So this just happened:
I assume he’s talking about LiquorFire… but why would he think I’d ever tell him the ingredients.
A real live chat with someone on our website:
December 30th, 2009
my.cnf file location for MAMP on OSX (Drupal max_allowed_packet issue)
December 15th, 2009If you need to create a my.cnf file because you keep getting a max_allowed_packet error, use your favorite text editor (TextWrangler?) and create a text file at:
/Applications/MAMP/Library/my.cnf
And put the following text in the file:
[mysqld]
max_allowed_packet=32M
You can change the packet size to whatever you want so Drupal works. This usually only happens to me when I try and import a dump and the cache tables are all full. I usually empty all tables that start with ‘cache’ (including the ‘cache’ table) before I export all tables. That cuts the size of the sql file down by about 5-10x depending on your cache settings.
Of course, this post assumes you’re running a Mac with MAMP installed.
My (nightmarish & ongoing) Experience With AllState and ESurance (That Has Left Me Car-less)
December 10th, 2009This is a tale of new friendship, compromise, betrayal, deception and false advertising. This is a tale that is currently in the works and I, as your narrator, will look for your feedback to guide me through this stress-filled adventure. Why would you care? Because if I lose this and am forced to pay for the damages to my car it will be a loss for policy holders nation-wide and when you hear how it all transpired I’m sure you’ll agree that no matter how nice a person is you have to assume they are only watching out for themselves. Plus, I’ll be laying out all the mistakes I made so you don’t suffer the same.
It was a chilly Tuesday morning, Tuesday the 8th of December to be more precise. Rebecca and myself left the house as we normally do, only this time, something strange was in the air. Actually, there wasn’t really special or strange about it.. I mean besides the fact is was 8 degrees! Anyway, we stopped at the Walgreens on 1st and Broadway (I wonder if anyone from Walgreens reads the reviews) to get some donut holes and Rockstars which is, of course, the breakfast of champions.
After our brief stop we headed south on Broadway to pick up our sidekick in crime, Dan. As you may have suspected, our journey to the nether-regions of Wash Park was cut horribly short… By cut short I mean cut off, literally. Here is what went down (his story stories and mine) and here is a map for reference. Well, before I start, let me set up the scene:
We were heading south on Broadway towards Alameda. The roads were covered with tightly packed snow, the type that covers the lines making it difficult to know which lane you are in. It had snowed a bit the night before and a bit that morning but had stopped by the time this morning adventure had begun. Broadway has 4 lanes and I will use the lane numbers to reference them, 1 being the left most and 4 being the right most. I will refer to the person in the accident as Mr. Doe for privacy’s sake. You can see a more visual version of the accounts below the bullet points.
Mr Doe’s Version of the Events told to Me & Esurance
- He was ahead of me
- He was in lane 2.5 (between lane 2 and 3)
- I was in lane 1
- He lost control and in an attempt to regain turned into the Checkers parking lot
- He was entering the parking lot when he heard my horn honk
- I hit him just as he was getting into the parking lot
Mr Doe’s Version of the Events told to AllState
- He was in lane 1
- I was behind him in lane 1
- He lost control and decided to enter the Checkers parking lot
- He heard a honk
- I hit him while he was in the Checkers parking lot
My Version of the Events
- I was in lane 1
- Mr. Doe was in lane 3
- Mr. Doe began to turn into the Checkers parking lot without signaling
- I applied breaks and honked
- I hit him while his tail end was still in lane 1 and partly in lane 2
- His momentum took him all the way into the parking lot while I stayed in the road
Now, the real problem is that because he told AllState a different story it’s up to the individual handling the claim’s discretion whether or not I have to pay $1k out of pocket for my repairs. So, I am going to lay out an argument to the 2 claims he has made to prep for the argument I will undoubtedly have with AllState very shortly.
Claim 1: He was in lane 1 and we collided in the parking lot.
Counter 1a: I’m not quit sure how this would have worked. Below is how are cars are damaged and if I were directly behind him I’m sure the back of his car would have been damaged. Plus, how did I get into the Checkers parking lot?
Counter 1b: Why would I have been in the Checkers parking lot in the first place? We were headed to Dans to pick him up for work and for those who know me know that me heading to the office is quite common =)
Claim 2: He lost control and decided the best chance for safety was the Checkers parking lot.
Counter 2a: I am uncertain of how he would have “lost control” while driving perfectly straight. Other vehicles didn’t seem to have a problem with losing control that morning, including myself. If everyone else was driving fine and you were the only one who “lost control” then it stands to reason you were doing something different than everyone else. Perhaps turning into Checkers last minute?
Counter 2b: He was out shopping for antifreeze. Not only did he flat out tell me that is what he was looking for but he actually purchased some while we were waiting for a police officer to arrive!
Counter 2c: I don’t get into accidents often (this is my first) but I just really don’t know the chances of getting into one while heading into the parking lot of a place that just happened to sell what I was looking for even though you weren’t even trying to go there… seems really convenient.
Those are really the big things. What is interesting is after the AllState agent told me he what he was claiming and how his story had changed I immediately contact him via his cell phone and asked him why his story had changed. He told me AllState must have misunderstood and that he’d contact them to correct the story. This was today the 10th so we’ll see how that goes.
I’m still unsure of whether or not I’m going to have to pay my $1k deductible out of pocket, but I’ve already learned some good lessons and I realize a few things I did wrong. Unfortunately, all of those mistakes are grounded in my inability to believe people aren’t inherently good & honest. That seriously gets me every time!
What I Did Wrong
- I didn’t grab a witness. I know someone had to have seen, I should have gotten their contact information right away.
- Mr. Doe actually admitted guilt and apologized at the scene. I should have gotten it recorded somehow. I didn’t expect him to change his story.
- I took his word for it. He claimed he lost control and without thinking that is what I reported to Esurance.
- The police came and when I was asked if I wanted to file a report I said “no” thinking “why add insult to injury?”
- I assumed my car was drivable without taking it for a brief spin.
What I Did Right
- I put him on the phone with Esurance at which point he told story 1 (different form what he told AllState). They have it recorded… we are getting that recording.
What I am looking to everyone for is pointers on how to handle things from here and what else I could have done differently. I’ve filed a report online and there is an incident report, but there has got to be other arguments I can use to prove he’s trying to weasel out of blame. I have no choice but to convince Mrs. AllState that it wasn’t my fault or I’ll be without a car!
Dealing With AllState
Oh, and just so you know, an AllState commercial aired last night and I actually laughed. It was the usual AllState dude claiming that they’ll all be working over the holidays because “accidents don’t take vacations.” Shouldn’t an insurance company with as much integrity as AllState claims to have take care of people on both sides of the incident?
Meanwhile, the good ‘ole cartoon Esurance chick has been great. I mean, seriously, they should be airing the “we’re here for you, that’s AllState’s stand” commercials. Here is a quick account of my experience with both Esurance and AllState:
- Accident happened between 9 and 9:30 am.
- I called Esurance immediately. Within 30 minutes they had my account of events AND Mr. Doe’s. The guy I spoke with (who was awesome) actually had me hand the phone to Mr. Doe to give his account.
- Esurance then did a 3 way call with an auto body shop (Youngs Auto Body who are just as great as Esurance) and I had an appt. to bring me car in the next day (Wednesday) at 1pm. They could have gotten me in that day but I really needed to get some work done. At the time I thought my car was drivable.
- All this got handled in 1 freaking phone call, way to go Esurance.
- Esurance then called AllState and contacted me later that afternoon to tell me to expect a call from AllState within 24 hours… I have yet to receive that call.
- I bring my car to Youngs the next day (Dec. 9) where Mr. A tells me we should really get AllState involved to cover costs.
- I call Allstate at the station and the person assigned to my claim does not pick up, I get transferred to another rep who takes my number and says to expect a call back.
- Mr. A. at the shop tells me to leave my card and Mrs. AllState’s phone number and he’ll help me contact her.
- By this time my car was making some slight rubbing noises when I turned and my e-brake wasn’t sticking well (maybe because of the cold?)
- Mr. A. calls me a few hours later while I’m at the office saying he got through to Mrs. AllState and she is waiting to take my recorded statement.
- I call Mrs. AllState the next day (I had meetings until 7:30pm) to find out she’s out of the office all day today so I’m transferred to another rep who transfers me to another person in the claims department.
- This person is unable to get her computer working so she has to call me back.
- She calls me back a little later and I give my recorded statement. That is when I’m informed my recalling of the events differs from Mr. Doe’s and that if he doesn’t admit to lying they will not cover any of my damages.
- That has left me car-less since Tuesday. Granted, not a long time, but AllState doesn’t expect to get things resolved until next week. That will put me at 5 days without a car, a situation that could undoubtedly ruin someone who isn’t lucky enough to live with someone who has a car.
GRRRR ALLSTATE! What is going to happen now?
Top 5 Websites that Boost Agency Service Offerings
December 2nd, 2009Check out our article, “Top 5 Websites that Boost Agency Service Offerings” in this month’s Advertising & Marketing Review (page 13)!
http://www.dpub.us/AMR/AMR.html
Top 5 Websites that Boost Agency Service Offerings
In this economy, it’s more important than ever for agencies to sharpen their business skills and acquire the resources needed in order to give their clients a complete marketing package.
Below is a list of some of the best websites that specialize in niche services that can help round out any agency’s solutions offerings:
• Professional Voiceovers
Voice123.com lets agencies scout voice talent for free. Post the job and budget, and talent will audition and compete for the project. Use this service to present at least 10 different voiceovers to a client in less than 24 hours.
• Logo Design
Avoid paying for each logo mockup by posting a contest on 99designs.com. Post the project specifications and prize amount, and designers will submit their mockups. Show these to the client, and only pay the submitter of the winning design.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Clients always want to rank first for relevant keywords in Google. Don’t take on this tedious gruntwork alone—outsource it to Number1Ranking.net. Get monthly reports to pass on to the client detailing how their rankings improve per keyword.
• Web Forms
If a client wants to simply collect information on the web, there’s no easier way to do it than Wufoo.com. This plug-n-play form builder is easy to use, even for those who are not so tech savvy.
Just knowing where to look on the web for resources is the biggest hurdle. Having these secret weapons in an agency’s resource arsenal will allow it to offer its clients the solutions they want quickly and with less cost.
Standardizing a Fragmented Market
December 1st, 2009When you think “I want a website” who do you call? Really? There is no major presence in the web development world. Sure, there are companies that offer great web products and/or software as a service (SaaS), but where do you go if you just want a simple, customized website? One with some basic features like a blog or an about page or how about a simple store or commerce?
Why even think about this? Competition is good right? Well, look at every other major industry and you’ll see a few major leaders… The car industry, electronics, even computers… but why not web development?
We think it’s coming and we want to be one of the companies that people think of when they think of building a website. So, how are we going to do it? We’re going to start with some research. While we’re not going to be able to be the solution for everything web related, we can certainly find our niche.
So, the question is: Who do we want to be, Ford or Ferrari? Do we want to what the average person thinks of or the wealthy person? It’s actually not too difficult to find out and over the next few weeks, that is what we’re going to be doing. We will be reaching out to local businesses and agencies around the Denver area to see what’s in demand. From that, we’ll have a decent idea of where we’re going to go.
Stay tuned for our findings!
Tips for Curbing Scope Creep
November 2nd, 2009If you’ve ever been a project manager, then you know that nothing tanks your profit on a project like “scope creep”– all those little additional requests a client makes while you’re in the middle of their project. It starts out innocently enough, but soon the additional work snowballs into a monster of accumulated free services you’re giving the client.
After years of building custom websites and programs for our clients, we’ve learned the main causes of scope creep and how to prevent them:
———————————————————————
1. Your project contract is verbal/nonexistent.
Nothing leaves you more exposed to scope creep than not having your project scope clearly defined in writing. Even if you know and trust your client well, it doesn’t mean that your relationship can’t turn sour when what you deliver is different than what the client is expecting. As our attorney eloquently warned us, “Love is good, but writing is better.” No matter how great your relationship is with your client, always put the parameters of the project in writing and, after reviewing together, have both parties initial each page and sign the final page.
Writing up a formal contract protects you both: you know what is being expected of you, and your client knows exactly what they’re getting for their money– no surprises for either of you.
A client who won’t put a contract in writing, or won’t sign one, is a red flag and likely to be a problem client. If a client refuses to work with you on putting your verbal agreement in writing, simply let them know that this is a standard procedure designed to protect both parties. If the client still refuses, then politely decline the project. The headaches from arguing over what was said or expected is not worth the money, trust us!
———————————————————————
2. Your project contract is ambiguous.
We’ve all heard the saying, “Measure twice, cut once.” This is truer than ever when you are writing your project contract. Make sure you express to your client (both verbally AND in writing) that if something is not expressly written in the contract, then it is not included within the scope of the project.
Another tip is to add a provision in the contract that states that any changes or revisions need to be quoted out separately. An easy way to do this is to make a Contract Addendum. Plan this addendum in the same way you wrote your original contract– be meticulous in your verbiage, quote out the additional work, and review with your client before both of you sign it.
If the client isn’t taking the time to really read and understand your contract and project scope, then arrange a meeting or conference call where you go through the contract line by line and explain what they are (and aren’t) getting with this deal. There should be zero questions before either of you sign the contract.
———————————————————————
3. You or your company has set a precedent for being overly flexible.
This happens all the time– if you bend once, you’ll be expected to bend time and time again. It’s the same reason why signs at parks implore you not to feed the animals– it creates an environment where the client will be encouraged to come back and ask for more! Now, don’t get us wrong– there’s nothing bad about being friendly or accommodating, but keep in mind that by throwing in “freebies” after your project scope has been defined may be inadvertently telling your client that your time or services have no value. After all, if you’re able to throw in extra work for free, then your work must be easy, right?
As we said in #2 above, gently remind the client that if work is not expressly outlined in the contract, then it is not part of the project. Offer to put together a Contract Addendum so the new requests can be included into the current project scope. Or, if you prefer, you can create a Phase 2 contract– an outline of work to be completed AFTER the original contracted work is finished.
———————————————————————
4. You’re too afraid to say no.
This might be the most common cause of scope creep. You’re halfway through the project, and a client asks if you could just “throw in” a couple changes. You know that saying yes to this will open a Pandora’s Box of revision requests, but you’re scared to say no– you don’t want to upset the client, or worse, lose them.
But let me ask you this: if a mechanic is working on your car’s brakes, would you ask them to “throw in” new tires? And if the mechanic refused, would you storm out and take your car somewhere else? Of course not (that is, unless you were a real jerk! 
)
Contrary to popular belief, saying no doesn’t mean the end of your relationship with your client, especially when you take a friendly and personable approach. Gently remind them that the request is out of scope, and therefore can’t be accommodated by the budget you’d established for the project. Offer to meet with them to lay out the scope, timeline, and budget of this additional work, and write up a Contract Addendum. Let them know you’re happy to work with them to make the project outcome exactly what they want, but that out-of-scope work needs to be quoted out separately.
If your client turns out to be a jerk and throws a fit and/or threatens to pull the plug on the project, then you and your company really need to evaluate the worth of that client. Remember Pareto’s 80/20 Rule: roughly 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your client base, so it may actually be profitable to cut ties with a problem, inflexible client.
———————————————————————
5. A colleague (usually a sales person) over-promises.
This happens all the time. Your sales person closes a project, and it is passed on to the project manager to make sure it gets done. You get close to finishing the project, when all of a sudden, your client is upset: your sales person had promised this and that feature, and it’s nowhere to be seen in what you’re presenting.
This pitfall can be avoided! Simply include the project manager in pre-close negotiations with the sales manager. Read and approve the contract before it is signed. Stipulate in the contract that regardless of what was verbally agreed upon between the client and the sales person, if it is not expressly written in your contact, it is not included in the project. If the sales person agreed to something, it should have been written in the contract, and if it was accidentally omitted, then it should have been caught during the review period prior to signing. It’s that black-and-white. If they really need the omitted part, then quote it out in a Contract Addendum that is thoroughly reviewed before signed by both parties.
———————————————————————
The bottom line is this: there is no contract that can’t be amended to include a Contract Addendum to accommodate additional work at a price both you and the client think is fair. This stops scope creep in its tracks! Remember that the client-vendor relationship is actually an equal exchange of services– you don’t “owe” anything extra simply because you are the service provider and you don’t want to lose the client. Would it be fair to ask the client for additional money without doing any extra work on your end? The exchange should always be even if you are going to have a happy, long-term relationship.
Tips for Curbing Scope Creep
If you’ve ever been a project manager, then you know that nothing tanks your profit on a project like “scope creep”– all those little additional requests a client makes while you’re in the middle of their project. It starts out innocently enough, but soon the additional work snowballs into a monster of accumulated free services you’re giving the client.
After years of building custom websites and programs for our clients, we’ve learned the main causes of scope creep and how to prevent them:
1. Your project contract is verbal/nonexistent.
Nothing leaves you more exposed to scope creep than not having your project scope clearly defined in writing. Even if you know and trust your client well, it doesn’t mean that your relationship can’t turn sour when what you deliver is different than what the client is expecting. As our attorney eloquently warned us, “Love is good, but writing is better.” No matter how great your relationship is with your client, always put the parameters of the project in writing and, after reviewing together, have both parties initial each page and sign the final page.
Writing up a formal contract protects you both: you know what is being expected of you, and your client knows exactly what they’re getting for their money– no surprises for either of you.
A client who won’t put a contract in writing, or won’t sign one, is a red flag and likely to be a problem client. If a client refuses to work with you on putting your verbal agreement in writing, simply let them know that this is a standard procedure designed to protect both parties. If the client still refuses, then politely decline the project. The headaches from arguing over what was said or expected is not worth the money, trust us!
2. Your project contract is ambiguous.
We’ve all heard the saying, “Measure twice, cut once.” This is truer than ever when you are writing your project contract. Make sure you express to your client (both verbally AND in writing) that if something is not expressly written in the contract, then it is not included within the scope of the project.
Another tip to add a provision in the contract that states that any changes or revisions need to be quoted out as a separately. An easy way to do this is to make a Contract Addendum. Plan this addendum in the same way you wrote your original contract– be meticulous in your verbiage, quote out the additional work, and review with your client before both of you sign it.
If the client isn’t taking the time to really read and understand your contract and project scope, then arrange a meeting or conference call where you go through the contract line by line and explain what they are (and aren’t) getting with this deal. There should be zero questions before either of you sign the contract.
3. You or your company has set a precedent for being overly flexible.
This happens all the time– if you bend once, you’ll be expected to bend time and time again. It’s the same reason why signs at parks implore you not to feed the animals– it creates an environment where the client will be encouraged to come back and ask for more! Now, don’t get us wrong– there’s nothing bad about being friendly or accommodating, but keep in mind that by throwing in “freebies” after your project scope has been defined may be inadvertently telling your client that your time or services have no value. After all, if you’re able to throw in extra work for free, then your work must be easy, right?
As we said in #2 above, gently remind the client that if work is not expressly outlined in the contract, then it is not part of the project. Offer to put together a Contract Addendum so the new requests can be included into the current project scope. Or, if you prefer, you can create a Phase 2 contract– an outline of work to be completed AFTER the original contracted work is finished.
4. You’re too afraid to say no.
This might be the most common cause of scope creep. You’re halfway through the project, and a client asks if you could just “throw in” a couple changes. You know that saying yes to this will open a Pandora’s Box of revision requests, but you’re scared to say no– you don’t want to upset the client, or worse, lose them.
But let me ask you this: if a mechanic is working on your car’s brakes, would you ask them to “throw in” new tires? And if the mechanic refused, would you storm out and take your car somewhere else? Of course not (that is, unless you were a real jerk! )
)Contrary to popular belief, saying no doesn’t mean the end of your relationship with your client, especially when you take a friendly and personable approach. Gently remind them that the request is out of scope, and therefore can’t be accommodated by the budget you’d established for the project. Offer to meet with them to layout the scope, timeline, and budget of this additional work, and write up a Contract Addendum. Let them know you’re happy to work with them to make the project outcome exactly what they want, but that out of scope work needs to be quoted out separately.
If your client turns out to be a jerk and threatens throws a fit and/or threatens to pull the plug on the project, then you and your company really need to evaluate the worth of that client. Remember Pareto’s 80/20 Rule: roughly 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your client base, so it may actually be profitable to cut ties with a problem, inflexible client.
5. A colleague (usually a sales person) overpraises.
This happens all the time. Your sales person closes a project, and it is passed on to the project manager to make sure it gets done. You get close to finishing the project, when all of a sudden, your client is upset: your sales person had promised this and that feature, and it’s nowhere to be seen in what you’re presenting.
This pitfall can be avoided! Simply include the project manager in pre-close negotiations with the sales manager. Read and approve the contract before it is signed. Stipulate in the contract that regardless of what was verbally agreed upon between the client and the sales person, if it is not expressly written in your contact, it is not included in the project. If the sales person agreed to something, it should have been written in the contract, and if it was accidentally omitted, then it should have been caught during the review period prior to signing. It’s that black-and-white. If they really need the omitted part, then quote it out in a Contract Addendum that is thoroughly reviewed before signed by both parties.
The bottom line is this: there is no contract that can’t be amended to include a Contract Addendum to accommodate additional work at a price both you and the client think is fair. This stops scope creep in its tracks! Remember that the client-vendor relationship is actually an equal exchange of services– you don’t “owe” anything extra simply because you are the service provider and you don’t want to lose the client. Would it be fair to ask the client for additional money without doing any extra work on your end? The exchange should always be even if you are going to have a happy, long-term relationship.
Tips for Curbing Scope Creep
November 2nd, 2009If you’ve ever been a project manager, then you know that nothing tanks your profit on a project like “scope creep”– all those little additional requests a client makes while you’re in the middle of their project. It starts out innocently enough, but soon the additional work snowballs into a monster of accumulated free services you’re giving the client.
After years of building custom websites and programs for our clients, we’ve learned the main causes of scope creep and how to prevent them:
1. Your project contract is verbal/nonexistent.
Nothing leaves you more exposed to scope creep than not having your project scope clearly defined in writing. Even if you know and trust your client well, it doesn’t mean that your relationship can’t turn sour when what you deliver is different than what the client is expecting. As our attorney eloquently warned us, “Love is good, but writing is better.” No matter how great your relationship is with your client, always put the parameters of the project in writing and, after reviewing together, have both parties initial each page and sign the final page.
Writing up a formal contract protects you both: you know what is being expected of you, and your client knows exactly what they’re getting for their money– no surprises for either of you.
A client who won’t put a contract in writing, or won’t sign one, is a red flag and likely to be a problem client. If a client refuses to work with you on putting your verbal agreement in writing, simply let them know that this is a standard procedure designed to protect both parties. If the client still refuses, then politely decline the project. The headaches from arguing over what was said or expected is not worth the money, trust us!
2. Your project contract is ambiguous.
We’ve all heard the saying, “Measure twice, cut once.” This is truer than ever when you are writing your project contract. Make sure you express to your client (both verbally AND in writing) that if something is not expressly written in the contract, then it is not included within the scope of the project.
Another tip is to add a provision in the contract that states that any changes or revisions need to be quoted out separately. An easy way to do this is to make a Contract Addendum. Plan this addendum in the same way you wrote your original contract– be meticulous in your verbiage, quote out the additional work, and review with your client before both of you sign it.
If the client isn’t taking the time to really read and understand your contract and project scope, then arrange a meeting or conference call where you go through the contract line by line and explain what they are (and aren’t) getting with this deal. There should be zero questions before either of you sign the contract.
3. You or your company has set a precedent for being overly flexible.
This happens all the time– if you bend once, you’ll be expected to bend time and time again. It’s the same reason why signs at parks implore you not to feed the animals– it creates an environment where the client will be encouraged to come back and ask for more! Now, don’t get us wrong– there’s nothing bad about being friendly or accommodating, but keep in mind that by throwing in “freebies” after your project scope has been defined may be inadvertently telling your client that your time or services have no value. After all, if you’re able to throw in extra work for free, then your work must be easy, right?
As we said in #2 above, gently remind the client that if work is not expressly outlined in the contract, then it is not part of the project. Offer to put together a Contract Addendum so the new requests can be included into the current project scope. Or, if you prefer, you can create a Phase 2 contract– an outline of work to be completed AFTER the original contracted work is finished.
4. You’re too afraid to say no.
This might be the most common cause of scope creep. You’re halfway through the project, and a client asks if you could just “throw in” a couple changes. You know that saying yes to this will open a Pandora’s Box of revision requests, but you’re scared to say no– you don’t want to upset the client, or worse, lose them.
But let me ask you this: if a mechanic is working on your car’s brakes, would you ask them to “throw in” new tires? And if the mechanic refused, would you storm out and take your car somewhere else? Of course not (that is, unless you were a real jerk! )
Contrary to popular belief, saying no doesn’t mean the end of your relationship with your client, especially when you take a friendly and personable approach. Gently remind them that the request is out of scope, and therefore can’t be accommodated by the budget you’d established for the project. Offer to meet with them to lay out the scope, timeline, and budget of this additional work, and write up a Contract Addendum. Let them know you’re happy to work with them to make the project outcome exactly what they want, but that out-of-scope work needs to be quoted out separately.
If your client turns out to be a jerk and throws a fit and/or threatens to pull the plug on the project, then you and your company really need to evaluate the worth of that client. Remember Pareto’s 80/20 Rule: roughly 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your client base, so it may actually be profitable to cut ties with a problem, inflexible client.
5. A colleague (usually a sales person) over-promises.
This happens all the time. Your sales person closes a project, and it is passed on to the project manager to make sure it gets done. You get close to finishing the project, when all of a sudden, your client is upset: your sales person had promised this and that feature, and it’s nowhere to be seen in what you’re presenting.
This pitfall can be avoided! Simply include the project manager in pre-close negotiations with the sales manager. Read and approve the contract before it is signed. Stipulate in the contract that regardless of what was verbally agreed upon between the client and the sales person, if it is not expressly written in your contact, it is not included in the project. If the sales person agreed to something, it should have been written in the contract, and if it was accidentally omitted, then it should have been caught during the review period prior to signing. It’s that black-and-white. If they really need the omitted part, then quote it out in a Contract Addendum that is thoroughly reviewed before signed by both parties.
The bottom line is this: there is no contract that can’t be amended to include a Contract Addendum to accommodate additional work at a price both you and the client think is fair. This stops scope creep in its tracks! Remember that the client-vendor relationship is actually an equal exchange of services– you don’t “owe” anything extra simply because you are the service provider and you don’t want to lose the client. Would it be fair to ask the client for additional money without doing any extra work on your end? The exchange should always be even if you are going to have a happy, long-term relationship.
How to make a killer commercial for under 1k
October 22nd, 2009Not too shabby, yeah? Ok, so the one thing we maybe shouldn’t have skimped on was a makeup artist, but being that this was our first commercial and we wanted to do it on a budget, it’ll have to do! In all honestly, this commercial came out WAAAAY better than we had ever hoped (especially on our budget) and below is how we got it done. Keep in mind this guide assumes you are doing all the leg work yoruself, you’re renting the equpiment, and you live in or around Denver (for rental locations, but you should be able to find something comparible near you). Now it’s time to suck it up and make some commercial magic!
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Canon 5D Mark II – $200 plus taxAmazing, simply amazing. This still camera is capable of filming at an astounding 1920×1080 resolution resulting in some of the nicest video I’ve ever seen! We shot some test shots before heading to the studio and needless to say I was blown away! Unfortunately I don’t have those test shots, but trust me, they were amazing. |
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Studio Space – 6 hours for $200 plus taxWe were quite pleased with North Denver Photographers. The facility was great and the staff was nice and helpful. They had tons of lights (similar to the ones in the little photo) just lying around so we were able to light thing fairly well. The studio we went to was meant for photo shoots so the lighting wasn’t exactly perfect, but with a little color correction in Final Cut Express we were able to make it look right for most of the shots. |
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Water Balloons – $4.99 plus taxWe bought our balloons from our local Walmart. Now, let me tell you a little bit about how water balloons have changed over the years. Remember when water balloons used to explode when they hit something? Remember how fun it was getting everything really wet? Yeah, well, that doesn’t seem to happen anymore. Apparently the water balloon people decided they needed to design every balloon tough enough to be shot from a cannon or sling shot which made it practically impossible to break it by throwing it. I think you’ll see what I mean when you watch this next video. |
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Final Cut Express – $199 plus taxThis piece really saved us when it came to making this commercial look really polished. It was all in the color correction. Turns out all you have to do is apply a "Color Balance" filter and play with some settings. Now, it’s not quite that easy, but you’ll get an idea about how to do it below. Note that there is more than one way to get the image to look how you want, but this is my quick and lazy approach. One thing I forgot to do before sending it to our media buyer (the guy who buys our commercial spots from the networks and such) was run the "Broadcast Safe" filter. Doing this ensures that the color in the video doesn’t make the TV freak out. |
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Voice123 – ~$300 (name your price)Imagine crowd sourcing (ie 99 Designs) but for voice talent. This site is amazing! All you do is upload your script and within 1 day you will have 10, 20, or more (you decide the limit) "auditions" for the part. You can even browse their database of talent, listen to a sample, and invite that person to speak your script. What is really helpful is they have a pricing guide to help you get started. You can’t beat that! Once you get your audio, simply drop it into Final Cut and you’re ready to rock and roll. I wonder if these people just have recording booths setup at their houses, the audio sounds so rediculously good. |
Well, that’s all I really have for this round. Maybe next go I’ll talk a bit about what it costs to run a commercial in the Denver area. Guess how much it costs to run a 30 second spon on ESPN! One hint… lower.
Are You Feeling the Love?
October 16th, 2009It almost makes you a little misty-eyed when you get to see something you’ve worked so hard on finally come to fruition. Like how Dr. Frankenstein must’ve felt when his monster took its first breath… only our baby was built to help mankind. Her name is LoveMyCharity.com, and she’s beautiful!
The way it all started when mastermind Shaun Brickhandler came to LiquidFire Ventures with a certain sparkle in his eye– he had an idea for a website that would bring together buyers and sellers in the name of charity. It’s like eBay with a positive twist– sellers designate a percentage of the sales price to go to a non-profit of their choice.
Of course, we loved the idea right away. We got busy designing a logo, laying out the site’s infrastructure, and working with Shaun to build out a gigantic list of features and functions (Notice the little heart-shaped social website links? Those weren’t an accident.)
And 9 months later, LoveMyCharity.com went live. Man, do we love that new site smell! It’s only been 2 days, and already Shaun has non-profits knocking at his door– and why wouldn’t they? Non-profits get free exposure and an easy, online way for people to donate to them– and it’s also pretty fun!
So when you’ve got a minute, check out our newest addition to the LiquidFire Ventures family of online business partnerships– we’d love to hear what you think! And if you have an air hockey table that needs a new home, we’ve got the perfect venue where you can sell it (just give us a heads up so we can get first dibbs on it– thanks, dude!).
Does Your Website Sit At The Cool Kids’ Table?
July 28th, 2009Think about it: the first page of Google search results is like the popular kids’ table in the cafeteria. It’s the 10 select seats that have everyone’s attention, and all the websites are just dying to get a spot among the most highly-regarded sites. It’s hard to grab a spot with “in” crowd, and if you’re lucky enough to have one, you’d sell your own mother just to keep it.
So what do you do to try to try to hang with the big boys? Often times, you’ll try mimicking the other websites that are already popular, desperately hoping you can replicate that ‘je ne sais quoi’ of a successful, popular website. Sometimes you’ll say things to grab attention, but they always come across as awkward or non-trustworthy. You may even resort to blackhat methods such as keyword stuffing or link farming, but this eventually has the opposite affect, making you a pariah once you’re exposed by the webcrawler narcs (and you will be exposed!)
How can you avoid having your website treated like the smelly kid in class that no one wants to interact with? Enter your new mentors in website popularity: LiquidFire and Number1Ranking.net. We’re here to give you an SEO makeover, guaranteed to get your site on the first page of Google search engine result pages (SERP’s). We’ll work with your website from header to footer to ensure that it’s got what both human beings and web crawlers are looking for.
Best of all, Number1Ranking.net promises to deliver page one search rankings, or they work for free!
Just drop us a line through our contact page and we’ll hook you up big time– slick web design, user-friendly features, top-ten SERP rankings, maybe even a date for the dance!