[Mick Haensler]

[Ron Lindeboom] “Isn’t life just too damned cool sometimes? “

Indeed. Congratulations Ron, that’s exciting stuff. With so many things going on I’m sure it’s hard to prioritize. Life is good, ain’t it!!!

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

You guys are awesome. First Dave Weiss helps me get my NLE back on line because of a STUPID mistake i made, and now all this encouragement. Once again, THE COW RULES!!! I just got out of an 8 hour studio session cutting our first track and it is by far the best thing I have ever done musically. We have a new genre we’re dubbing “American Celtic Roots” music. I’m so pumped I don’t know if I’ll be sleeping much tonight. And Mark, I’m not an Aussie, I’m from lil ole Salisbury MD, but I’ll take that as a compliment. I am a pretty mean didj player after all. I’ll post a link to the new tunes when we get it on line. Thank you so much for the affirmation guys.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

I am happy to report FCS is finally loaded, all updates completed and I’m up and running again. Thanks again Dave. Next question, what is the best way to do a clone backup? Thanks again.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

For some reason my thank you response to Dave didn’t post yestereday. So thanks for your response Dave and for taking it easy on me. I did a complete reinstall and am in the process of updating all software. I’ll report back on how things went. Thanks again….Cow Rocks!!!

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

[Nick Griffin] “Optimism is the order of the day. “

Indeed Nick!!! That and low overhead. Things aren’t too bad in small town America. My area never really boomed so we didn’t hit bottom too hard either. I’ve diversified my services and kept purchases to a minimum. Paid off my company CC with a 3% interest LOC and saved myself a ton of output. Just trying to be smart and enjoying the down time as well.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

[Mike Cohen] “Well, maybe a little ranting never hurt anyone!”

I wholeheartedly agree!!! That’s one thing I love about this forum.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

[Mike Cohen] “I would be interested in the views of others on this. How to instill your own work ethic in others.”

Just like beauty, work ethic is in the eye of the beholder. As a business owner that operates by himself 75% of the time, I don’t have to worry about this a whole lot. When I hire a new freelancer I sit down with him/her and explain a few things:

1. You are expected to be able to do things you say can do and do them well
2. If you lied on your resume and can’t do what you say you can do, than I will not do what I said I would do which is pay you the full amount of what we agreed on.
3. You are here to do one thing and one thing only….MAKE ME MONEY!!

There is no reason for me to hire you if I can’t make money off of you. There is no reason for me to deal with the hassles of you potentially screwing up, slacking off, pissing off the client, dropping my expensive camera, etc. if I don’t have an upside which is profit. On the other hand:

I DON’T KNOW THEIR STORY. What I mean by that is, this is a human being with problems, fears, core pain, bad and good relationships etc. On any given day, or given week for that matter, a great worker can be a crappy worker. Or perhaps you see potential in someone that’s worth cultivating, this isn’t an employee but an investment and there is a difference.

I have a young man who works for me frequently who by all rights should have never been asked back on a job. But something told me to keep working with him so I did. Turns out he has a very troubled home life and struggles with clinical depression and suicidal thoughts. Most other jobs he would get were union stage hand and PA jobs where he was treated like a head of cattle which furthered his mental state. I pride myself in making a job fun for everyone and letting everyone on crew know that they are an equal part of the equation and the machine won’t run without them. I tell them I expect them to work hard when required but to take a breather when not. If they do a good job and it’s a good show I always give them something extra. Because I treated this kid with respect and dignity and took an interest in him as a person, he started confiding in me. I was able to give him some tools that I learned from my wife who is a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Counselor and one of the finest people I know. Because of this in part, the young man is turning his life around. He’s using the tools, empowering himself, and gaining more and more confidence and skills on every job. I pay him more now because he’s worth it and I tell him that.

90% of all employee issues can be overcome with good management skills. So in answer to your query Mike, I think it is highly unrealistic to “instill your work ethic on others”. The question I saw between the lines here is “why can’t they be like me???” They are not and never will be you. May I suggest you encourage them instead to find their own work ethic, their own pace, and above all else, empower them to be healthy balanced individuals who value work as PART of their life. To expect anything else is what my wife likes to call an “unrealistic expectation”. What I mean by that is, what is realistic and perfectly reasonable to you might not be to them. The only way to find out is to get to know them and empower them by what you find out.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

Thanks so much for the direct answer Chris. In talking with the Sound Engineer I definitely got the impression of “welcome to the big time buddy, ain’t it great!!!” I emailed the Production Coordinator this morning and told her after thinking about it I had to reconsider the offer. I told her that while I appreciated the offer of being able to bill for an extra day that I wasn’t comfortable with that arrangement and that my price was $350/day with overtime after 11 hours. I haven’t heard anything back yet.

And Chris, I have to commend you. So many times we want to read into a post or inject our own personal spin on a given situation. You on the other hand, actually answered my query directly. No offense to anyone else who responded as I am grateful to any and all input, but I think the lesson for all of us including myself is….Am I answering the question posed, or do I have an agenda here? Do I want to help this person or do I want to make myself look bigger? Am I reacting or being helpful? On the other hand, if the OP is being a jerk in his post and responses( as we all sometimes can be), give ’em the Zelin B*&ch Slap!!! Thanks for helping me look into my own forum behavior Chris, hopefully it’ll stick.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

Thanks a lot guys. It really helps to be able to come here and flesh an issue like this out. Working on a national/international level is new to me. I was really hoping I was going to get a Bob Zelin B%*ch Slap about what a woose I was being but I guess not. And Paul, you make an excellent point about them asking me to bill an extra day being dishonest. Missed that one. Bottom line is, I don’t need the money that bad. Thanks again everyone.

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice………….W W Well ya can’t fool me twice….”
George W Bush

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Mick Haensler]

Thanks for the great advice Dave. I asked for $350 but was turned down. The Production Coordinator told me to bill for an extra day at $250 to help make up for it though. Apparently they have a set rate they deal with and won’t budge which is why she can throw me the extra day but can’t pay me any more than the $250. Thanks again for the great feedback. This is the first time I’ve been on a shoot like this and honestly didn’t know what to expect.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media