we are on our own.what now?

[Tim Baker]

Ron,

You and Leo are Gods among men…I ditto all that you have said. Great posts and great advice.

I always tell my clients and associates…”Without my integrity…I am nothing”…like you said Ron, we are in reality a very small community when it comes to “word of mouth” and “degrees of seperation”.

We are are all well served to keep that in our minds at all times.

Tim Baker
Chameleon Mobile Video Productions
(239)849-3295
“It is not the light at the end of the tunnel that we should seek…it is the courage to take the next step in the dark that we must find.”

[Charley King]

OK,
Along with what I stated earlier, let me add some that any may not hae er heard of happening.

My biggest competitor for several years was my best friend. If I was oerbooked and soeoe needed time I would send them to him to do the project that I did’t have time to do. He did the same, sending me his overrun. Each of us knew that the othr was going to do everything in his power to make that client a permanent fixture, within certai guidlines of course.

It was almost like a game with us, what clients can we steal from the other. Funny thing, I don’t believe either of us ever took a client from the other, because they appreciated the fact we were willing to take the chance of losing them by sending them to a competitor in order to service their needs.

In reality we solidified our standing with these clients.

I short, I believe you can be ethical, and still be extremely competetive. Ya just have to do it with class. Oh by he way, we always told these clients that the competitor was our best friend, but what would it take to get them to come back to us, cutting rates is not an option.

Charlie

[Blake Taylor]

I had a similiar experience.

I worked for an agency that had an account that relied on me for creative. When I left the agency to work at another agency, I kept in touch with the client; asked them how their kids were, talked about the weather, and if they were happy with the work they were now getting.

Eventually, they came to the new agency I was at because they were happy with my work and not the agency’s work.

So, keep in touch with your past clients. Bump into them when you can. Give them a call and chat. And, sneak into the conversation your doing the same great work you’ve always done, except you’re out on your own now.

Remember, Jay Chiat arranged many ‘coincidental meetings’ with Nissan executives – he knew where they ate, played golf, etc. and would ‘run into them’ to chat. Eventually, it paid off – he got the business.

Go for it!

[Nick B]

Throw a Party everyone welcome let everyone in town know you exist be friendly with your old employer be cool and creative not agressive in chasing business, be different be alternative then potential clients can make their own minds up if they want to move business from your old employer to you.

[Bob Delano]

What a great topic! About ten years ago I left my position with the leading post house in our market, but at that time they were changing their business plan to service only their inside clients and were getting out of the post-house business. My decission to leave meant taking the outside clients and their tape library, and it solved what senior management considered a problem. We remain on good terms to this day, and I still pick up some of their overflow work.

Over the next decade a number of staff graphic artists and editors left to open their own shops. The relationship between an editor and their regular clients is a strong one, and when staff exited to start their own botique I assumed that their regular clients were going with them. I kept close tabs and strong relationships with them, and provided the heavy-lifting support services that they needed like telecine or smoke and flame work, plus duplication.

Two years ago we sold the operation to one of our larger clients. After hanging around through the transition for a couple of years not knowing how I fit in or what my job was and watch the focus turn from outside clients to internal projects, I packed up my desk, bought a Final Cut system, and joined my former employees and co-workers in the world of botique edit operations. At last count their were six of us.

Have I agressivley gone after the former big shops clients? Nope, but some of them have come looking for me. For some clients I still go back in to the old shop as an on-line guy and do a day as a free lancer, and try my best to take the high road and not drag them over to my new place… but they’re starting to realize that they’d be better served in a different atmosphere.

I most certainly go out of my way to respect the other small shops in the market. These guys are friends, and I respect there talents and what they provide. I truly enjoy being able to recomend them to folks when it’s a job that I can’t handle, and we can openly discuss problems, technical issues, and work to help our clients and the industry by helping each other.

Kind of a rambling post… but I wanted to add my thoughts as someone who seems to have spent equal amount of time on both sides of the issue.

[Jeff Pierce]

Very well said.

May I add that if a client is wooed away by a fresh face (or a familiar face), then you may need to work on your relationships with your clients.

In my book, those aren’t “relationships”… those are one-night-stands.

Just my 2 cents… arguably worth that.

Jeff Pierce

[Connie Dunham]

[Chris Cardinal] “I started to read some of the rather long replies to your question and nearly passed out.”

Yes, some people suffer from very short attention spans and so you have to keep things very short and simple for them. Usually, one idea at a time and never introduce anything above the most simplistic and rudimentary of ideas or they will get confused and maybe even suffer severe physical reactions — sometimes, even to the point of fainting.

Luckily, there is a cure: Turn off your TV and read a book. It will be painful at first but with practice, the body can be trained.

Kindly, in hopes of a cure.

Connie