CMD+Shift Design

Blame it on the internet or the evolution of consumer gadgets or whatever you want to blame it on but in today’s business world, being a nerd is an asset! Being a little off kilter, a little different is something clients and (many) employers are seeking out! Blending in and matching the status quo have become a burden on your business and being a little bit nerdy (or a lot nerdy) is where it’s at!

Why is this? What is it about nerdiness that adds that special ingredient for success? Well, here’s one nerds two bits on the matter…

Nerds are Inspiring!

Part of being a nerd has to do with having some strong opinions on whatever it is you’re nerdy for — be it Star Wars, video games or typography — nerds pride themselves on knowing a lot about what they are into and your opinions on the matter are part of your identity.

Working with someone who is nerdy about their chosen profession makes any consumer experience infinitely more enjoyable than getting service from someone just “doing their job.”

When shopping for new eyeglasses for myself I encountered this for myself and I could not stop talking about it! In the past I had always bought my glasses from the closest LensCrafters and it was a perfectly adequate experience. I truly have nothing bad to say about this company, they had a nice selection of styles, everyone was always very polite and it was always convenient to stop in and get my frames adjusted whenever I needed to.

This past year I shopped for glasses at 2 separate locally owned Seattle businesses for frames (Seattle Vision Clinic and Eyes on Fremont) and the experience I had at both of these places made something that in the past was nothing more than a necessary task into a remarkable experience! How? The people at these locations were total eye wear nerds!

This is a sect of nerd I was not even aware existed, but they were really excited to talk with me about what I wanted, what I liked and what I didn’t like. They were able to suggest ideas based on my face shape and style, they knew about eye wear designers, frame shapes, materials, vintage styles and their enthusiasm for the subject was infectious!

When you are passionate about what you do, you inspire the people around you – and who doesn’t want to work with someone inspiring!?

Nerds are Authentic

Part of being nerdy is accepting yourself for who you are and what you are into even if isn’t what fits into the status quo or flow into the mainstream. Those who are able to embrace their nerdisms and not be ashamed of them have this obvious badge of honesty.

Whether it is real or imagined, if someone can be totally open and honest about their Red Dwarf obsession, you feel they are probably transparent about other things in their life, like business practices and ethics.

Nerds are Memorable

Nerds are usually stand out from the crowd… and being unique makes you easier to remember, as simple as that. It is each of our unique experiences and abilities that make us valuable individuals, blending in has become a liability to any business trying to be remarkable!

What do you think?

Are you a nerd? Have you had experience working with, buying from or being served by a nerd?

One of my first jobs out of college involved direct customer sales where I got a crash course on how to be a salesperson. Not a salesperson like I had been when I worked at random retail jobs in the past, but getting professionals to throw down thousands of dollars and feel really excited about it.

At the time, I saw this job solely as a way to get my foot into the door of the companies design department (it worked) but as I look back now on that time it was probably some of the most valuable work experience I have ever had! Every bit I learned that year about selling I have applied to my design business in talking with clients about their projects.

It’s All About the Product (Services)!

The most important part to selling, is believing in the product, if you don’t — you’re going to come off sleazy… no one is going to trust you. While you may finagle someone into shelling out the doe, they are likely to feel more nervous about the transaction than excited.

I see this with freelancers all the time, they are not confident in their work (some with reason, some without) and this comes across when they talk about their services. I am surely not going to throw down my hard earned cash and gamble my businesses reputation on someone who doesn’t feel confident about the product they’re supplying! Would you?

The harsh truth, this can’t be faked. You either believe you can offer your clients top quality services or you don’t. If you don’t you can still try and sell it — but it’s not going to be so easy.

It’s All About the Customer (and how you treat them)!

So you are 100% behind your product? Good. Now here is the hard part, get behind your customer.

By this I mean… it’s not just about selling the goods, it’s about honing in on what your client needs and delivering that to them. Your interaction with the client is PART of the product when you are a freelancer. Be a good person, care about your client, listen to them and tell them what YOU would do if YOU where them.

A 20 page site with a full company owners biography and photo gallery of their office space would bring in a lot more money to your business, but this guy’s plumbing company would get a better return on his investment with a concise one page. Do you tell him this? YES, you do!

When you focus on delivering the right solution to your clients and getting the best results for them – you’re delivering a superior product.

I truly do believe, we are sales people. We are selling our abilities to help grow our clients businesses. It’s funny that I didn’t see this connection back then, but I am so glad that I paid attention to those sales lessons and was able to draw upon them and make this connection later down the road!

Did you ever have a job that isn’t design related that taught you a valuable business lesson? Leave a comment and tell us about it!

Don’t get freaked out, you don’t have to have a fine printed document full of legal jargon to set company policies! Just think simple here, I’m talking about setting some standard practice rules for your business that make it clear to both you and your client what you can expect from each other and how things will run.

Things like, all invoices are due within 30 days of receipt. There. That’s a policy, simple, right?

How about all projects require an initial 50% deposit to begin work. There, see! There is another one!

These can even be rules you set for yourself. instead of your client. You can have a policy for how you name and organize your project files, how you hand things off to a printer or how you organize your code.

Policies aren’t hard to come up with, many of us probably have similar rules in place for our businesses. The part where I see most freelancers trip up is, sticking to the policies they set in place. Sure, it is fine to bend the rules from time to time.. you can do that, it’s your business. But, there is no point in setting a policy if you aren’t going to stick to it. Your client s will appreciate these guidelines because they show that you are serious about running things properly and if you can manage your business in a professional way, it’s a good indicator that you’ll manage their project in a professional way.

Client: “This contract looks OK, can you just take this email as an approval?”

Freelancer: “It’s policy that projects cannot begin until a signed agreement is received. You can send it in by mail or fax, let me know which is most convenient for you!”

Do you have any special policies that have helped your business run smoother? Have you ever got into hot water by not having a policy in place when a situation arose?

The word “freelancer” has a bit of a stigma attached to it for the people outside of the freelance world. There’s a number of misconceptions about what kind of people we are and kind of business we do. True, I don’t have a time clock to punch when I start my work day and I don’t even own a pair of panty hose, but I am not just a free-agent design nomad. I’m a business owner! My business may only have one employee (that one being me,) but that makes it no less a business.

Starting out, it can be difficult to wrap your head around this and really embrace it. Being a “free agent” is so much easier, you are still like you used to be when you were an employee, only now – your clients are your boss! Right? WRONG! I think this attitude can be detrimental to a one-person business and as I’ve come to terms with my own entrepreneurship I’ve learned a lot about being a business owner and not just a freelancer.

Something I see as an important part of defining your operation as a real BUSINESS? Setting normal business hours.

I know! One of the benefits of being an independent professional means you DON’T have to do a typical 9 to 5 day — but it is still very important to have regularly scheduled business hours. Depending on your clients needs and your industry you can set these to be the most productive for your business.

We do have more freedom to modify our schedules when things come up or if you just need to take an extended lunch on a random Wednesday. What’s important that your clients have a frame of reference to know when they can get a hold of you. I keep pretty typical hours in my studio of Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm. The reason I chose this because most of my clients work traditional hours and I want to be available to them when it’s going to be of the most benefit to them.

You don’t have to think of this as being at the mercy of your clients sleep cycle. Setting a regular schedule can be liberating! If you have set hours of operation – this frees you from feeling obligated to jump on the random email question you might receive from a client at 2am on a Saturday night. Your clients accept this, because they view you as any other business.  We all know that if we want to talk to our dentist, we call during his office hours. We don’t show up at the yoga studio at 2am and wonder why all the lights are out! Businesses have normal hours of operation, so set some for yours! Of course, I work outside of my business hours — I just can’t help myself! But, having that guidelines sets boundaries for both you and your clients.

What are your hours of operation? Why did you set the hours you have?