So why not create a “Super Bowl-like” event for yourself or your firm?
Now an event can mean many things, like: a gathering, a parade, a book signing, a contest, a conference, a seminar, an awards presentation, or an online event among others.
For example, not long ago I held an Arbor Day event. I ordered a few hundred “trees in a tube” and gave them out on Arbor Day. it was a smashing success with nice publicity to boot.
There are a number of odd and unique holiday calendars
on that you can revolve an event around.
What about an event for “Thomas Crapper Day” or “Squirrel Awareness Month” or “Elvis Week” – the possibilities are endless.
Most importantly, these “events” do not just happen but take a good deal of planning so take the time to plan them correctly and put them on the calendar.
Suggestion:
Plan to do a number of these for your design firm. Perhaps try to do 1 per quarter.
These “events” can pack an amazing punch. Not only do you get new customers, new friends, publicity, good-will in your community, camaraderie with your design team, you will also have a boatload of fun.
Think about this: How often do you encourage your design staff or those that report to you? What about someone who sends you a portfolio link, or kind phone message or writes you a thoughtful note or email.
What do you do? Blow it off? Give it to someone else to do?
I found this little blurb a while back by Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman of the Virgin Group, who addresses these various questions:
“I turn people down with extreme difficulty sometimes, because the people I’m saying no to are people I don’t want to discourage. And it should be difficult. Saying no shouldn’t be an easy thing to do, and you have to be good at it.
I often used to dodge doing it myself, and hide behind other people and delegate it, but if you’re the boss, that isn’t the right thing to do.
I remember I was a 15 year old asking Vanessa Redgrave or James Baldwin for an interview, and the fact that they took the time to respond meant an enormous amount to me. It inspired me. So it’s extremely important to respond to people, and to give them encouragement if you’re a leader.
And if you’re actually turning people down, if you must say no, whether it’s for a job or a promotion or an idea they’re proposing to you, take the time to do it yourself.
I met two big San Francisco entrepreneurs recently, and they said they get e-mail like this too, but they just dump it all in the dustbin. They don’t try to answer at all. I asked them why, and they said, “The time we spend responding could be used to create something of value for our business.”
That may well be pragmatically right, but I still think it’s morally wrong, and I suspect that anything that is morally wrong is ultimately bad for business”
Take the time to inventory your current skill set at least every 6 months. Then make a plan to upgrade and/or learn new skills. Here’s a few suggestions to help.
What skill set do you currently have a designer or design manager? Are your skills up-to-date with the latest Adobe Creative Suite? Do you have skills with Flash and other multimedia applications? What about presentation skills?
In my opinion, you really need to be *constantly* updating (and upgrading) your skill set.
Best way to do this is to make a written list of all the skills you currently possess. Then make a list of the skills you would like to learn/improve in the next 6 months.
It could be learning/improving in any number of areas including: presentations, public speaking, persuasion, video, advanced Photoshop, CSS, mobile design or others.
I believe it is important to give yourself a time frame to complete. It really helps to focus and increases your motivation.
Most importantly do something TODAY to start moving in that direction. Whether it is calling a local college for a course schedule, ordering a book from Amazon.com, taking some online training modules from Lynda.com or something else. Movement is key.
I always like to think that you get somewhere in 6 months anyway so why not improve/learn along the way.
You’ll look back 6 months from now and be pleasantly surprised at the progress you’ve made.
I wanted to share a number of sites/products that might be worth looking into. They are in no particular order, just a scattering of things that have caught my attention.
ColorIris - http://www.cooliris.com/ - transforms your browser into a full-screen, 3D experience for photos and videos across the web. Media comes to life via a cinematic presentation that goes beyond the confines of the traditional browser window. Available for Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari
Searchme - http://www.searchme.com/ - Searchme lets you SEE what your searching for in an iTunes-like panoramic view.As you start typing, categories appear that relate to your query. You’ll soon get addicted to this – promise.
Visuals of the World - http://www.visualsoftheworld.com/ - Want visual inspiration? well, then check out what they claim is the “longest inspirational website” If you are looking for visual ideas you should definitely check this out.
Book - http://tinyurl.com/6mxuow - Check out Dan Kennedy’s new book titled, No B.S. Ruthless Management of People and Profits: The Ultimate, No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners Guide to Really Getting Rich (No B.S.) (Paperback) If you want some eye-opening no B.S. insights into the contemporary employer/employee relationships then this is mandatory reading.
DVD - Transformation: The Life and Legacy of Werner Erhard - http://tinyurl.com/6p5dwy - You may (or may not) have heard of Werner Erhard but he is really THE guy who helped launch the personal development (transformation) seminar business with his EST trainings. It is a truly riveting film of this dynamic and charismatic individual.
ConceptShare - http://www.conceptshare.com/ - ConceptShare is a simple, more effective way to manage feedback and review on creative content built for designers and their clients. I have used a number of times and have been quite impressed with it. Check it out.
280 Slides - http://280slides.com/ - Create beautiful presentations, access them from anywhere, and share them with the world. With 280 Slides, there’s no software to download and nothing to pay for – and when you’re done building your presentation you can share it any way you like.
Get Over US$1 Million Dollars Worth Of Sales Expertise
As you know, we’re always on the lookout for ways to help you improve your business and maximize your success through resources and content. Today, we’re writing to let you know about something which could potentially have a dramatic impact on your business, it’s called the Million Dollar Challenge.
The Million Dollar Challenge is a fabulous collaborative program put together by a business TV channel. It provides a select group of businesses with the opportunity to get access to world-leading advice from top experts, as well as tailored campaigns and marketing resources for their business, on a risk free basis.
During a global “recession” this is surely something worth investigating.
We’ve looked into this further, and we’re mighty impressed. It is something which is perfectly aligned for any business which has a solid product, service or model, but is just not growing fast enough. It’s also perfect for a business which is frustrated by failed attempts at business development, or is concerned about ROI from marketing efforts.
Current participants range from a high-end software company to an executive search firm. There are also SME’s on the Million Dollar Challenge.
We asked yourBusinessChannel if we could tell all of our contacts about this program. They’ve set up an explanatory video for you to view here. If you are interested, you can also answer a few simple questions online to apply straight away.
This is a great video and really gets to the point of clients abusing vendors and service providers. I am sure every designer has had this happen to them more than once.
Using (and even accessing) an en and em dash in your typography can get tricky. Here’s how to properly use (and access) them.
As Bringhurst says in, The Elements of Typographic Style: “In typescript, a double hyphen (–) is often used for a long dash. Double hyphens in a typeset document are a sure sign that the type was set by a typist, not a typographer”
First, the en-dash* (-) is the shorter of the two (about the width of the character N) Access on the Mac is Option + -(minus) For the PC it is: hold Alt then type 0150
It is used to indicate a range of just about anything with numbers, including dates, times, numbers, game scores, and pages in any sort of document.
It is also used instead of the word “to” or a hyphen to indicate a connection between things, like:
New York-Boston Amtrak
pp. 13-26
Nov. 27-Jan 13
4:30-5:00 PM
40-55 cm
There may (or may not) be space before and after an en dash depending on placement and context.
Second, the em dash, which is about the width of a capital “M” It is accessed on the Mac by hitting
Shift+Option+- (minus) On the PC: hold Alt then type 0151
It indicates a sudden break in thought—a parenthetical statement like this one—or an open range, Doug Farrick, 1987—? or or instead of a colon or semicolon to link clauses.
Typically there are NO spaces before or after an em dash.
Bringhurst also says: “The em dash is the 19th century standard, still prescribed in many editorial text books, but the em dash is too long for use with the best text faces. Like the oversized space between sentences, it belongs to the padded and corseted esthetic of Victorian typography.”
An easy way to remember these is to just think of n is before m in the alphabet, so it it is the earlier or the “shorter” of the two.
* the en-dash might not display properly depnding on what browser you are using. But outside the browser world it should be fine.
