear in a well organized way […]
Posted: July 02, 2013
How to get great support as a technical user
If you build any kind of software that gets used by anyone but yourself, one of the first things you learn is that support usually eats way more time than actual work. It’s somewhat of a depressing discovery, and usually a lesson you learn a number of hard ways. All isn’t lost though, there’s a […]
Posted: July 02, 2013
The No-Nonsense Guide To Getting Paid For Your Expertise
Getting paid for your time is one of the most difficult things to get right. Many of us are in the client service business, which involves a lot of talking, a lot of business development, a lot of questions & answers, and a lot of overhead. Keeping that overhead to a minimum increases your profit […]
Posted: July 02, 2013
My entire entrepreneurship story in 10 minutes
I didn’t expect to watch this whole video as I’m not as enamored with the startup scene as many people are, but I truly found myself entertained by the story. The story though is entertaining because it’s so uncommon, it’s a recount of Justin Kan’s (of Justin.tv fame and more) path to date, full of […]
Posted: May 23, 2013