3 Simple Mantras
We’re just coming up to our first anniversary of trading. It’s been a good year so far and I am lucky to be able to take a break for a few days, get some sun and reflect. And although we’re not business gurus we’ve developed a few mantras this year to keep us going.
We want brave customers
All our customers are brave. I think that everyone over the last year has taken a chance by hiring Standard Ease because we don’t tend to work in their offices. We aren’t working under any supervision just to an agreed plan. It takes a leap of faith on the part of our customers to trust us to meet them on the other side. But with realistic expectations and planning it can and does work. We’ve just finished a large project with one of our clients to skin multiple national magazines over several months. It was on budget and on time and their forward-thinking attitude was a factor in getting it done.
Don’t lead on price
We have never tried to lead on price for anything we’ve quoted for. It’s tempting to cut a quoted price just to get work but ultimately it is going to cost someone something. Sometimes this means we decline work. There is no shame or disservice in this and we’re getting better at saying, “no thank you but thank you for thinking of us“. Remarkably, the party surprised at the true cost of a project is usually us. Our clients tend to already expect it.
Listen to the forecast
We have a simple cash flow forecast that is pinned to our notice board. We can see that date when the company goes bust and our only task is to push that date as far into the future as we can. That’s as complicated as it gets and the forecast keeps everyone sane. It tells us when to relax and when to work hard and the little forecast is king. We love it.
Reward
These 3 simple things have helped us over the last year and we’re looking forward to moving ahead. I am now going to reward myself by watching the Italian Job before the board meeting tonight.
Tags: business, clients, customers, Italian Job, mantra
