Blink and you may miss it.
Here’s a business tip I learnt the hard way:
If you get a gig, job, order, project, piece of work or commission, do it NOW.
If you don’t, it may not be there tomorrow.
For several reasons.
Unkind Cut
A large IT firm gave me 100 recruitment ads to critique.
I toiled for much of Easter, getting 50 done.
Then I rewarded myself with a couple of days off.
When my client returned to work, he found his budget slashed by overseas corporate masters.
He was forced to cancel the project.
He paid me for what I’d done, which was half of what I could’ve done, had I pressed on.
As this happened when I was just starting out, I felt the revenue loss keenly.
Mind Altering
I was asked to source radio jingles for an automotive firm.
I offered the job to Adam, who quoted $3000.
The client approved the quote and Adam pulled several all-nighters to write, perform and record some rippers in double-quick time.
But before I could send them to the client, she abruptly changed her mind and tried to cancel the project.
Fortunately, I still had her email approval, so we had her cold.
Had Adam waited a few days, he’d have missed out on a lucrative gig.
Off Balance
Of course, this hot-iron-striking advice flies in the face of all our warm fuzzies about taking care of ourselves in business.
We’ve had wonderful suggestions about negotiating realistic deadlines, operating within our limits, maintaining work-life balance and so on.
But as GFC II threatens, I wonder if we can afford to dawdle on such shifting sands.
Vexed issues are best handled by the fine minds that inhabit this space.
And so I put it to you.
Your View
When you get a piece of business, do you:
a) Luxuriate in the prospect and do it as, and when, you see fit.
b) Seize it as if it were your last meal on earth and devour it on the spot.
c) Attend to it fairly smartly, but without unseemly haste.
d) Handle it some other way (please describe).
?
The clock’s ticking.
Let’s get to work!
…
No?
…
How about later?
…
…
Never mind.
Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire
