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Dream clients
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[Christopher Wright] “As they say, pride comes before the fall, and Walter has that in spades.”
Christopher, perhaps I will be the first to come for Walter’s defense, but I don’t think he is being boastful at all. I’m seen firsthand his operation and the kind of work he’s doing. He’s successful for many good reasons, not the least of which is a great deal of talent fueled by a healthy measure of drive. He’s not creating a “build it and they will come” business which almost always IS subject to crashing and burning. Walt is building in a slow and measured way. He’s great at what he does and earns his successes every day.
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I hope it didn’t come across that I think Walter isn’t a very talented person, has great drive, and deserves his success in spades. He is a role model for all of us. I will say that I have seen many people right at where he is now “go for the gold” too soon, and be sorry later. I don’t think he needs a “defense.” He has done very well for himself and helped many here on the Cow. I respect him and his growth. I do think that in all fairness, humility isn’t one of his strong suites though! ;>)
Dual 2.5 G5, IO, Kona LH, IO, Medea Raid, UL4D, NVidia 6800, 4Gig RAM
Nehalem Octocore 12 GB Ram, Nvidia card, MBP, MXO, MXO2 mini, Windows Vista Adobe Studio CS4, Vegas 9.0, Lightwave 9.6, Sound Forge 9, Acid Pro 7, Continuum 6, Boris Red 4, Combustion 2008, Sapphire Effects -
[Christopher Wright] “I do think that in all fairness, humility isn’t one of his strong suites though! ;>)”
Two answers:
1) It rarely is with highly successful people.
2) If you knew Walter you would see how there are so many people with a fraction of his ability who are undeservedly prideful and he’s not even close to that mentality. He has and continues to work for it.
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[Christopher Wright] “I do think that in all fairness, humility isn’t one of his strong suites though! ;>)”
In all fairness, that’s one of my strongest suits quite honestly. Always give credit where credit is due and you go far. Take all the credit for yourself with no inclusion of others and you’ll be a lonely and unsuccessful person.
Take the Cow as a perfect example. It only succeeds because of the wealth of talent in these forums, not because of any one person.
I enjoy life and love taking folks along for the ride!
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
HD Post and Production
Biscardi Creative Media“Foul Water, Fiery Serpent” now in Post.
Creative Cow Forum Host:
Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Apple Color, AJA Kona, Business & Marketing, Maxx Digital. -
“It isn’t bragging, if you really CAN do it.”
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What is a Dream Client?
1. A dream client understands value vs price alone.
2. A dream client hears about your services from a colleague and calls you up to get some of your magic for themselves.
3. A dream client first explains their problem, then lets you, the expert, come up with a solution. In other words, a dream client does not try to do your job for you.
4. A dream client likes what you have done for them so much that they come back for more.
We have numerous dream clients. Some start-ups, some ginormous, most somewhere in between. They understand that we offer valuable services and experience within our industry, and they believe our prices are fair. Note to those just starting out – a fair price is one that is a good value, not just cheap. Cheap does not pay the bills.
Mike Cohen
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[Christopher Wright] “The fact is that we are in challenging economic times and I think it is just over simplistic and a disservice to say that grazers should only accept “dream clients” in their business plan. The power of positive thinking is great, until you have to pay the bills.”
I couldn’t agree more. What befuddles me is the number of people who will just complain about it, read nothing new and explorational in business circles (such as great books like Philip Kotler’s “Chaotics”, e.g.), and wait for the “recession” to go away.
It ISN’T a recession and it ISN’T going to go away.
How’s THAT for eschewing “positive thinking” Christopher??? ;o)
I get out and MAKE things happen. Always have. I do not wait for much.
This is a business and I treat it as such. I subject my creative side to my business side.
I do NOT believe that talent counts for much of squat and that I see far too many talented people who wait for people to wake up to how brilliant they are and beat down their door to work with them. Hogwash. It’s a strategy for fools and losers. Talented losers, but losers none the less.
The only visualizing and positive thinking I do is the bumper sticker that I love which says: VISUALIZE WHIRLED PEAS.
Other than that, I am not much of a new ager.
Ron Lindeboom
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Most of our clients are dream clients now, but I’ve worked for some really bad ones in the past.
Off the top of my head, my favorite clients share this in common:
1. They trust our expertise. If they make widgets, we trust they know what it takes to make a great widget. In return, they trust we know how to spend their money wisely to produce a product (video, print piece, etc…) that sells their widgets.
2. They respect us, and we respect them. While we may disagree sometimes, the conversations are always civil and typically result in a better product at the end of the day.
3. They pay. Some are giant corporations that take longer to pay, others pay immediately or within a week or two of receiving an invoice. But overall, they pay and we don’t have to harass them for it.
4. They ask our opinion and take it seriously.
5. They’re genuinely nice people. Working with a jerk makes the day too long. We’re very, very fortunate that so many of our clients are genuinely nice.
We have a few clients I consider my favorites. One has asked for 1 revision only, and we’ve done about 15 projects with them. The reason we’ve only had 1 revisions is because the client is so clear on what he’s looking for (without micromanaging) that it’s very easy to do the job right the first time. There’s simply no room for a mistake in communication, so you know you’re on the right track before you even start.
Another, during the first project we did, asked if it was ok if they requested a change. My jaw dropped. They didn’t want to make a change if it was going to inconvenience us. We had to remind them that we were working for them and they could request anything they wanted. This client also never questions our rates, pays on time, and invites everyone out for drinks just to hang out and have a laugh.
Granted, we’ve had some grinders but we’re trying to avoid them. It’s not always possible to spot them right away, but when when we do my bosses are ready to let them go. That’s a huge relief and really makes it a fun place to work.
Michael
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I’ll be working late. -
“It ISN’T a recession and it ISN’T going to go away.”
Boy did you hit the nail on the head with that one.
Kind of wraps it up in a nice package, doesn’t it?Dual 2.5 G5, IO, Kona LH, IO, Medea Raid, UL4D, NVidia 6800, 4Gig RAM
Nehalem Octocore 12 GB Ram, Nvidia card, MBP, MXO, MXO2 mini, Windows Vista Adobe Studio CS4, Vegas 9.0, Lightwave 9.6, Sound Forge 9, Acid Pro 7, Continuum 6, Boris Red 4, Combustion 2008, Sapphire Effects -
a couple years back a very large construction company commissioned me to produce a documentary to help explain/persuade the city they had down work for on the nations busiest airport to pay their million dollars in overages. it was some of the most complicated construction technicals along with complicated legal jargon and dozens of reports.
my contact at the company:
1. made all the decisions on his end
2. did not bid against anyone as he said he was following his gut
3. said the budgets i suggested were to small
4. put together all the right people and information for me to talk with
5. got out of the way once it startedwe delivered a beautiful, convincing 50 min doc in 7 weeks. they got their 80 million in overages from the city.
phil wnuk
executive producer
roark, pirsig & dobie
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