Now there is a revelation. I have consultant in my signature file. After poet but that is another matter. Several articles lately have gotten me thinking about moving to the "next level" whatever that is. Well this may be it. How does a designer move forward? By very definition - what I do is different every time. Admittedly part of that is my personality but part is the nature of my approach. So what can I do to change it? In a word - Leverage.
Building that base of initial customers is hard. So why would you walk away from them once you have established those relationships. At the same time it is important to keep a slow trickle of good customers coming through the door.
Reading this was deja vu. There were some great ideas as well as two areas that I hadn't thought about. Particularly as I begin to do more American work I need to make sure I have contractual protection against problems and liability.
"Contract Essentials Checklist
Here's a quick recap to use as a checklist against your existing contract:
Last night the local paper had a full page ad from a local entrepreneur. A salvo in a local war to have the local airport closed, it was a rare insight into the soul of an entrepreneur. The energy that it takes to be out on the leading edge is truly draining. Jeff Robinson talked about how he refreshes himself with flying and boating. Truly inspirational. But also a clear recognition of the energy and time that it takes to create something new.
I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came.
