Ron Lindeboom
2
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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You thought that was snotty? It was just an explanation.
This is snotty: Excuse me but I think this question has been asked in your eyeview more then once and I (and others) have explained it. The logic? You and others wanted it broken out and we did it. Many people use the Basics forum. Many others don’t. The many who do use it help to keep a bunch of the basics stuff off this forum. Apparently, that is not appreciated by you. We can’t help it that many newbies feel that they have to post on the main board and ask here feeling that the people in the basics forum aren’t experts or something — though nothing could be farther from the truth.
If you want to volunteer to read and filter the posts, please do. If not, then I don’t know what to tell you.
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[Alan Okey] “Why bother having the “Final Cut Pro Basics” forum if no one really uses it or polices the regular forum? How about having a “Final Cut Pro Advanced” forum instead?”
We police plenty of posts, but we’d have a near fulltime job in our two most popular forums just reading and dividing posts if we tried to do them all.
I don’t know if you have noticed but we do a lot of free stuff around here for our members, Alan. We are a little bit busy and work 12+ hours a day as it is.
Most noobs won’t use the Basics forum and when they are shifted there, many get pissed and write us cranking on us and adding that they want the experts in the main forum. If we were to add an Advanced, that is where they would want to go — even to ask stupid questions like can a 8 year old iMac run FCS2.
If I had an answer, I’d love to employ it but I think that overcoming human nature is going to take far more than even a fulltime job and focus.
Best,
Ron Lindeboom
creativecow.net -
[bob flood] “whatever happened to the FAQ that was being put together? If its out there we should put a link on this forum.”
It is being done and will be as ignored as the basics forum is right now. If we were to have an FCP Advanced forum, then all the noobs would post there to make sure they got the “real” answers, not the ones from the guys hosting on the other forum. It’s a human nature thingie and if I had the answer, I’d bottle it and sell it to every company that faces these issues.
Ron Lindeboom
creativecow.net -
[Mark Suszko] “I think you’re making a mistake pulling your advertising. Marketing is something you need to increase in bad times, and the good news is you have more of the market to yourself when others pull back.”
I couldn’t agree more, Mark. This is very good advice, especially when the market is going south as it has been in the recent past and is forecasted to remain so into the near future.
The companies that ride out bad times are the ones who cut back everything else but keep themselves in the game by remaining visible. As all the others around them get more and more conservative, (read: invisible), they climb to the top of the pack by becoming very visible and the company of choice.
Also, many companies I know actually get more customers by raising their rates in bad times. It weeds out the bottom-feeders and those who have the money almost always want the best. They don’t take their daughter shopping for her wedding gown at WalMart and they do not want to get a Joe WalMart video for their daughter either.
Raise your standards and raise your rates. Buy marketing support. You will make it through the dry times while one after another of the more conservative players will exit the market because their invisibility will become a self-fulfilling prophecy that will guarantee fewer and fewer jobs until they finally have to turn out the lights.
Once again, good advice, Mark. (But I don’t expect anything short of that from you.) :o)
Ron Lindeboom
creativecow.net -
That’s why we removed it, Steve. :o)
Thanks for agreeing.
Ron Lindeboom
creativecow.net admin team -
Thanks for the reminder, Abraham. I forgot about that method. I haven’t used it. But at least it limits it to people that you acknowledge that you wish to receive mail from.
Good fences make for good neighbors.
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
Remember: Burt Bacharach lied. What the world really needs now is an undo button.
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[Eric Ward] “Is there no way to send someone a private message?”
No, we have elected to deactivate that feature in our site. We used to offer it but too many people and companies abused it and we got a lot of complaints from our members. So if you have a question, you will have to ask it on the forums as we do not offer a way to circumvent our system. Sorry.
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
Remember: Burt Bacharach lied. What the world really needs now is an undo button.
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[walter biscardi] “This has been the hardest lesson in my career because I saw every potential client as money that we needed to build and keep the business running. But I found myself wasting more time chasing bad money or sometimes no money before I just started saying no.”
Great point, Walter. It’s important to add that even if you can and do collect the money on some jobs, that still does not classify them as good jobs.
Busy does NOT always mean profitable. As Walter points out, do not let yourself be pushed into the place where you feel that you must have the job. You don’t. Some jobs are going to cost your company money and will keep you on the production treadmill long after the money has been technically spent. Again, busy does not always mean profitable.
When you know your real costs of doing business, you have a better idea of which clients to walk and which ones to keep.
Great post, Walter.
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
Remember: Burt Bacharach lied. What the world really needs now is an undo button.
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[Marcus Bird] “Am I being ridiculous to even think of raising it with the client?”
Yes.
Want more? Read Rocco Forte’s post, he offers a good balanced look at the situation.
Want to let it fester and embitter you and make a stink about it instead? Be prepared to never work with the client again and gain a reputation as a prima donna that is hard to work with.
Ron Lindeboom
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[michael brinsko] “I absolutely HATE this forum setup. Please change it.”
Go find your favorite PHP Bulletin Board or Phorums site and make it your home.
We have no plans to change our set-up. Ever.
Ron Lindeboom
creativecow.net