Franklin Mcmahon
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Let’s hope it gets to page one.
Maybe the marketing people will also realize what kind of company they are working for.
Seriously I am really getting tired of “times are tough..lots of companies just can’t be responsible like they should be…”
If a company sets up a big shoot and then does not pay in a timely manner, like they said they would, they should realize word will get around. The more we gently prop them up with the “oh its the economy” crutch, the more it will escalate.
Do me a favor and run over to your window and shout, “I’m not going to take it anymore!”
Wait..that might be from a movie…
Frank
___________________________
Franklin McMahon / Host
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frank@fmstudio.com
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Not sure why you are waiting for a check..if the company wants to rent your camera..they write you a check. I have yet to rent a camera and say “oh..just bill me..I’ll pay when I can”
Frank
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Franklin McMahon / Host
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It’s good you are looking out for grinding, because that is essentially what the “Bossman” has probably been doing to you for two years. You’ve been “chasing higher pay for 2 years”, working full time while the company pays you absolutely no benefits and judging from your job description, you are doing it all and more in dedication to the company.
What you need to do now is negotiate, nothing is more important, and it has nothing to do with skills or promises of future money allocated…you need to decide what you want and present it. It’s a gamble but if you don’t ask for what you want, you’ll never get it. There are many, many books on negotiation, it is an art, so its worth cramming for this “exam”.
You’ve been working 2 years in one place, that makes you very valuable and your position very pivotal. Beleive me, if I had a talented person I invested two years into, I would be very anxious if I sensed they might be planning a move.
People think because they are not an employee they have nothing to bargain with. They do. Its not on paper, but its trust and commitment and dedication. I am sure your boss wants to continue with you, and would fully be willing to bump up the package to keep you. You just need to ask for it. Ask for what you want, then add more. That way if its trimmed back, you still get what you want. And if he can’t give you what you want, and need, you’re going to go through many many years with that person, constantly not getting what you think you should.
Deciding to become an employee or freelance is a choice only you can make. But I do suggest really working to negotiate for what you really want out of the relationship. You’ve put in the time and dedication, you deserve more.
Franklin
___________________________
Franklin McMahon / Host
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frank@fmstudio.com
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I like this folder scenario! Good advice…
___________________________
Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCAST
frank@fmstudio.com
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Bill I was thinking about doing this. I too have a 15 year old email that collects spam by the minute, but its the email everyone knows me by for a decade+.
I had thought about starting a new one, and with the old one, do an auto-responder that points to a website contact form. So if someone really wants to get a hold of me, they can fill out the form. And if I really want to correspond I can email them back from the new address. The old email I would funnel all to say a free yahoo account or gmail, then if I ever feel like I missed something I would always have an archive to search.
So good to hear you “reboot”…I should do the same…
Franklin
___________________________
Franklin McMahon / Host
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Yeah no flying logos for #4 haha
Frank
___________________________
Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCAST
frank@fmstudio.com
Creative Cow Podcast Page
Creative Cow Podcast in iTunesFranklin on Facebook
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A few email tips that spring to mind…
Send Less
E-mails are like tribbles or gremlins, they multiply exponentially. The more you send, the more you receive. Obvious…but think about it. The more you send…the more you receive. Often if you are getting slammed with email its because you just spent the last 24 hours sending and answering emails. Sometimes one 5 minute phone call can eliminate 12 emails back and forth. And eliminate an open loop you keep thinking about. I always tell people send less emails out..and don’t feel you need to respond to each and every item.
Use IMAP
Switch to IMAP and avoid POP. POP email is a little 90’s, you’ll spend hours copying your emails between computers. IMAP keeps the email on the server, and current email programs keep a local copy. Not only is this amazingly faster, but a message is updated in real time. If you are on your iPhone with an iMAP account and you delete an email you can literally look over and see it “vanish” on your Mac desktop mail. You can always undo it by hitting updo delete message to retrieve the cached local copy. Once you get IMAP on all your phones, laptops and desktops, and everything is in sync and updated in real time, you will wonder why you did not switch to IMAP sooner. IMAP absolutely makes organizing and categorizing faster and easier to manage.
No Gmail
Avoid Gmail for professional work. Years ago I had a popular podcast and we had a gmail account for it, we had all our contacts and 2 years worth of fan mail and correspondence in it. It got hacked into, we could not get in because our password was changed. Google responded by shutting down the account “for our protection” and verified there had been a security breach. They had no further info and after 2 weeks of going back and forth with their tech support (“we have no additional info”) we realized that our gmail account was never to be seen again. It’s odd google would do this, but the fact is we put 2 years of content into essentially a free service still in beta. It was a hard lesson, but I now always use a hosted domain service that I pay for. Same goes for twitter and facebook, these free services, your account, could be switched off at any time and for any reason, so keep it in mind. If you are paying for a service, at least you have some rights as a consumer, but with free and beta stuff…well…
Smart Mailboxes and Mail Folders
I use mail folders and smart mailboxes (Mac mail)..the key is moving stuff out of the mail box. The smart mailboxes allow quickly pulling up all email from a certain address. So I can move stuff out of my inbox but still call it up from my save folder when I need to. I also have client folders, when a client oriented item comes in, I move it to that folder. I have an “explore” folder, this is email that is interesting, not mission critical, email I may want to look over later. I also use programs like OmniFocus which has a keystroke to pull individual emails into the program, from there I can move it to a task or project list and in my mail program move it out of the inbox. The main thing is to keep clearing the inbox and move emails where they should be. Organize..not respond to everything right away..just organize everything right away. Clearing your inbox often is like clearing your mind, and helps you to stop thinking “I am sure there are things I must be missing” when you have an inbox of hundreds of unorganized messages.
Frank
___________________________
Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCAST
frank@fmstudio.com
Creative Cow Podcast Page
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It’s good to strive for more and advance your career. Once you see the potential in the landscape, and movement of peers, it can be good and healthy to ponder the options and/or next move.
So yes…keep thinking. 🙂
Frank
___________________________
Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCAST
frank@fmstudio.com
Creative Cow Podcast Page
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There are 4 stages of career levels most creative people go through.
1. Paid Hourly $
You punch a clock and are paid via time2. Paid for Talent $$
You get paid for your talent and technical skills3. Paid for Ideas $$$
You get paid on your vision, your ideas, your thought process, personality4. Paid for Who You Are $$$$
You have nailed all of the above, your resume, is you(4 are often people like celebrities, sports figures, rock stars, business gurus, etc)
Most creative artists are wedged between 2 and 3. And many charge more toward 2. The key is work your income toward 3 instead. A client says they need a flying logo, 2 says no problem. 3 says, hmm, is a flying logo the best idea? 3 offers the most to the client, and charges accordingly. 3 is typically in charge of a team of people more talented, and has a completely clean desk, but 3 can still be anyone, even a single producer, if they focus on vision as opposed to tech skills.
So getting back to the client is always right, clients are paying you for 3 but some producers are just charging for 2. And worse, only offering 2.
Plus when working at level 2, you have little leverage and are trumped by another producer doing the same technical tasks for less cost. 3 can charge more because you can’t get their vision elsewhere. In other words, most of what you should charge for and offer to clients takes place before your hands ever land on the equipment.
When you work at level 2, the client is always right, when you move to 3 the client is not wrong, but looks to you to make them right.
Frank
___________________________
Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCAST
frank@fmstudio.com
Creative Cow Podcast Page
Creative Cow Podcast in iTunesFranklin on Facebook
Franklin on Twitter
Franklin on LinkedIn
FranklinMcMahon.com -
Part of the problem is it seems you are not charging for your search. If that is the case, then you will go another 25 hours, maybe 50. The reason they are saying “keep looking” is because they have no incentive to choose. It may be too late for this project, but in the future, searching should be a line item and additional searching should be an added fee.
Clients very often need to be nudged into decisions. Addition cost is a great way to reach speedy decisions.
___________________________
Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCAST
frank@fmstudio.com
Creative Cow Podcast Page
Creative Cow Podcast in iTunesFranklin on Facebook
Franklin on Twitter
Franklin on LinkedIn
FranklinMcMahon.com