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>> LYDIA PALMER: Today's webinar is entitled Forgetting to Drain the Swamp and other Lessons
of Running your Own Business. Our presenter is Doug Eymer, 1984 alumnus of the College
of Imaging Arts and Sciences. Doug was born in Bradford, PA, a former oil
boomtown and home of the iconic Zippo lighter. Upon graduation from RIT with nearly 250 dollars
in his pocket he packed his black '77 Chevy Nova, the Nun Mobile and headed east. It was
at Selame Design Associates, a nationally known, Boston corporate identity firm, that
he met Carnegie Mellon University graphic design school graduate Selene Carlo. We each
sat next to chain smokers he reminisces. And once we orchestrated the move to bring our
desks together the rest was history. During the economic downturn of the mid '80s
the duo formed Eymer Design, a traditional and new media design communications firm.
For over a decade Eymer Design brought intelligent, incisive design to the development of branding
strategies, corporate image and identity systems, sales and marketing collateral, annual reports,
packaging, interactive marketing and website development. In turn receiving international
recognition as well as many awards. Over the years Eymer Design developed a strong
working relationship with the large Boston agency, PARTNERS+simons. In early 2000 PARTNERS
realized the benefits of joining forces and acquired Eymer Design and formed Eymer DESIGN
LABORATORIES @ PARTNERS+simons. In spring of 2004 Doug left PARTNERS+simons
and started Eymer BRAND Laboratories+Think Tank. These days Doug can be found working
on a variety of creatively motivated projects for a smattering of fun and interesting clients.
He resides I am sorry in the Massachusetts coastal town of Cohasset with Selene, two
teenage sons and his canine personal assistant Olivetti. Doug is past president and former
board member of the Creative Club of Boston. He frequently lectures on branding and the
design profession. He currently sits on the board of the Cohasset Library Trust, Scituate/Cohasset
Youth Football League and Massachusetts Cultural Council. He was also a founding board member
of the Cohasset Education Foundation. And now we will turn it over to Doug. Go ahead.
>> DOUG EYMER: Good morning, everyone. Can everyone hear me? Mission control, can you
hear me? >> LYDIA PALMER: You are on, Doug.
>> DOUG EYMER: Forgetting to join the swamp, that comes from a business card. Growing up
I worked for a private country club for the golf pro. And over the doorway to the back
room Bud Jenkins hung this little business card that said "When you are up to your neck
in alligators, it is easy to forget the financial objective is to drain the swamp." And I think
about this all the time and it usually comes after breaking my back on a project, spending
many, many hours, a lot of sleepless nights, I get the project done and the first thing
I think about is what am I going to do now, what about new business. And this always pops
in to my head. That's why I selected that as a title for my presentation.
I thought that I would, first of all, sort of give you sort of a quick timeline of where
things progressed. In this graphic in the bottom left hand corner is me in 1984 at RIT.
I think we were up around Lake Ontario and this is my friend Kent. I showed this to my
boys and they looked at it and their reaction is like oh, my God, Dad, that was you. So
I graduated in 1984. Like Lydia said I moved to Boston. Worked for Selame Design Associates
for a year. And I have to mention I had a great education at RIT. They gave me all the
skills that I needed. I had a great portfolio thanks to Roger Remington and the rest of
the great teachers at RIT. But also while I was at RIT I took a class in mechanical
design or actually building mechanicals. Because at the time we didn't have computers and I
know it seems like a long time. But mechanical artwork is what you had to put together to
send to printers. And when I was in Selame Design and I was going through my interview
and presenting everything I could tell they were impressed with my portfolio, but it was
when I showed that I could do mechanicals they realized that I could start the next
day. And that's basically what happened. I went
from like a one week trial period to a two week trial period and finally I was hired.
From there I went to McCormick & Dodge which was a corporation. It was a great place. We
I worked with creative groups, with other designers and writers and we did all their
brochures but also did a lot of the presentations. Helped put together corporate beer parties
and things like that. It was really great. But I soon realized that it maybe was too
much of a country club and I had the opportunity to leave with sort of a band of misfits and
went to a company that was a Hi Tech PR firm and it was a group that left McCormick & Dodge
and founded this. And this was back in 1987. And at the time we were working for a lot
of startup companies. Selene at this time, Lydia mentioned Selene. We had met at Selame
Design and we kind of went separate ways I mean as far as business goes. We were spending
24 hours a day with each other and we decided we should see if we like each other if we
went in sort of separate directions. Selene was working at Bose Corporation. And to make
a long story short in 1989 we both found ourselves out of work and things were pretty tight.
And we decided to set up our own business. And the day after I left McGlinche & Paul
and we went to a business at a real estate company that had also a daycare and ended
up working on a deal for them where we traded office days for work and that's when Eymer
Design was born. We first named the company Benchwork. We wanted something that was a
little more waspy, but we realized the benefit of naming the firm after ourselves so that
when people met with us they were meeting with the big cheesies.
To the right you see Selene and I in our space. We ended up moving to this great warehouse
space on the waterfront in Boston. It has become kind of cheesy now but at the time
it was very industrial and this was our office. And then in the year 2000 you can see sort
of the gang we had together including at the time our dog, Badoni. In 2000 we got this
offer that we couldn't resist and I moved. Selene sort of went off. We had two kids at
the time and that became her full time job. We still have two kids I should mention, too.
But I went to work for a company with 60 people and I became one of the three upper management
people in addition to doing a lot of as much creative work as I could fit in to my day.
But I soon realized that I was being asked to make decisions on dress code and a lot
of human resources and I felt like I was being pulled further and further away from the creative
product. And I decided it was time to leave and start my own business again. In 2004 and
up until this minute I have been in charge of Eymer BRAND Laboratories+Think Tank. We
have a virtual agency and it is me in control. And I have a network of senior people that
with gray hair like me that I can bring in to work on specific projects.
So that's sort of a rundown of where I am and how I got here.
Once again I want to mention I feel like I came in to this career at a good time because
I learned old ways to do things. We had wax we had to wax gallies down to mechanicals,
everything like that. But also I was young enough so that I was able to make the transition
to the computer. In 1987 as my slide says some MAC entered the creative studio and it
really shook things up. The second big event was the World Wide Web catching fire in 1991.
In my mind I had this picture of, you know, old designers just, you know, as dinosaurs
sort of dropping off a cliff because some people refused to embrace it and waited for
things to change. But they were never able to catch up with what was going on.
So what's the big deal? In with these huge changes, methodologies, methodology developed
over hundreds of years were no longer relevant. What I mean by this is there was the printing
press and Gutenberg and hundreds and hundreds of years and processes were put in place.
When you went to work for a company you learned these processes step by step by step. With
the introduction of the computer and then later on the web, new rules were introduced
but they were introduced on an almost daily basis.
So, you know, we were flying by the seat of our pants and things were changing very, very
quickly as they still are today in a way. One of the biggest things was hand work was
transformed to untested technology and while everything was in motion. I mean we were trying
to figure out, we knew the computer was useful, but we had to figure out how it really fit
in to electronic prepress and so forth. And printers had to learn what we were learning
and, you know, we were getting calls from printers saying hey, we got your document.
We got your files. But you have a later version of the software than we have. Could you please
send us over all the disks for that. And in turn everything got really tightly
compressed. I mean up until this point I was able to mark up a document from a writer,
give it to a typesetter who would set the type overnight and I could go home for the
evening. And I would often get a call at 1 or 2 in the morning from the typesetter saying
hey, I can't read your handwriting here. What did you mean by this. But for the most part
I was able to pass the job on to somebody else. Well, as things progressed this was
no longer really the way things could happen anymore.
So to continue on with to continue on with what's the big deal, as I mentioned before
I refer to them as dinosaurs but experienced professionals were forced to adapt to a totally
new mindset and these were people who had been in the base for 10, 20, maybe 30 years
and suddenly their whole world was rocked. And they were really given a choice do I continue
doing this, do I fight it or do I go and do something else. And, you know, a lot of people
went and did something else. There was a consolidation of specific roles
which placed more responsibility on the designer. When I first got in to Selame Design I was
shooting mechanical artwork and I was making chromatic, a lot of hands on work. There was
a piece of the process that I was handling. With the introduction of the computers the
processes sort of joined together. And it became more and more responsibilities were
piled on a designer, especially with the web technologists became more and more present
within design firms. And de technologists like engineers have a totally different mindset
than designers and marketers. So there was sort of a power struggle happening. The technologists
knew how to code. They knew HTML and so forth. And so we as designers who wanted to design
the web the way we wanted to were feeling like we were constantly budding heads and
that sort of calmed down over the years. So let me go on. One of the problems we have
always had to deal with and I love Apple computer but sometimes I feel like they are sort of
Hi Tech marketing promised instant gratification to eager clients. The same messaging convinced
businesses that they could bypass creative professionals in favor of doing it themselves
through desktop publishing. And, of course, the first quality the first victim of this
was quality. So basically what was happening as we are going on TV, as we are going in
magazines to the business community saying hey, look, look at this computer, look what
you can do with it, and, you know, in a way it would be sort of shutting the designer
out of it. We no longer had the control that we once had.
And, of course, the first victim was quality. We were no longer we no longer had the professionals
that were trained to set type, the craftsman. I mean it was now that responsibility was
being transferred to the designers. So the designers could do a fairly good job but they
didn't have that trained skill that the typesettographers had. Sort of one of my Uber Themes of this
whole session is as a creative professional you have to continue to evolve. Things are
not slowing down at all. So evolve or perish or find a job doing something else doing something
totally different. The first thing I wanted to say or the first sort of real part of my
presentation is making you and your business relevant and sustainable.
And I am thinking in terms of like a 30 to 50 year career run. Here are four creative
geniuses, Socrates, Tesla, Van Gogh, Melville. They all died penniless basically.
The thing you have to remember as a designer is that creativity in business is not about
you. Clients are not paying you for your self expression. That's a what fine art is. They
are paying for you to relieve their pain or basically to help them make money. If you
do this successfully, you will be well compensated. So you may be the world's next creative genius.
But from a business standpoint people must embrace your brand. And what I mean by this
is there are many times when I would prefer to go to a meeting with a law firm being dressed
like I am now, in my jeans and sneakers and sweatshirt, but there are many times when
as much as I have to fight it I realize that I have to put on a shirt and a tie. I have
to wear a suit. I have to wear polished shoes. Not because that's who I am but because it
removed the roadblock so that these people will have an easier time accepting me. And
they can concentrate on the material that I am presenting. So I say excessive self expression
may inadvertently prolong your work search. Weird is an extremely difficult sell. It may
work in a studio but it doesn't always work in the real world.
And I have to say as contemporary as I try to be a pierced nose is distracting and business
inappropriate. I have looked at the portfolios of some very, very talented graphic designers,
but when I see a ring in someone's nose I totally it totally, my focus goes to that
and I am totally losing what's being presented. So I know that sounds like I am really old.
Relevance and sustainability, and this is like basically a survival tactic. From the
moment you walk in the door prove that you can make yourself useful immediately. And
that's like I was saying, when I went to Selame Design I had a great portfolio. I was prepared
as a senior designer, but they weren't looking for senior designers that week or some time
after that. They were looking for someone to fill that role. Even if you are going in
to a company and you end up being the receptionist, least you have to get your foot in the door
and like I said prove that you can handle even the most basic situations.
For as long as possible place the needs of the organization above your own professional
desires. It is not about you. It is about the organization. And eventually you will
either be rewarded for your effort or it will be time for you to move on.
I think one thing that's really important especially with this type of career is always
keep your eyes open to the next opportunity. Things change a lot. We can no longer rely
on the 30 year corporate career where you retire and you get a gold watch and, you know,
handshakes from everybody. You I mean especially with creative, as I say here every creative
job has an expiration date. Change is inevitable. Even the best campaign gets hired after awhile
and as much as you try to come up with new ideas it is just best for the organization. And
never burn a bridge. When I first came to Boston in 1984 I kept a notebook of everyone
that I met with and from there it has branched off in to a tree and it is amazing. Even today
I can go back to people and talk to them, especially when things are slow. And, you
know, by just keeping conversation going and not making enemies, who knows, every once
in awhile at least do a new job just when you need it.
One thing that everyone needs to understand as a creative professional is that you need
to know at some point during your professional career and either through desire or necessity
you will have the opportunity to strike out on your own really you want to or whether
you don't. Selene and I, we had talked about opening a business but in 1989 we knew that
we had to do something. And we just picked up our portfolios and made it happen.
The next one, and I have to say it in the right way, you my friend have a gift. As a
creative person you have been given a wonderful gift. But there are many times when I think
people don't really give it the seriousness that it should. They think in terms of what
you do is something that they did in art class. It wasn't serious mathematics. It wasn't finance.
It wasn't science. And they sort of discount it a little bit.
But you are professionals. You have a gift. This is something that not everyone has. Just
make sure that you are fairly compensated for your work. And, you know, when it comes
to so many times you hear well, why don't you do this for me and if we like it we will
pay you. Basically spec work. Surgeons are never asked to perform operations on spec.
So make sure you don't. Now there are times and I work for a lot of volunteer organizations
and instead of writing a check I usually volunteer my time to help with their marketing, but
sort of the slogan I come up with is free work begets more free work. This is something
you have to be very careful with. Even until the last few years I have gone in to like
volunteer projects thinking that wow, I am going to give these people really great work
pro bono and someone is going to say wow, I like what this guy can do and hire me for
a paying job. Well, as good as it sounds and it does make a lot of sense, usually what
it gets you is more free work. What I am saying here even if you are doing
work on a pro bono basis and even if it is the best organization in the world, make sure
you put a value on. You don't have to write an invoice but give them paperwork that shows
how much your work is worth and if they were paying for it, how much they would have to
pay. >> LYDIA PALMER: Let me interject here one
minute. We did have a comment from David Austin with regard to that and he says that once
a client sees your work, once he sees your work it is gone.
>> DOUG EYMER: What is that again? I am sorry. >> LYDIA PALMER: He says that once a client
sees your work, the work is gone. Because they have seen your I'm assuming and, David,
tell me if we are wrong, I'm assuming they have seen the result of your creative process
and they have seen your idea and your creative perspective on approaching the situation and
at that point you can't claim it is yours anymore. Does that make sense to you? Does
that sound like your experience? >> DOUG EYMER: I think I could see that sometimes.
I mean it really depends on how ruthless the client is. But I can see that from a spec
standpoint, yeah. I mean people steal ideas all the time unfortunately.
I think that's what David's point is. Make sure you get paid for your ideas?
>> LYDIA PALMER: That may be right. He is essentially saying that what I think what
you are you said about people having a gift, that they are paying for your creativity and
your mindset in approaching a problem. It is not that they are just paying for the end
artwork for an ad or the final files for a website. They are paying for all that creative
work that goes in to producing that and clients don't always see it that way.
>> DOUG EYMER: That's correct. That's a really good point. Yep and that's why that's why
I think it is also important or I can get in to it later, is that to really explain
what your process is so that they understand all the ingredients that go in to the finished
product. But that's a really good point. But the next thing I wanted to talk about
was employees. And I was going to say the hardest decision in any business is knowing
when the right time is to hire the first employee. And, you know, I have to be honest, you really
have to be careful and drag it out as long as you can, do as much as you can, but then
there comes a point where it just doesn't make sense to keep doing what you are doing
and you really need help. This is a very transient business. And, you
know, I always looked at an employee having a shelf life of about two years. And, you
know, you can't really anticipate any more than that. If you do and they are great employees,
you are very lucky. But as a creative business owner you have to be prepared for a lot of
change. The fact is the way you transform your business
is to hire your first employee. From a creative person standpoint to me that means you will
instantly be promoted. You have gone from being hands on to suddenly upper management.
You have taken on more responsibility. And this is something that you need to be comfortable
with because you will be giving up a lot of not a lot. But you will be giving up a portion
of your creative freedom. >> LYDIA PALMER: Doug? We have a question
from Dena Gunderson. She asks how do you decide if you want to grow. And when you make that
decision how do you decide between hiring a regular employee versus hiring recurring
freelancers. >> DOUG EYMER: Well, that's a good the first
thing is unfortunately learning because of a lot of the tax regulations and so forth,
you know, from an IRS standpoint I mean we all as business owners we love to hire freelancers
as much as we can because you are only paying them for basically the time they are working
on it. The IRS has limitations on that. But at some point, you know, you do need to make
the commitment. So and there are a lot of restrictions on that, how many hours they
spend on the premises, whether or not they provide their own tools and that sort of thing.
So I guess the quick and easy answer is, you know, keep people as long as you can as freelancers.
Because that's and then if you really like them and, you know, I think it also depends
on the economic climate. In the year 2000 with the whole .com bubble it was incredibly
difficult to sign people. I mean we were looking all over for a senior level designer and portfolios
were really, really hard to come by. And so we were at that time we, you know,
sort of to stabilize things we were looking to hire employees. But, you know, that changes
from time to time. >> LYDIA PALMER: Doug, Dena asked back again
her question is regarding project management and she says it is hard to find project managers
on a freelance basis. And that it is a pretty big area and she is wondering if there is
a way to find the right person to do that. And then we also had a reference from David
Austin who said that he found some information on this in a book that he wished he read right
out of school called the E myth. Dena is asking about more of a project management basis and
when do you when do you feel like you need to hire a person who would do that or do you
hire someone to do maybe the creative tasks and see if they have a project management
shop. >> DOUG EYMER: Yes, it is hard to find the
right person, but if you can find a creative person, a designer who was also who understands
business and understands the process and put that together, that's extremely important.
I mean once you bring a project manager in to a business and they are very, very important,
there are oftentimes when their work has slowed down. If you can find someone who is equally
gifted, *** them up right away. >> LYDIA PALMER: Dena says something that
I think we have all experienced, she says what she really needs is another me.
>> DOUG EYMER: Oh, totally, yes. And that's really, really hard and you know that goes
back to my slide before saying, you know, when you bring in a person you have to there
is a part of you that you have to give up. You have certain qualities and standards and
you have to realize that no matter how good the person is and it is still not you and
you have to accept that. Anybody else?
>> LYDIA PALMER: Nope. Yep, we are on to Mr. Oglivi.
>> DOUG EYMER: Yes, one of the original madmen. I always like the saying if each of us hire
people who are smaller than we are we shall become a company of dwarfs, but if each of
us hires people who are bigger than we are we shall become a company of giants. I mean
we have a tendency to want to be more powerful or have more strength, but always try to hire
someone who is more talented than you are because, you know, that means growth. You
move forward. If you do the latter, if you hire people less than you, obviously things
start to fall apart. Employees, treat your own employees like close
family friends. Hang on to the good ones as long as you can.
Pretty simple. As far as paperwork, I think this goes back to the project management and,
you know, this is especially true as a designer in today's world where you need to really
wear a couple of different hats. Like, for example, when I get a job in now, even before
I provide an estimate, I give it a job number. And it is pretty simple. It is like if I am
doing work for, I don't know, Acme Electric, it is AE and 4101 and that helps me get organized.
I have a project website and it gets entered and it goes on the estimate and it follows
it through all the way to the invoicing. For every project I develop a proposal and it
is usually step by step and sometimes it is a pain and I hate to do it. But going back
once again to it I think it was David who mentioned, you know, about work and putting
a value on it. This shows people all the different steps that go in to a project that I am going
to do four to six concepts. I am going to meet with you. It is going to limit down to
two concepts and we are going to go through levels of refinement and so forth. It really
puts it step by step so it allows them in their heads to say wow, this must take up
X amount of hours and it is not like, you know, I am bringing a genie out of a lamp.
Always require initial payment, especially before starting the work. And continue billing
as the work progresses. One thing I learned, I used to do a third up front and a third
at the beginning and a third in the middle of the project and a third at the end. I changed
and on quite a few projects especially for web projects because they were dragging on
for so long and there were times when money wasn't coming in and there wasn't cash flow,
which brings me to my next slide which is cash is still king. But poor cash flow is
a killer. And this is whereas a creative professional and a lot of times this kind of goes against
who we are or goes against the whole creative thing, but you really, really need to pay
attention to finance. You need to keep in touch with your bank account. You need to
know how much is there. You need to know how much is coming in and you need to know how
much you need every month just to sustain yourself and also count on the slow months.
I know in New England the fall is very busy. Winters stay pretty busy, but then in summertime
it really, really slows down just because the weather is so nice and everyone likes
to go outside. Technology, you have to keep an eye on technology.
You have to constantly look for ways to add efficiencies to your processes. And like I
say here, not to be confused with cutting corners. It is just working smarter. So basically
if you can with really, really tight budgets the way they are if you can spend the majority
of the time what you like to do best and are talented and that's coming up with a creative
product, if you can find ways to shorten time frames on proposals and sort of day to day
activities like that, by all means take advantage of it and constantly look for them.
Be technically savvy and know that most computers crash during critical project steps. Usually
around midnight. Printers and projectors they wait until immediately before a major presentation.
So with that in mind when a presentation involves a projector always bring an extra bulb and
an extra set of copies. It is Murphy's law every time.
And the next part of my presentation is building a career life raft, surviving the ever changing
tides of business. Embrace change with a passion. This is not a guideline. It is a rule. It
means if you can't deal with the change, then, you know, there is maybe something else you
should be doing. But things are changing. I mean within the last few years we have been
still dealing with the whole social media and we are as cool as it is and everything.
We are also trying to find ways to make money from it.
One of the things that I learned very early on and this is when we first started our business,
you need to build a team of trusted advisors. And what I mean by this is these are not employees.
These are, you know there is Craig Saratanoi is my benefits planner who I knew as soon
as we set up our business but through him we set up a health care, a life insurance
policy which basically became our retirement fund, disability insurance and things like
that. He was my go to go guy for that and actually there was a pretty good network.
He introduced this to our accountant. Our accountant introduced this to our bookkeeper.
We found a computer guru who is great, who, you know, I try to do as much of my own technical
support as I can, but there are times when I just can't figure out how to make things
work and that's where I have my friend Steve who I can call up and he can help me through
any problem. Also if you have an actual office, having
a plumber, electrician, a carpenter on standby is a really good thing. And if you can find
a great salesperson and me, project managers are great. But a salesperson is key and if
you can find a good one treat them like gold. You know, once again we are creative people.
We love creativity but, you know, it is really important to be able to think from both sides
of your brain. You know, be creative, come up with great ideas. But also you are a business
person. Even as a freelancer or even as an employee you are a business person and you
need to treat things in a business like manner. It is often hard. But it really pays off.
One other thing I wanted to say, be aware of the dangling carrot and this kind of goes
along with probably like the spec work idea, but there are so many times when I go in to
a situation and I am working on a project and it is maybe not going smoothly or it is
not like the client anticipated, but, you know, you always hear well, think of all the
other work there is out there. You get through this and we are going to give you plenty more.
Or if you cut your budget down to this amount, and we make it through, think about all the
other work. Well, just be aware of that. Focus on the work at hand and then use that as a
next step. The next point is with experience you learn
to trust your gut. Because it is usually right. If you meet a client and they walk like a
duck and they talk like a duck, you know, then they are not a chicken. You have got
to learn to trust that. If things don't sound right, either call and ask the question but
don't assume anything. And then despite what you see on Madmen it is really important to
eat properly and exercise regularly and sleep well. Sleep deprivation is something that,
you know, we think that as designers it is part of the career. But it is really important
to get a good night's sleep and just keep in mind that most of the original Madmen are
dead. Finally at the end of the day make sure you
are doing what makes you and your family happy. And just think how lucky you are creating
things for a living. It is so cool. I live in a town of financial planners and all they
do is move money around all day. Most of them are driving fancy cars and everything, but
I can't imagine myself doing that. I love to work on a project and make things and I
love to see the smile on the face of the happy client.
Most of all have fun. And this is my contact information. I would love to hear from anybody.
And, you know, please feel free to reach out and talk to me and let's stay in touch.
>> LYDIA PALMER: Thanks so much, Doug. We are going to open up to see if anyone else
has any questions. This is a great presentation on some of the perils and benefits of running
a creative business. It is a little different than some of the other types of hard product
businesses. Dena commented saying I am lucky and blessed to be in a situation where I can
ask the question, how do I say no? I know how to turn down new clients but saying no
to existing and recurring clients is I am sorry, it just shifted is harder.
I am sorry, go up please. So but saying no to existing and recurrent ones is very hard.
So the question would be how do you choose when you have existing clients and you have
a situation where you really just need to say no, I can't do that.
>> DOUG EYMER: Yeah. That's hard. I mean hopefully you can establish a relationship with a client
where they understand that. You know, you have that personal one on one. I think it
depends on the reason why you can't, you know, what the reasons why you can't handle it,
is it beyond your, you know, your knowledge base. I mean one thing that, you know, I have
done from time to time when I have come in to a situation like that is I have introduced
somebody that I know as an expert who can come in, I mean I make sure that this reference
is someone who treats business the way I treat business but, you know, have them come in
and introduce them as a partner so they can help out. And, you know, with the understanding
with that particular person that really this client is yours and you are doing them a favor
and, you know, they shouldn't steal them from you.
>> LYDIA PALMER: And Paulina had a comment for you. Thanks for sharing what you have
learned in your business. Some really good points even for the ones that have been doing
this for awhile. >> DOUG EYMER: Oh, thank you.
>> LYDIA PALMER: And we have a question from David Austin. Any thoughts on establishing
your value? How do you figure out a good rate? >> DOUG EYMER: Oh, that's that's a tough one.
And the worst question and you hear this all the time from people shopping is, you know,
what is your hourly rate. And I hate hourly rate. I mean you sort of after awhile you
sort of learn what the market will bear and sometimes you have to throw some things out
there. Sometimes I feel like I come in too low. But if you have to figure clever ways
of throwing numbers out, and then being able to make revisions afterwards. For example,
if you are too high. You can never go up on an estimate. But, you know, and maybe it is
a matter of, you know, for example, if I go in if a client comes back to me and says you
know what, you are $1,000 over what I have in my budget. I always build in trap doors
in my proposal. Instead of showing four to six initial layouts I will do three to four,
something like that. Behind the scenes I am probably doing the same amount of work but
to them they can see that something is being taken away and they can understand it. And
I can still get the job. >> LYDIA PALMER: There is a question regarding
something that is going on at RIT right now. There is a fund in the Imaging Arts and Sciences
College called the Blacksburg loan fund. It was established by an alumnus and it offsets
the cost for the students in the creative areas of study, photographers, designers,
new media people to help pay for taking actual business classes in the business college at
RIT. Is that something that you think is worthwhile for creative people to do to actually pursue
some kind of formal business training? >> DOUG EYMER: Yeah, I really do. You know,
it doesn't have to be real elaborate. It should be hands on, get a good idea of what spreadsheets,
how to build spreadsheets, some accounting work and that sort of thing. I know when I
was in school I took a night class from Bob Kerr who was one of the deans and he offered
a class in running a business. And that was extremely valuable.
>> LYDIA PALMER: We have another question from Paulina. What if there is a client with
a very small budget in retail but that you know could have great potential? If you have
a gut feeling that starting small may lead to something bigger down the road, do you
take that? >> DOUG EYMER: You just have to make sure
that they realize if they have a low budget, you have to realize from you have to make
them realize from the very beginning that you are giving them a highly discounted rate
and that as much as you want to work on the job, it is not going to be possible for you
to, you know, continually do this. Once you go in low, then it is hard to raise the bar
again. But if you go in there and say look, you know, this is a special, you know for
a limited time I can do it for this. But, you know, I am going to have to charge you
more later. Or you are going to have to go to my regular fee.
>> LYDIA PALMER: And we have one last question we are going to take from I am sorry, can
you put that back up there? From Tetano Torres. Sorry. Says very good presentation and the
information is very useful. How do you treat your employees like family while still keeping
that distinction that they are here to work and need to produce? Or is that not something
that you feel is something that you really have to worry about?
>> DOUG EYMER: No. I think that's a really good question. And, you know, it is hard because
I mean I think the it sounds kind of goofy, first and foremost is openness and honesty
and making sure that you are honest with them and they are honest with you as far as what
their goals are. And I think if you also establish the fact that, you know, what we are talking
about is your professional career, that we can still person to person we can still be
friends. I mean we got to a point where at Eymer Design and this was in the year 2000
or so where we all ate lunch together. Everyone went out and got their lunch and we all sat
together. And it wasn't mandatory or anything. But it just became like a really tight group.
I compare it a lot of times to a team, baseball team, the Yankees, the Red Sox. You can tell
when they are putting that type of product on the field. And it happens. It can change
quickly. But when it does happen, you just, you know it is a wonderful thing.
>> LYDIA PALMER: And we have David Austin just again recommending, he mentioned this
earlier that there is a great book called the E myth which is the entrepreneurial myth
that he says covers some of these questions. And I am not sure how a guy from Cohasset
listed the Yankees before the Red Sox. We thank everyone for joining today. That's
all the time that we have right now. Additional questions can be e mailed to ritalum@rit.edu
or Tweeted to @RIT_Alumni with the hashtag #meRITwebinars. And we will direct your questions
to Doug. Note that all the participants today will receive an e mail from us in the next
few days to a link to today's webinar recording. Many thanks to Doug for being our distinguished
speaker today and thank you to all RIT alumni for joining us for today's webinar. We thank
you for taking time out of your busy workday to be with us.
By popular demand meRIT webinars are now presented twice a month. Join us for our next installment
in the spring 2014 series on Tuesday, April 1st. That is just next Tuesday. When Steven
Galbraith, the curator of the Melbert B. Carey Jr. Graphic Arts Collection at RIT will present
Treasures from RIT's Carey Collection.