Mr. Indecisive, a name I have given to a hypothetical potential client who doesn't actually know what it is his business will do or how it will do it, nor does he have the money to make the investment in the first place (a small and somewhat significant aspect of his overall project) was a product of my creation after I recently reviewed several hang ups friends' companies had with clients of their own. There is a very important lesson for the modern business man here that most may consider common sense but obviously is not information available to all: HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN BEFORE YOU START YOUR BUSINESS! In all of these cases operational strategy or even anything more than just divine inspiration would have sufficed.
Now ordinarily we don't speculate about our clients' motives or direction because our clients are incredibly well prepared. Often times, when a client comes to us with little more than an idea, they still have a basic strategy as to how to pull it off, and we can consult on their idea and give them a professional web design to entice investors and in the end develop a great working product or service. But when we allow ourselves to be continually dragged into long, pointless meetings with clients who don't have a clue about what they want or the money to pay for it, we have to question our own reasoning. Sometimes it is better to carefully (and politely) cut the limbs on a tree that are only succeeding in sucking up resources and keeping the tree from developing its other branches.
Essential to all business is the ability to make money. Some might go as far as to say that is what a business is for. You know, recognizing a need, filling it with some product or service in a way that both you and the client prosper, but believe it or not there are countless instances that any legitimate business will inevitably encounter that work against this notion. So here I will compile a brief check list of things to make sure your potential client has in order to build a healthy, stable relationship that will help to bring you both into the black.
1. A working business model - It is important to know what your business offers, how it plans to market itself, its infrastructure and operational processes. Before someone goes to get investors or develop their idea, they need these items to be fully worked out (although there is often process for further development once you get into the meat of it). If someone comes to you and they don't have any of this thought out, perhaps it is time to politely let them know what they need to do in order for you to be able to help them. Be sure to mention you are interested in working with them in the future after they've hammered out the details and have a better understanding of how they can fit into the market place.
2. Capital to sustain development - Wells Fargo in association with The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) conducted a study based on the U.S. census that stated over the lifetime of a business 39% are profitable, 30% break even and another 30 percent lose money. There is also 1% who fall into a category of "unable to determine." It is well known that running out of financing before a business becomes profitable is the number one reason for small businesses closing shop. Because of this, it is important to make sure your client can sustain themselves through the life of your (and hopefully their) project.
3. A competent team - Even though there are some clients who have a working business plan/model and plenty of capital to spend, if they are difficult to work with and are constantly cutting off the progress you make in your development with them, sometimes it is better to just let them go before they wrap you up into a stressful frenzy. Working with some people is almost not like work at all, which can yield some amazing final results, but there are others whose attitudes could use a little tweaking.
Granted there are several more small and many more comprehensive necessities for a business to succeed, but without these three simple items checked off you may as well get out your calendar and rip several pages out in advance. Those days will be wrought with inactivity.
Now ordinarily we don't speculate about our clients' motives or direction because our clients are incredibly well prepared. Often times, when a client comes to us with little more than an idea, they still have a basic strategy as to how to pull it off, and we can consult on their idea and give them a professional web design to entice investors and in the end develop a great working product or service. But when we allow ourselves to be continually dragged into long, pointless meetings with clients who don't have a clue about what they want or the money to pay for it, we have to question our own reasoning. Sometimes it is better to carefully (and politely) cut the limbs on a tree that are only succeeding in sucking up resources and keeping the tree from developing its other branches.
Essential to all business is the ability to make money. Some might go as far as to say that is what a business is for. You know, recognizing a need, filling it with some product or service in a way that both you and the client prosper, but believe it or not there are countless instances that any legitimate business will inevitably encounter that work against this notion. So here I will compile a brief check list of things to make sure your potential client has in order to build a healthy, stable relationship that will help to bring you both into the black.
1. A working business model - It is important to know what your business offers, how it plans to market itself, its infrastructure and operational processes. Before someone goes to get investors or develop their idea, they need these items to be fully worked out (although there is often process for further development once you get into the meat of it). If someone comes to you and they don't have any of this thought out, perhaps it is time to politely let them know what they need to do in order for you to be able to help them. Be sure to mention you are interested in working with them in the future after they've hammered out the details and have a better understanding of how they can fit into the market place.
2. Capital to sustain development - Wells Fargo in association with The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) conducted a study based on the U.S. census that stated over the lifetime of a business 39% are profitable, 30% break even and another 30 percent lose money. There is also 1% who fall into a category of "unable to determine." It is well known that running out of financing before a business becomes profitable is the number one reason for small businesses closing shop. Because of this, it is important to make sure your client can sustain themselves through the life of your (and hopefully their) project.
3. A competent team - Even though there are some clients who have a working business plan/model and plenty of capital to spend, if they are difficult to work with and are constantly cutting off the progress you make in your development with them, sometimes it is better to just let them go before they wrap you up into a stressful frenzy. Working with some people is almost not like work at all, which can yield some amazing final results, but there are others whose attitudes could use a little tweaking.
Granted there are several more small and many more comprehensive necessities for a business to succeed, but without these three simple items checked off you may as well get out your calendar and rip several pages out in advance. Those days will be wrought with inactivity.
I agree. The most important piece of the project planning process is that itself...project planning. We here at Stormfront Productions offer full-service media solutions which can help guide new clients unfamiliar with this process along from start to finish.
We deal with many new start-ups from healthcare providers, Purdue Research Park companies, law firms, packaging, entertainment, food, and more. Many of our new customers are unaware of the process it takes to successfully complete a site from start to finish. We can help walk them through this process of initially planning the scope and functionality all the way through technical execution and project launch.
Great Post Tommy. Looking forward to reading the next one.
Thanks, that was pretty much my point. I think a lot of people get lost when they're working on something new and that's understandable and fixable - as long as they are willing to take the proper steps.