Notes to my children: 25

Dear Zoya and Veer,

At any given point in time, have a favourite song, a favourite movie, a favourite joke. Let the favourites change often.

Love
Dad

Notes to my children: 24

Dear Zoya and Veer,

Spread love everywhere you go. Every time someone comes to you, they should leave happier.

Love
Dad

Notes to my children: 23

Dear Zoya and Veer,

When you grow up, Facebook or Twitter may not exist. But social life will. That’ll always be for real.

Love
Dad

Notes to my children: 22

Dear Zoya,

If a guy can’t keep a conversation going, don’t expect him to be able to keep a relationship going.

Love
Dad

Notes to my children: 21

Dear Zoya and Veer,

Two things can ease any situation in life. Honesty and a sense of humour.

Love
Dad

Notes to my children: 20

Dear Zoya and Veer,

Your mom and I want to bring you up because we want to enjoy parenthood, not because we want you to take care of us when we get old. If you choose not to take care of us, we’ll blame ourselves for not giving you the right values. We’ll never blame you.

Love
Dad

10 things I did wrong as a Design Entrepreneur

Read the original piece here.

Let me start by wishing each one of you a very happy new year. For those entrepreneurs who have been in the business, may this be the year of the big leap. For those to-be entrepreneurs who’ve been sitting on the fence and tossing between ‘should-I-should-not’, may this be the year for the jump.

When my last article came up on yourstory.in, I got a lot of mails from many old, new and will-soon-be entrepreneurs asking me to share tips on things that one should not do as an entrepreneur or things that I would have done differently. Now, to think of it, these are two different articles – one, where most entrepreneurs go wrong and two, where I wished I had gone right. So, to keep things simple and as entrepreneurs that’s one of the most important things to do, I’ll make this ‘my wrong doings list’ for now.

Reiterating what I said last time, this list applies itself closely to the advertising, communications and graphic design businesses but barring a few points it is comfortably generic.

1. We ran a business on faith and trust. But contracts do help. Considering that most of the business early on in the entrepreneurship cycle comes from references, it’s very easy to fall into the ‘you-have-my-word’ trap. You’re a young / new entrepreneur, you want an opportunity to prove yourself and you believe that ‘he who got in touch with you is known to him who knows her whom you know for so many years’. So, you’ve done the work and now comes the time for payments and you realise that life is not as good as you expected it to be. Negotiations have started. People are asking for paperwork that you didn’t even know existed, the budgets for your work were not approved internally, or you don’t have a Purchase Order, and worst of all, the person whom you were interacting with has moved on to greener pastures leaving you in the red.

So, the learning is, that always have a contract in place. Even if it’s not on stamp paper, a simple document stating remuneration and scope of work with signatures is a must. And put down a clause that the scope and remuneration will be defined with each project / quarter / year. This may still not ensure that you get your payments but will help make a strong case and get some out. And this brings me to the second point.

2. We didn’t ask for an advance before we advanced. Many new entrepreneurs are in two minds on this. One, they don’t want to lose an opportunity and cheese off the client right in the beginning. Two, they don’t want the client to feel that they’re doing this ‘only for the money’. My experience has been that it all balances out over time. There would be many clients who are not willing to show you the money till you show them some work, and if you refuse, they let you go. And there are many who have no qualms about making advance payments. I’ve seen that over time, if I would have insisted advance payments I would have been richer even if there would have been a huge number of clients whom I would not have worked with.

3. We let clients negotiate for a truck load of potatoes and then buy one kilo at wholesale rates. Yes, there are many! Many who would give you a huge list of things to do over the next six months. You would spend a lot of time working out a bulk rate card for them which is negotiated till every cell in the excel sheet sues you for violence. And finally, when the rate card is ‘approved’, you would get one little leaflet to work on. That’s it! Learn to recognise these kind of clients early on. They are also the ones who tell you that they have crores of business to be picked up and they believe in ‘long term relationships’ but want you to do one small piece for free to prove to them that you are their right choice. Avoid them! Don’t do speculative work.

4. We priced ourselves low. This is a point which if you falter on, its demons will chase you for years. It’s very easy for new entrepreneurs to fall for this. You want a client and the client wants to try you out but only if you give him a better rate than what he is already getting. While your work and service is not a commodity, don’t settle for anything lower than the rest. And even if you do and want to use it as your competitive edge, don’t price yourself so low that it sets a precedent for all future work from the client. Price yourself the same as you would but give the client an ‘introductory discount’. This helps you ensure that you won’t be the lowest priced partner for the client till your centenary celebrations. Realise it for yourself and let them realize it too that you have bills to pay as well.

5. We didn’t take time out! It’s very easy for new entrepreneurs to get stuck in the nine to deadline routine. The expectations of proving to partners, vendors, clients and most importantly to yourself take its toll. Recharge your cells often. Even if just a weekend getaway with the family or a new book every week or just a hobby that you pursue, learn to time out and spend time with yourself.

6. We hired out of desperation. Irrespective of what stage you are in business, it’s very easy to hire people. But it’s very difficult to hire the right people. Sometimes you hire because you need more hands on board but end up compromising on talent. Sometimes you hire ‘talent’ but realise that what you really needed was someone who could get down and dirty and work like a horse. It’s very easy to get affordable help but keep in mind that the people you hire early on will be the foundations of your business. If you don’t hire the right set of people right in the beginning, you are putting more than your sanity at risk.

7. We didn’t get a second-in-command. It’s lonely at the top. And having to take tough stands and make every little decision brings out the ‘man your mother warned you about’ in you. It’s important to have a partner / second-in-command early on. If you can’t find or attract anyone who fits the bill, nurture someone from within the young team. Whoever it is, he / she should not only understand the nuances of work and relationships but should also have a keen mind and good business sense. Someone who can take decisions for you. And more than anything, it helps you shift the blame onto someone.

8. We bit more than we could chew. And that’s bound to happen if you do good work, build relationships and be the go-to-man (or woman) when it comes to getting work done. We did all the above and have been through times when we had more to-do mails in our inboxes than a chronic spammer has in his outbox. And that’s when we hired out of desperation. The best thing to do is to find fellow freelancers or small studios or one-off-job professionals whom you can outsource work to. Build a team of reliable freelancers or independent consultants and get work done. But don’t say NO to any work.

9. We tried too many things. Almost everything. The temptations are endless. If a client is satisfied with what you do, chances are that he may trust you to do more things that are not directly related to your deliverables. And the stakes of such things are high. Not because he doesn’t have anyone else to do it, but because he trusts you immensely. In times like these, it’s easy to believe that you can take on everything and do it yourself or build the expertise to do it in-house. We took what we thought was the road less travelled and that made all the difference. We were lost. At one stage we wanted to become a digital agency, a technology solutions company, an events management company, an artists management cell and lot more. But over time we realised that we can bring the best value to clients and ourselves if we stick to what we are best at. Stick to it. And find partners to do the other things. But don’t try to do everything yourself.

10. We didn’t celebrate our successes. Don’t wait for your first one lakh rupee cheque or your first million dollar project to start celebrating. Every success big or small needs to be celebrated. A happy mail from a client, an advance payment, a new client, losing a client who who was not worth it, even getting a RFQ from a big name… everything is a reason enough to celebrate. Sure, it may not be a champagne everytime but ordering in pizza on a buy-one-get-another-at-half-offer works equally fine. It not only gives you a reason to go for bigger challenges but also keeps the small lean and mean team motivated. And above all, it helps you find happiness in small things in life. Which effectively matter the most.

30 Tips to Help you become a Design Entrepreneur

Read the original piece here.

When YourStory.in asked me to write a monthly piece on design and entrepreneurship, I thought it was a perfect chance for me to reflect on my own entrepreneurial journey as a design entrepreneur. A great opportunity to walk down memory lane, bask in the glory of the unique eureka moments, assimilate the learnings from the mistakes and sit back and enjoy the rushes of every moment, good or bad, in the years gone by.

I’ve been a design entrepreneur for close to eight years now and it has been a journey with no regrets. The interesting bit is that while we’ve grown, we’ve gone down as well. I started off as a single man army from a second floor bedroom converted into a home office. After the first 12 months, I went down in life to a garage and we grew to four people. And then we went further down to a basement office and today, we’re an 18 people team.

As a design entrepreneur, I often get mails from many young design professionals asking for advice and tips on what to expect and the do’s and dont’s. So, I thought it might be a good idea to write this article based on my personal experiences and what I’ve learnt from other design entrepreneurs over the years.

Assuming that you are going on your own and will be working out of home or a small office for starters, here are 30 quick tips on what to do and what not to do when there’s no assured monthly paycheck coming in. These tips are written keeping the advertising, communications and graphic design business in mind (considering that’s what I am closest to), but barring a point or two, these work for anyone who is looking at moving out of the corporate world and being his / her own boss.

1. Get a business card in place. It’s your advertisement / television commercial / promotional leaflet / resume, all rolled into one. Don’t waste money on letterheads, envelopes and other stuff. That can come in later after you’ve made some money.

2. Invest in a good computer / laptop that also comes with reliable service. Club this with a hi-speed, reliable internet connection and you are ready to rock and roll. Honestly, as much as many people will tell you, that’s all you need to start your home / small office based design business.

3. Get an official phone / mobile phone (if you have to travel to meet clients) with a post-paid connection.

4. Don’t spend foolishly on office supplies. Fax machines, scanners, printers can wait.

5. Pick up any work, any. When you are starting off, don’t be choosy. Pick up anything closely related to your design domain and strive to do a good job of it.

6. When starting off, don’t let go off any work because the client is not paying you a lot. Atleast you have work. And that’s important.

7. Talk to friends. Design for them at a nominal cost. Ask friends, family and ex-colleagues if they have any work for you. Ask them for references. Scratch corners and you’ll find something. Every extended family has atleast one businessman / woman. Convince them that you can write their brochures / leaflets / promotional collateral or design their office, office furniture etc. Turn your friends into clients. Turn your clients into friends.

8. Your business and your needs are bigger than your ego. Always keep that in mind.

Design Entrepreneur

9. Be an independent design consultant for a bigger / more established design studio. Get work outsourced from them to you.

10. Get a domain, basic hosting and a professional email address. Coolest_dude_design_lover @ any email address . com will not impress clients.

11. For the first 12 months, concentrate only and only on building a fabulous design portfolio that blows clients away.

12. Over time, pick up one client on retainership. That eases the pressure and atleast gets some assured bread on the table every month.

13. Find a comfortable corner in your house which is ‘YOUR OFFICE’.

14. Get serious. When working out of home, the temptations are endless. The bed, the TV, the refrigerator are just 10 steps away. Put down a schedule and stick to it. And yes, enjoy the afternoon nap and the TV. These are benefits of working out of home, so avail of them.

15. Remember, everyone you meet is a potential client. Don’t be afraid of asking for business. One out of 10 proposals will work out.

16. Take a break everyday. Join a book-reading group / walking club / common-interest group. Have a friend to talk to. Sometimes the lack of professional human interaction can get to you when you’re working alone. Meet up with your clients / associates / ex-colleagues atleast once a week.

17. Network. Network. Network. Network. Network. Subscribe to common-interest groups online. Attend offline meets / networking events of your favourite groups. If your online group does not have an offline presence in your city, take the initiative to start one.

18. Work atleast 16 hours a day. Provide unmatched service. If you can solve a client’s problem at 3 in the night, he’ll swear by you. Work hard. But take out time to stop by and smell the roses.

19. Don’t under-price yourself. Don’t over-price yourself. Honest-price yourself.

20. Be professional in your dealings with clients. But remember, clients become fans if you can do something for them at a personal-professional level.

21. Invest in reference books related to your line of work. These are more important than fax machines.

22. Make a job list everyday. Understand the power of lists. And try to strike off everything in your list in a 24-hour day. Nothing beats the feeling of striking out a job done on your physical list.

23. Stick to commitments of costs and timelines, come what may.

24. If you can’t handle lots of work, pass it on to someone who has the time. But DO NOT refuse work.

25. Don’t wait for opportunities to knock. In fact, find opportunities, hold them by the neck, drag them to your door, punch them hard, push them down, pull them by the collar and make them knock till the cows come back home.

26. Exercise everyday. Jog your brain too. Take one short vacation every three months. File your returns every year.

27. When you make some money, invest in a comfortable desk with lots of drawers and a comfortable, ergonomically-designed chair. The fax machine can still wait.

28. Don’t become stagnant. Keep reinventing yourself every few months. Keep innovating. Find a better way. Work smarter but don’t take shortcuts.

29. Take risks. Calculated risks, if you may. You’d rather live your life saying, “Can you imagine I did that too” than, “I wish I had done that”. Till you’re not going to do it, you’ll never know if it’ll work or not.

30. Write your affirmations. Tell yourself you’re the best. And take one small step towards becoming that everyday.

31. Have an attitude. But not what people perceive as an attitude problem.

32. And finally, don’t lose hope when business looks difficult to come by. Give yourself atleast twelve months to allow things to work out.

33. Don’t do speculative work for clients. They have to pay for your services. For you have bills to pay.

34. Honesty and openness still matter in business.

35. Drink plenty of water.

36. This is the 36th point in an article that had to give you 30 tips. Always deliver more than you promise.

Notes to my children: 19

Dear Zoya and Veer,

Fall in love with books. A book can take you anywhere. And vice-versa.

Love
Dad

The Family Table

She wanted a table to entertain her kitty party friends. He wanted one so he could make it his home office. The kids wanted one to paint on. Finally they decided on a dining table. It was ideal. Almost as if it was maje for each other.