Thought everyone would enjoy this email exchange I had.

[Thorsten Achen]

You know, people are strange creatures, just put up with this statement, you cannot change them. the only thing you can really change is your attitude towards them.
Probably the client expected lower price and lower quality. I mean some people call even phone camera video a professional one…

Meow!

[Tim Wilson]

To Bob’s point about us being by no means unique, I could point you to my uncle (also named Bob as it happens) who runs an indie moving company that’s been just about undone by disreputable hacks on Craigslist and dudes standing around outside the U-haul office.

Really, that’s life running your own business in ANY field any more, plus or minus the dudes outside the U-haul office. DIY’ers, Craigslist, somebody willing to take the job for a loss, customers less willing to pay for quality, etc etc etc. Why hire a true cabinet maker when you get a new kitchen from IKEA installed for a quarter the price? Or do it yourself for a tenth?

While this may not work out as planned for any particular individual, it’s fortunate for our industry as a whole that the hundreds of folks (if there are even that many left) getting squeezed out of their own gigs are a drop in the bucket to the thousands of jobs opening up in-house at all kinds of companies and agencies, especially if people are willing (or able) to go to where jobs are.

Not that the road is coming to end for every indie shop not fortunate enough to be in Hollywood. Heck, there are even people like our man Todd who are having their best years ever in Alalalabamala. (I think that’s how you spell it.)