Archive for December, 2007

Don’t Dig Yourself A Grave

On December 27, 2007 in Advice by alex

When starting a business there are two main options to consider.

 

1. Start with a small investment and work your way forward with very little risk involved.

2. Start with a large investment and hope that the return will pay off in time.

 

I have always been somebody who takes risks but I don’t play roulette. I enjoy knowing that the outcome of a project will be success if all angles are covered and you dedicate yourself to it. A lot of people see business the wrong way. The concept of developing a company is to be successful and profitable while maintaining a good work ethic.

 

I was approached a little while ago by a college graduate wanting me to invest into a project he wanted to get off of the ground. During his proposal to me he started explaining the figures, salaries, and start up expenses. To me it seemed completely outlandish.

 

His goal was to develop a million dollar studio with very little experience or clientele to get the company on track. He started going into what he’d like his salary to be, how he’d like to work the initial investment, the ownership percentages we would acquire and many other details of the business.

 

I explained the rule of thumb that I’ve stood by for years in my business and in anything I am involved with. 

 

You are coming to me with nothing on the table but hopes. Your goal and dream is to develop a structured studio and record national recording artists directly out of college in a million dollar studio infrastructure. Not only is the experience not there but the fact that you’d dig a million dollar grave with hopes to rise from it is a bit difficult in the entertainment industry today.

 

I always encourage anybody trying to achieve success to be patient. Start at a small scale and work your way to the dream that you have. Do not use other peoples money to obtain a shortcut to the goals and ambitions you’ve set forth. 

 

It is a lot harder to get out of the ditch you’re digging rather than to start small and maintain a consistent growth pattern towards success.

Comments (0)

Keeping good time - Scheduling Web Design Projects

On December 25, 2007 in Advice by jared

On any given day, we here at AKT have to meet all kinds of deadlines- hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and even annually.  I’d like to talk about web development deadlines, specifically.  Over the years we’ve worked on our fair share of small (1 to 2 week turn around) and large (2 to 6 month turn around) projects; however, the smallest delay of a project of any size can cause serious scheduling conflicts.

Let’s assume you are running a studio staff similar to StudioAKT, with two or three full-time designers, two full-time programmers and a part time flash developer.  If you are juggling multiple projects and working your entire team at capacity every day, the smallest delay in one project can cause a domino effect on your current work load. 

There are three things that can help you avoid the little problems that lead to project delays.

1. Don’t over book yourself
2. Spend more time planning
3. Limit revisions

Don’t over book yourself 

Leave plenty of time for each project.  Think about how long a project will take if you were working on it exclusively, without breaks- then double (or triple) that time frame.  Using this rule of thumb helps keep your other projects from being pushed back due to unforeseen circumstances.   

Spend more time planning  

Take more time before a project begins to outline every aspect of the project.  Although tedious and sometimes unnecessary on your end- many times the customer assumes features and functionality that you did not plan on. 

Limit revisions 

With web design in particular, it’s in everyone’s best interest to get a full site outline (navigation, pages, sub-pages, etc), style example (grungy, metallic, cartoony) and style concept (warfare, clouds, doodles) before agreeing on a deadline or price. There is always room for misunderstanding, so it’s my advice that you limit your revisions for each page mock up you provide. 

It will always be difficult to predict the unpredictable, however, by minding these three things, I think it will keep your design studio on track and under control- or at least help!   

Comments (0)

EXPANDING WITH CAUTION

On December 17, 2007 in Advice by alex

As a young entrepreneur it is extremely important to remember that growing at a rapid pace can be the leading downfall to your business. Throughout the past few years I have gained the knowledge to accept the clients that will expand our company for years and years to come not for an easy dollar in my pocket that eventually leaves you out of business.

 

For instance, I was faced with the decision to accept a very large contract printing account. The account would expand my business by about 30%. I would be forced to invest about $50,000 in machinery upgrades and additions as well as increase my employees by quite a few just to keep up with the volume. By entering this agreement it would have put me in a situation to where my business was dependent on that specific client for 30% of our revenue stream.

 

While expanding and developing is part of the game I find it very important to protect your future and to not put all your eggs in one basket.

 

If I had 100 individual clients that together added up to 30% of my volume it would make sense. I am not running too high of a risk at that point if a few drop off here and there.

 

Next time you are faced with a decision that could change your structured system and overall company future, always ask yourself…

If I enter into this agreement, would I become dependent on the client and allow them to determine the success of my company?

Comments (1)