Chris's Biz Talk posts

How do you charge--and why?

Hey guys,

Yesterday I posted a long, rambling rant titled "Why I don't charge hourly--and why neither should you" on the Biznik blog (http://biznik.com/blog/2007/04/09/why-i-dont-work-hourly-and-neither-should-you/)

And today I'd like to talk about it. It seems to me that one of the biggest, baddest and most annoying parts of running your own business is figuring out how much to charge.

So how do you charge for your business (not necessarily how much, but how do you structure you fees. Do you charge a flat fee? Do you charge hourly? Do you get paid up front? Do you bill?)?

And how is your current structure working for you? Are you getting paid what you think you're worth? OR do you feel like you're slaving away like a (gasp) employee?

Are your clients happy? Or are they watching the clock and counting every penny?

And if you could change one thing about the way you charge for your services, what would it be?

Giant Party Tuesday Night

Hey folks,

My good friend Josef is having his "I've been out as a gay man for 10 years" party on Tuesday night. Should be a kicker and it's for a good cause. More below:

JOSEF KREBS is throwing a GIANT PARTY!!!

And it's not just for me! It's a benefit for the Pride Foundation's scholarship fund.

Why? To celebrate the 10th ANNIVERSARY of my coming out! That's right! 10 GAY YEARS. TO THE DAY.

Catch performances by some of Seattle's brightest stars!

SARAH RUDINOFF, local genius, singer, and actress - she'll sing! JOSHUA ROMAN, 23-year old Principal Cellist of Seattle Symphony - he'll play! CHUCK LEGGETT, local stage legend - he'll read poetry! BRET FETZER, brilliant Seattle writer, and "arts maven" - he'll read! RACHEL HYNES, actress, and rapper extraordinary - she'll rap! RICK MILLER, singer/songwriter - he'll sing and play! BEN HAUSMANN, Principal Oboe of Seattle Symphony - he'll read a sonnet!

Yes, Yes, Yes! All of this, and more!

Rumor has it that BRANDON WHITEHEAD, in all of his brilliant wittiness, will verbally vivisect Josef Krebs before your mocking, howling laughter! This whole evening will be hosted by the charming, witty, and thoroughly handsome CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE, Arts Editor for the rag everyone loves to hate, The Stranger.

WHERE? CHAC, Lower Level - down the ramp at 1621 12th Avenue. WHEN? Tuesday, January 23, 9pm - performances start promptly at 10pm. HOW MUCH? $10 - all proceeds go to the Pride Foundation's Scholarship fund!

ANYTHING ELSE? CHAC's own Matthew Kwatinetz has made a terrific gesture! He'll give 25% of your liquor purchases to the Scholarship fund too, so drink hearty!

One more thing - FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE.

The "How to work with me" guide

So I just had one of those rare but horrifying bad client experiences. It happens. You try to give them your best and well, it's just not good enough. Or what the client wants and what you provide are like apples and starships. And while my cousin Matt was known for eating his starship toys, they really aren't that similar at all.

But the whole experience got me thinking. I'm considering putting together a 2 or 3 page "How to work me" guide. The point would be to get all the big questions answered in a friendly style before work even begins and to try to give my clients the tools they need to give useful feedback and to let me create the best possible copy that will both make them money and make them happy.

Anyway, it's just a germ of an idea, but I was wondering if any of you fine Bizniks had tried something similar.

c

Top Ten Marketing Mistakes - Live and in your ears

Hey folks,

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be recording and posting the content of "The Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Made By Small Businesses and How to Avoid Them" class as a series of podcasts.

For those of you who have taken the class, are there any particular questions you'd like to have answered?

How to get internet famous

Hey folks,

A while back I put up a Biznik blog post called "Dear Indie." It was short. It was fun. It featured a picture of dear abbey. And it answered a question posed by a Biznik and had a nice long comment thread on it too.

So here's what a I want, Biznik: Questions!

Got a burning indie business question you just desperately want answered but don't know where to turn? Ask! Indie will go off into the world, find th e answer (or find someone who knows the answer) and post it right there on the Biznik blog. You'll be internet famous! Or if you'd rather, you can be anonymously internet famous! It's all up to you. It's a win, win, win situation.

You can either post your questions here or shoot them over to me personally at chris AT haddadink dot com.

Later

c

Ok, What Should I teach?

It just dawned on me that I've been so busy doing the podcast, starting up new projects and running my business that I haven't taught a Biznik event in a good long time.

So, dear Bizniks, what do you want from me? What can I share with you that you'll get the most value out of?

Some options include:

-How to write Newsletters that don't suck. -Blog Writing 102 - It's the Story, Stupid. -Value Based Selling for Freelancers (This one would be about how to get out of the hourly trap and charge based on what the project you're doing is worth.) -Domination for Freelancers (How to stand up to clients who keep walking all over you. I really want to find a pro dom to co-teach this one.)

Um.

I donno. I've got a wealth of marketing knowledge too. Like how to use Sales Letters to pump up your business, podcasting for fun and profit, cold calling tips.

Most of these would be limited to fewer folks and would have a higher point.

Get your theatre on

Hey guys,

Just a quick note that I'll be writing for 14/48, the world's quickest theatre festival this weekend. Check out the deets at http://www.1448fest.com.

It's whacky goodness. And who knows, I might fall on my face!

Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Talkback

So, Dominic Canterbury and I had a fine, fine time presenting "The Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Made By Small Business and What to do About it" last night.

For those of you who couldn't make it, we laughed, we cried, we laughed some more, we bobbed our heads to the pounding beats of the drum school upstairs (Ok, so the locale might need some changing next time) and I at least learned a lot.

So, dear attendees (and attendon'ts): What did you think of the class? Should we offer it again? Criticisms? Comments? Harsh invectives? Anything that we talked about last night that you have questions on? Anything you'd just like to chat with your fellow classmates on? This is the time. This is the place.

Two upcoming Biznik Classes Need Homes

So, I've currently got two super-duper keen Biznik Classes planned. One, which I'll be co-teaching with web muffin Daniel Talsky called "The Five Things Every BIznik Needs to Know About the Web (and a few others we just think are cool) on April 17 and a repeat of "The Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Made by Small Businesses and How to Avoid them" with Dominic Canterbury no the 24th.

The problem?

Both classes are homeless.

And finding free space to share all the stuff bursting out my head just seems to be impossible.

So does anybody know of any good places to host an event on Cap Hill?

Marketing is Making a Promise and Keeping It

Dom and I have been talking about putting on some more seminars. We'll definitely be doing a streamlined and improved version of "The Top Ten Mistakes" sometime in the next few months, but what else would you Bizniks like to see?

Some possibilities:

"How to write your small business web copy in three easy steps. (Step 1: Hire a copywriter. If you can't afford to hire a copywriter, see stepst 2 and 3.)

"Getting Deep with your Unique Selling Proposition."

"Finding your Target Market" (A small group workshop)

"What it's worth: How to stop running away from money and start realizing the true value of what you provide."

"Marketing Critique: What you've done that works. What you've done that doesn't. And how you can make your tone deaf marketing children sing"

(Man, I really do love coming up with these titles.)

And I'm sure we'll think of others. Any topics you guys want to see?

What is a Biznik?

A type of rare African Fruit? A six wheeled motorized bicycle? A heavily touring, heavily medicated Croation death metal band?

Now, I've belonged to my share of networking groups in the 2 and a half years I've been freelance. I took a dip in the chamber of commerce. I got caked in the mud that is BNI. And I dodged the explosive rain drops of a few marketing related groups you've probably never heard of.

So I've been around the networking block.

And let me tell you, Biznik is different. The people in Biznik are different.

So here's my question, folks: What sets us Bizniks apart? What do you think it is that makes a Biznik a Biznik?