Up till about six years in the past, I used to be a typical cubicle employee within the promoting business in New York. I had the great title of inventive director, a really first rate wage and advantages, loopy working hours and little social life. I used to be much more intimate with my Mac than I used to be with my boyfriend.
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Now it’s 2001 and I’m one in all two individuals operating a small firm within the suburbs of Zürich, Switzerland. We’re a kind of impartial dot-coms that’s, knock on wooden, doing pretty nicely regardless of the present gloomy information and our very small dimension.
Right here is how we acquired so far, which can be of curiosity to anybody who is likely to be contemplating going impartial too.
From whence we got here#section2
PRODOK Engineering consists of Max Wyss, my associate and partner, and myself. Earlier than we dot-commed ourselves, we had each traveled divergent paths. He’s a graduate of the Federal Institute of Know-how in Zürich, with a Grasp’s diploma (dipl.ETH in Swiss phrases) in Supplies Engineering. Utilizing his tri-lingual abilities and analytical thoughts, he was making a residing as an impartial technical author and translator. (By the way, that is the place the Engineering a part of our firm identify comes from. It confuses a few of our purchasers, to not point out the weekly telephone name we get from civil engineers on the lookout for jobs, however we saved it anyway since we like to think about ourselves as engineers of fine options.)
I, alternatively was steeped in graphic design; with a combined training in high quality and liberal arts, I lived in Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark Xpress, and I carried a jeweler’s loupe round with me to scrutinize dot patterns on print proofs. We each had an excellent data of computer systems (Mac, PC and Unix), plus a quite lengthy historical past of hanging out on-line.
Previous to transferring to Switzerland, I did a survey of the job market and went to some interviews. To my shock, I discovered that I may certainly get employed in my area, regardless of my nonexistent German abilities. I even acquired a few critical job gives. Nonetheless, one thing in me was proof against the concept of leaping proper again into the cubicle world. I used to be bored with the day by day grind, bored with workplace politics, bored with reporting to a number of layers of supervisors. On the identical time, Max was beginning to really feel the constrictions of technical writing as an ongoing career. So after many lengthy talks, my future partner and I made a decision to attempt to run our personal firm collectively.
At this level, I’d like to say we went in with a strong marketing strategy, nevertheless it wasn’t fairly the case. All we knew was that we wished to get into the “Web factor.” Nonetheless, again in 1995 it wasn’t really easy to search out clients who would even contemplate having a web site, a minimum of right here in Switzerland. So we did what we may to construct up the talents we would have liked in an effort to form our enterprise the best way we wished, from constructing mock web sites to taking part in round with uncooked PDF information and extra.
Within the meantime, we improvised methods to make a residing. Max continued to take technical writing and translation jobs, but additionally began to supply add-on providers from creating completed layouts in Framemaker to writing RoboHelp information for software program. I, alternatively, tried to work on my German (that is an ongoing course of), did some print design jobs, and took on translation initiatives as nicely. In different phrases, we did no matter we may to outlive financially. At one (very low) level I even helped out for a few months at my mom’s restaurant in New York. At the very least I acquired to shake palms with Steve Jobs one evening when he got here in.
Advertising and marketing at first#section4
Advertising and marketing your self when you find yourself simply beginning out could be a terrifying prospect. Neither of us are good at conventional advertising and marketing efforts, however we did the perfect we may. Issues we tried embody:
- Sending out paper brochures. Once we began to supply our new providers, we got here up with some advertising and marketing copy in English and German and printed brochures on our Apple Laserwriter NT on pre-designed laser brochure paper. We didn’t have the funds to have them professionally printed, however we tried to compensate with our wonderful format abilities. We despatched them out in batches of 500, gleaning addresses from business group directories and the adverts within the backs of technical magazines.
- Chilly calling. We dreaded this, however we did it. We acquired tons of hang-ups and no-thank-yous. Step by step it acquired simpler. We additionally known as up present and former purchasers, pals, pals of pals, and so forth.
- Going to commerce reveals. We didn’t have the funds to arrange a sales space of our personal, however we did and nonetheless do frequent commerce reveals and conferences which might be relative to our area. We go along with a bunch of enterprise playing cards (designed by ourselves, after all), have interaction individuals in dialog, and in any other case community as a lot as attainable.
Whereas the success price of all the above strategies was fairly low when it comes to share of success, they did all result in precise work, so we contemplate it time nicely spent. It turns into simpler to do these dreaded chilly calls when the mortgage invoice is looming and all you may afford for dinner is canned pasta. At the very least two of the businesses we discovered by way of our preliminary brochure mailing are nonetheless good purchasers.
By the way, we splurged and acquired our enterprise playing cards printed correctly, designed by ourselves after all. Maybe it’s my Japanese heritage, however I firmly imagine {that a} enterprise card is the face of any firm. Your workplace may very well be in your mother and father’ basement, however a slick enterprise card makes you look skilled. It’s a tangible factor that everybody understands. We nonetheless get oohs from individuals who see our card for the primary time.
When you constructed some sort of repute, advertising and marketing turns into rather a lot simpler. We not do the mail-outs or chilly calls, however we nonetheless do the commerce present circuit. It’s a cliché however phrase of mouth is the perfect sort of advertising and marketing.
A reasonably web site will not be sufficient#section5
You is likely to be asking at this level, what about an organization web site? Nicely, now we have one, after all. Nonetheless, from our expertise, the positioning by itself will not be that efficient for getting enterprise. I believe that too many would-be freelancers suppose, “construct a cool web site and they’re going to come knocking,” however that’s not essentially the case. One of many earlier variations of our website, for instance, was a blatant try to indicate off our JavaScripting abilities – with sliding parts galore, collapsing/increasing menus, and what have you ever. We acquired numerous telephone calls and good emails saying how cool it was. Did that lead on to new enterprise? We aren’t certain, however we don’t suppose so.
The place an excellent firm web site might help is to indicate your areas of experience, and the essential information. Subsequently, the copy is simply as essential because the coolness and the graphics. Many individuals simply come to our website to lookup our contact info, which is why the newest model of our website is sort of low-key and quick loading.
Most impartial operators initially underestimate their charges. There are some formulation for doing this, however the level is to by no means, ever undercharge. You don’t cost the identical hourly price that you just had been getting while you had been employed. Your charge is double and extra. If you find yourself impartial, it’s important to cowl your insurance coverage charges, pension, incapacity, hire, gear charges and extra.
We’re each awful at bookkeeping. We struggled for a time attempting to maintain our personal books, however we all the time hated it, and the receipts saved piling up. One factor that saved us from going to spoil was that we all the time had an accountant to examine on us and maintain us out of hassle. With out him, we might most likely be out of enterprise way back. Some months we may barely pay his charges, however fortunately he was understanding sufficient to not press for quick cost. Each penny we pay to him is price it. And, we not too long ago employed a bookkeeper. Whew.
The opposite huge impediment is assortment. We have now been fortunate sufficient to have purchasers who normally pay promptly; nevertheless, sure purchasers are chronically late, and now we have now and again been in some nóng water due to this. If you find yourself a small firm, it’s typically tough to take care of the confused labyrinth that exists within the Accounts Payable departments of many giant companies. One in all our purchasers, even informed us simply so as to add the overdue charge for 2 to 3 months within the preliminary bill!
We don’t have a complete resolution to this downside ourselves, and now we have spent many a sleepless evening worrying over invoices which might be weeks overdue. One tactic that has labored to some extent for us is to supply a small low cost for early cost. Smaller firms particularly are likely to take us up on this supply. One other factor that we all the time do for something aside from fast jobs is to work and invoice in phases, beginning with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): this provides each us and the shopper an opportunity to discover the challenge and one another, with swish means for one or the opposite to again out if essential with no arduous emotions. (For extra about MOUs, learn Wendy Peck’s recommendation.)
Constructing on core competencies#section7
As a small firm, it’s unattainable for us to offer “full providers” the best way a big firm can. So we don’t. As an alternative, we offer a reasonably slender vary of providers, however we wish to suppose that we do what we do nicely.
Our primary specialization is JavaScript. There aren’t many firms that even take into consideration providing in-depth JavaScript programming, so we’ve discovered a fairly good area of interest. Nonetheless, we don’t simply do client-side JavaScript for net browsers; we use JavaScript for Acrobat/PDF in addition to the SGML subsets (HTML, XML and so on.) We’ve construct up a repute as being one of many specialists in Adobe Acrobat varieties, which brings us purchasers from areas as various as manufacturing and authorities businesses. We have now additionally not too long ago began to do Actionscripting for Flash purposes. Associated to JavaScript, we additionally do CSS and *ML consulting. (As a designer, this isn’t fairly what I anticipated, nevertheless it is difficult and artistic: I nonetheless get to do a whole lot of “pure” design, and I believe I’m a a lot better designer for my medium due to my data of the nuts and bolts.)
Having core specialties additionally means that you’ve got an opportunity to be referred to as being specialists in that area. This will result in additional enterprise and advertising and marketing alternatives: Final 12 months, for instance, we performed three main workshops for PDF and Adobe Acrobat Kinds; and we’ve additionally been invited to talk at numerous conferences. It’s a good way to reveal your self to potential new purchasers.
All our different providers are tangential to this core. For instance, we provide website internet hosting on our personal server, however we don’t market ourselves as hosts; our server facet providers are provided solely to purchasers for whom we do different jobs. Equally, our design and graphics providers are usually provided as a part of larger initiatives, although we tackle small print and on-line graphics initiatives to fill the gaps and for particular purchasers.
Having a specialization doesn’t imply that we’re ignorant about associated applied sciences. We each take appreciable quantities of time to coach ourselves on the areas we should be conversant in. (Expertise enchancment takes up a critical chunk of our funds in addition to time.) I couldn’t write an honest ASP script to save lots of my life, however I do know just about what to ask for.
Establishing a digital working community#section8
When we have to sort out huge jobs which might be past our capacities, we name on some trusted colleagues who additionally function small retailers, akin to Marc Veron, a proficient programmer and developer, or DTP Magic AG, who do wonders with database based mostly publishing. It’s completely important for small firms who want to stay that method to set up such networks. Even if you’re Tremendous(wo)man, there isn’t a method to be an knowledgeable in all the pieces. The additional benefit to this strategy is that we may also be assured in telling our purchasers that they may all the time get the perfect specialists for the actual process. We firmly imagine this provides us a real edge over firms who simply depend on employed assist, and even when we develop larger sooner or later, we’ll proceed our networking strategy.
Our digital community extends far past the Swiss borders. We have now trusted colleagues in Germany and the U.S., and we’re continuously looking for extra good individuals. We discover these individuals primarily by way of the quite a few mailing lists we subscribe to, in addition to at commerce reveals and conferences and by way of phrase of mouth.
Mailing lists are a useful useful resource: for studying, making contacts, and simply the dialog. Once I open up my mailbox to learn the numerous conversations happening, I really feel as if I’m in a busy workplace. Loneliness and feeling remoted is one thing it’s important to fight while you work for your self, and mailing lists go a good distance in direction of assuaging these signs.
When catastrophe strikes#section9
Chances are high that one thing catastrophic will occur at a while. For us, this was within the second half of 1999. To make a protracted story quick, one in all our purchasers, a multinational company, stopped cost for 3 months’ price of virtually full-time work, and brandished the specter of their substantial authorized division in opposition to us. Since we had been turning away different enterprise to focus on this very tough challenge, we had been in serious trouble. Not solely had been we dealing with attainable chapter, we weren’t certain how one can get the cash for the upcoming bi-annual mortgage cost, and we had been very frightened concerning the harm this might do to our repute.
We survived this disaster with a whole lot of assist from pals and family members. To begin with, my stepfather generously lent us the cash to pay the mortgage, no questions requested. We lower down on bills. As for our repute, it seems that this specific firm already had a infamous repute for doing comparable issues, particularly to small contractors. Since we had been assured that we had executed our work, our repute got here out intact. This was largely on account of our pals and colleagues, who enthusiastically unfold the phrase about precisely what had occurred.
We constructed again up our monetary nest egg over the subsequent few months, and managed to pay my stepfather again final 12 months. We have now by no means collected on the unpaid bill, and at this level now we have decided that additional authorized efforts will price greater than the precise bill quantity. However it did train us some useful classes, akin to: while you’re coping with a really huge shopper with huge authorized division, be super-extra-wary and go in with an iron clad contract.
So has it been price it?#section10
Wanting again, it’s been one bumpy experience. We’ve had numerous sleepless nights, numerous arguments, and lengthy stretches the place we’ve both had means an excessive amount of work to do or none in any respect. Our private relationship has gone by means of some tough occasions due to the enterprise issues, although we in the end held it collectively. However after an excellent 12 months of regular development, with this 12 months wanting even higher, we lastly really feel assured about the way forward for our little enterprise. We’re even on the level of hiring full time workers, however that’s one other story.
Even now although, there isn’t a letting up. Being impartial doesn’t imply lowered working hours – it’s the opposite means round. Positive, we will work at any time when we would like as a substitute of sticking to a 9-5 schedule, however the hours don’t let up. Uncommon is the day after we can wrap up work in 8 hours – I’m nonetheless quite extra intimate with my Mac than I’m with my husband. Apart from the meat and potatoes of your work, it’s essential to spend many hours coping with non-billable work. Being impartial doesn’t imply you get to do what you wish to do on a regular basis. You additionally should do a whole lot of stuff you dread doing, whether or not it’s advertising and marketing or coping with tough purchasers or battling the accounts. And there’s no security web.
However nonetheless, would we do it once more? Completely. We’d do some issues in a different way and plan a bit higher, however the sheer pleasure and problem we get every single day from understanding that all the pieces we accomplish is as much as us, is price all the pieces. And the view from my present workplace, out to my backyard with the hills past, is a lot better than my previous workplace wall.