The Concept: CHESTNUTS. Issues #000004 & #000007
Q: What have you learned throughout 20 years in business?
A:
1. ENTREPRENEURS ARE STRANGE.
Not everyone is wired to say: Hey, I think I could do this better than it's being done. Some folks want to be able to walk away from work and that's not a bad thing. The responsibility that comes with entrepreneurship and employees isn't something to be taken lightly. Control over your professional life comes at a cost.
2. IF IT'S NOT WORKING, END IT QUICK.
This was a lesson learned early on. A direct quote from a client who then demonstrated the 'it's not working' portion of the quote. We ended it quick. The chestnut stayed, however, and we've repeated it time and again to hasten a finale. Drawing out a negative situation to its inevitable conclusion is a waste of [everyone's] time.
3. IF THEY'RE TOUGH TO SIGN, IT'S A SIGN.
Another lesson learned through the school of hard knocks: If a client is difficult to get to the negotiating table, they will likely be every bit as difficult to serve. This oddity has proven true for us over the years. Some people want to work with you, and are ready to make an investment and decisions, others will hand-wring and second-guess at every opportunity.
4. SHOW, DON'T TELL.
Visual aids help everyone process information. Whether you're selling or drawing a map on a napkin, the picture helps.
5. INTERNET? CB OF THE NINETIES.
This blanket statement came from a former boss—the owner of an agency in Rochester, NY. When asked, by an intern (in 1998), what he thought about how the World Wide Web would change advertising, he leaned back in his chair, took two puffs off his cigar and roared back,
"Internet?! CB of the nineties."
And after another drag on the macanudo,
"It'll never amount to anything. It's like HAM Radio."
>>> We see you TikTok.
6. WORD-OF-MOUTH WORKS
If you do a good job for someone, ask for a referral 👇 . Accepting help from your network can be difficult, but it's a win-win if you're good at what you do. It makes the introduction look like a brilliant pairing.
7. THE KISS OF DEATH
Early on, we did some work for a guy who could only be described as a grifter. Open-collared, sweaty, and loud, he made quite a scene—and abruptly left town. As work progressed on a stationery system for his shell company (probably) we presented paper samples from various swatch books. He sat, dog-earing an 80# cover square and proclaimed, in his downstate inflection, that he wanted his cards printed on cream-colored stock because:
"White paypah is dah kiss a' death."
There was never a reason given for this statement, despite our advice otherwise. The point is, that other people are going to have opinions that you can't make sense of, and that's part of being in a service-based business.
8. SWING AND A MISS
Loss is a big part of entrepreneurship. If you can't handle an extra helping of rejection, capitalism is going to be a big source of anxiety.
For every job that the agency wins, three or four proposals are turned down. It happens every quarter. And yes, eventually it does affect morale. BUT, you can't win if you don't play, and when it doesn't go our way, we're always asking why—to learn how to perform better in the future. We call it batting practice.
9. VALUE IS VARIABLE
You get what you pay for, or so the saying goes. If we find ourselves competing on price, and a potential client is making decisions based on how cheaply they can get a deliverable, we will often lose that work.
Until the phone rings later on—maybe after six months or a year? The self-same client, frustrated by an underdone effort, poor account management, or botched communication will often reconsider who they want to partner with. Taking a message to market involves a lot of moving parts, look for the value.
>> The lesson here is to be ready for what's next, whatever that may be. Do your research, adopt early if it makes sense. Don't get comfortable, keep moving forward. <<
– TRAMPOLINE DESIGN • 1/18/2024
