Is this you? A potential client approaches you for a new project. You have an initial conversation. You’re excited! They seem excited. Everything appears to be going smoothly; you have the “cat in the bag,” as the saying goes. You work up the scope and create what might just be…
As I was laying by the pool yesterday, relaxing in my full on midlife crisis birthday (it was number 52, if you really wanted to know), I had a flood of thoughts come to mind. It was a lot of stuff I wish I would have known when I was…
We’ve all been there: a client approaches us with a project, and in their mind, it is going to change the world. Unfortunately, their “world-changing” idea is attached to a budget that is too small to accomplish their vision. You want to politely tell them they are unrealistic and need…
At the start of my business journey, I was like most other creative freelancers. I was decent at my craft, but I had no clue about how to run a business. Opportunities came because I could do the work, but I knew if I wanted to grow beyond being a…
Get More Sales With This New Year’s Resolution During my 15-year agency run, I was mostly a passive salesperson, far too passive. I built great relationships, and the work would come, but in fear of ever coming across as “a salesy scumbag,” I made the error of being far less…
The First Time I Had to Call a Business Lawyer Cost Me $52,375: Here Is How You Can Avoid It My agency was just pulling out of the recession that brutalized us at the end of 2008 and through 2009. Finally the bigger projects started coming again at the beginning…
Hope and the End of Your Rope: Encouragement and Perspective for Creative Entrepreneurs I’m deep in the trenches with many creative entrepreneurs via 1:1 coaching and my community, More Creative Academy. There are many creatives struggling right now. Some have had a rough year and others just a rough final…
The Fearful Freelancer: 05 Mindset Tips to Help Your Business Grow When I embarked on my freelancing journey in 2002, I was gripped by fear. My wife was not employed at the time, we had two children, and the weight of a California-sized mortgage payment loomed over me. The overwhelming…
Is An Email a Legally Binding Agreement? – Avoid the Deadly “No Contract” Mistake Some clients have ants in their pants. You have your first meeting with a prospective client…you know the one where you think you are qualifying the client BUT they think they are kicking off the project….
How to Make Your Price Seem Small – Price Anchoring Scripts Price anchoring refers to the tendency people have to use the first price presented to make subsequent judgments about the size of other prices. In the example below you see three cars advertised. The Audi is $48,99, the Buick…
The Client Won’t Reply – Email This The project was going smoothly, and then, all of a sudden, a day goes by with no response. One quiet day turns into two, then five, then two weeks, and no response to your check-ins. If you work in the creative industry long…
The 10 Minute Project Update Email That Will Spare You (and Your Client) Emotional Agony Transitioning out of the day to day operations of my agency was a scary step. What will the clients think? How I will make sure they are confident that my team is on top of…
