| Design
professionals sabotage their success and compromise
their careers by holding on to too much, for too
long.
The importance of "letting go" is the
theme of Business by Design this
month.
THIS MONTH:
+ Dump the Duds
+ Let the Old Stuff Go
+ "Let Go" List
+ Let the Old Stuff Go
The unreasonable client.
The underachieving employee.
The unprofitable product line.
Those kind of headaches suck up your time and
steal your profits.
Let 'em go.
One of the best ways to gain financial freedom
is to eliminate the obstacles to it.
Say "see ya" to the client who bellyaches
about your every bill. Bid "bye bye"
to the member of your staff with the lousy attitude.
Rid yourself of the products, and stop promoting
the design services that never sold, and never
will.
Let the Old Stuff Go
Obsolete marketing materials are more of a hindrance
than a help.
Study your stuff.
Trash the moldy, oldy photos in your portfolio.
Scrap outdated brochures. Burn those promotional
pieces dating back to 1999. Replace that tired
and uninspired voicemail message.
And look carefully at that personal promotion
photo of yours. Is that really what you look like
now ? If not, lose it. Fast.
"Let Go" List
I recently attended an outstanding presentation
by Joe Calloway, a fellow professional speaker.
He pointed out that "success means letting
go of what used to work."
Calloway distributed a "let go" list,
part of which I've adapted for use by design professionals.
Let go of...
+ your fee, and move it to where it really
should be
+ taking any job where it's not clear
what you're hired to do
+ comparing yourself to other design professionals
+ only telling your clients what they want to
hear
+ not trusting your own opinion
+ your fear of doing business on the internet
+ stepping over dollars to pick up nickels
|
