For the last three months I have been on the hunt for any news, any indication of how the global economic situation will impact this industry. Everyone I talked to was doing the same and had the same conclusion: anyone involved in the Internet development game is going to be okay. If anything, many suggested, we'll be busier than ever before as competitors and middleman collapse under the weight of their overhead and unwillingness to add in-house Internet expertise. Everything I have read about previous economic down turns suggests that these revelations appear to be historically accurate. Furthermore, we've seen a lot of good news lately: the ongoing hubbub about the sharp increase of Internet users, the inevitable online transition being made by several paper-based institutions to online mediums, and Obama's determination to move America from the fifteenth most online nation to somewhere near number one.
With big stories like that, it's hard not to get excited about what the future holds.
And then I started to receive news of friends and colleagues who were laid off in the days leading up to Christmas and the new year. It wasn't their fault, they were simply collateral damage from an upper management campaign to save the company (or their own salary, benefits, and bonus—hard to tell these days). It's one thing to lose your job because you weren't meeting the exceptions of your employers. It's another to come to work and find out that your position was considered expendable to day-to-day operations and overall success of the company you've worked so hard for.
Though I can not say this from personal experience (knock on wood), nothing is worse than being let go due to circumstances way, way beyond your control.
During Christmas season travel it occurred to me that the larger problems we, as an industry, have to work around right now are not all financial. More of our friends and colleagues may lose their jobs in the coming months, and it's our shared responsibility to help them whenever possible. In this new year, it is simply not going to be enough to just meet your bottom line, but to help others who may not be in a position to be so entrepreneurial or carefree.
To those who own their own business: I challenge you to push harder. If you need $50k to keep your family under house and home then do everything you can to bring in $150k. Chances are you won't make the larger goal, but you'll do far better than selling yourself short and it's likely that you'll need extra resources to finish all the work, help from people who are looking to supplement lost income. I'm not talking about going through the process and stress of actually hiring more people (there is a good reason why the IRS created the 1099 form). Don't turn away any work that comes through your door. Get it. Grab it. Take it—as much as you can— and network with the people who are ready and willing and have the skills you need. Team up, and conquer.
To the designers and developers, the employees and the freelancers, your challenge is to do your best to get work done in a speedy way that does not sacrifice quality. Time really is money, be smart about your efforts and spend it wisely. Don't leave anything to chance or undone in a way that will cause further stress and anxiety for your employer as they are likely already significant pressure to keep the work coming through the door. Working smarter will not only make business more successful but ensure that clients are impressed, thankful, and very willing to sing your praises to everyone they know. Good teamwork means never letting anyone on the team fail. If you work by those mantras then nothing should ever get in your way to being very, very successful.
To the persons who support the entire team, make sure everyone (clients, management, workers, everyone) is communicating always. Poor communication causes anxiety which leads to uncertainty and eventually a breakdown in trust. It's likely that you are on the frontline between an awkward alliance of those with money and those who need money—an amalgam of personalities who are trying to get work done on time, on budget without sacrificing quality and ingenuity. The best way to win the day is to ensure that everyone is speaking clearly and openly. Leave no phone call or email unanswered, no meeting or appointment unattended. Remember that the level of customer service is always remember by those who pay the bill.
To the vendors who support us all, don't leave your customers and, ultimately, their clients waiting. Respond to sales calls and support tickets with gusto. Our symbiotic relationship requires a certain sense of urgency. One day waiting for a response is a production day lost forever. Just as important, be frank and let us know how we can improve our relationship and business practices. Too often the picture is clear from your viewpoint while we're sitting inside the box.
Let's not go into this next year with blind enthusiasm or crushing anxiety, but with a great sense of kinsmanship and and eager promise. Let us all work together to do what we can to grow our network into a future titan of industry. One that contributes to the community and the economy, global and local.
Good luck to all of us in this coming year. If you have any questions or concerns, or you're looking for good people to do great work let me know. I'll do what I can to help out.
Join the fray by reading through and commenting at the end.
Thanks for putting into words what I've been thinking about for the last few months, Greg. This is all spot-on advice to anyone and everyone in our industry.
When I was laid off back in May, I told myself that it was time to go into business for myself. No more employers. To those who were concerned about me maintaining some semblance of a steady income, my reply was, "look - there aren't that many jobs out there, but there's plenty of work." So far, so good.
Much of that work has come my way via collaborations with other designers, developers, and agencies who have wanted or needed my expertise, and in turn I have been farming out some work to fellow designers/developers in an effort to (a) keep up the pace, and (b) do a brother-in-arms a favor.
And to everyone in this game, I say "hang in there -- it'll get better."
Great stuff Greg. Well written indeed. I for one am eager to see new collaborations of talented folk working on new ideas that continue to make this field of work nothing short of exciting.
Well done.
Well put Greg. Hard work and healthy dose of cautious optimism is what I'm taking into this year.
Well put. And also, I'm in.
Well said. I can't say I'm not worried, but there is work out there and we're trying hard to sort out how to work through this stuff and come out on the good foot. Like Tom says, cautious optimism and more importantly HARD WORK is what will do it, if anything.
My company had a rough 2008 and while it wasn't a bang up success, we did make it through. I'd be lying if I said there aren't days I wanted to hang up the towel. But, I'm not giving up yet. This kind of advice, assuming people heed it, is very helpful
Oh, and can I give some advice to our clients? Please, please, please pay on time! More than anything else, the impact on our cash flow of late payments worries me the most. Especially now that the banks are putting small businesses like ours on lock down.
Best of luck Greg! Thanks for taking the time to write this up.
So say we all.
Won. Der. Ful. Article.
I think I had the same thoughts about our industry until I too heard probably similar stories by those being let go from their dedicated jobs. As they say, it is hard to tell, I'm sure, whether the reasons used are performance-related or economy-related. A story on NPR asked that same question a few weeks ago.
Here's to "Work(ing) Hard & Be(ing) Nice to People".
When will our industry truly grab shoulders and start uniting smart and strong?
Good post Greg. Of nearly all the web industry related layoffs in at least the Seattle area, I can say that no one of them was directly related to current financial impact.. rather, they were preemptive measures to ensure the things that you mentioned (management salaries, continue to show a profit, appear to investors that your taking measures to ensure success).. regardless if these measures were actually called for.
Keith already posted about our current situation as a smaller business. I, personally, am looking forward to work tomorrow and the beginning of Q1 for all intents and purposes... not to mention January 20th (not that Rome can be rebuilt in one day).
I've done some similar research, bugging other freelancers about what they're running into and almost everybody seems to be quite busy. That's definitely a good sign.
Here's to 2009!
Well said. And I've got to second Keith's mention regarding cash-flow concerns. As a one-man shop, that's the single biggest concern I've got re: the coming year, and the one thing I've already started to see becoming an issue for some clients.
Here's fingers crossed for a strong year and the chance to help out fellow designers/developers/etc.
Thanks Greg, you've summarized and put into words what I (and I guess plenty of others) have been mulling over during the Christmas break.
Certainly won't be too fussy with the jobs I take on in 2009.
"To the designers and developers, the employees and the freelancers, your challenge is to do your best to get work done in a speedy way that does not sacrifice quality. Time really is money, be smart about your efforts and spend it wisely."
It's interesting that you published this the same day Michael Bierut (at Design Observer) published his essay "Designing Through the Recession." From his post:
"...while working at full speed is great for profit margins, it's not so good for quality control. A design solution almost always benefits from a second, third or fourth look. Take advantage of the slower pace of a recession by remembering what it was like in design school to spend a full semester on a single project. What seemed then like torture may now feel like a luxury, and your work will benefit."
Obviously I can't make a direct comparison between your suggestions and his (it's kind of hard to compare the graphic design profession to the web design profession), but it seems they are both at somewhat different ends of the spectrum. I'll say this, though: you're advice sounds much more practical in this crazy economy.
I'll apologize in advance because this comment is a downer.
I'm not sure which way is up at this point. After six years as a designer for a mid-sized university in Orange County, I moved to another state to start a family near our relatives.
Two-years later I haven't been able to land a design position and my efforts to develop more than two clients have repeatedly proven my lack of entrepreneurial agility.
If the recession eats my spouses job we are screwed. So over the holidays we decided it is time to give up on being a professional designer. That is unbelievably hard to type much less say out loud. Ten years of hard work has warped my dream into a hobby.
At this point I would be thrilled with an entry-level job or heck even a part-time intern gig if it meant I could design.
If I can ask one thing of employers out there it would be that when you start hiring again don't be judgmental if the applicants résmué reads: "design intern", "junior designer", "senior designer"; followed by: "temp admin", "barista", "bag boy".
Fantastic post Greg. Lots of juicy ideas and motivation.
Just a month or two ago I decided to go ahead and say yes and not turn away any work and teaming up with fellow freelancers to make it work. So far it's going well.
I'm pretty excited to see what 2009 brings.
Great way of putting things. As others have said, this piece expresses the sentiments of myself as well as just about everyone else I've spoken to in recent history. While there is potential for success during this time, it's unfortunate to see already the negative in extremely talented folks losing their positions at such an alarming rate.
I love the spirit in this. Freelancers unite!
Good words. I think you've verbalized what a lot of us are thinking. Do more work, better. That's my goal for '09. Cheers.
Hey Snowflake, don't give up on your dream! Several years ago I was in a similar position. I transferred my skills as a web producer to a business analyst in a large corporation. While it's not my dream job, this experience has helped me grow. A friend of mine recently referred me for a project management position at his company and I'm feeling hopeful about my future and my dreams.
What a great viewpoint on the current recession. I've been wondering how it will affect me but don't have the resources or connections that you do to survey the field. Thanks for this write-up.
At Snowflake and any others out there feeling the same way, so far, I think Bob at the top got it right: "there aren't that many jobs out there, but there's plenty of work." Greg got it right as well in saying that some of us may need help getting that work done. So, if you're looking to pick up a few, (or a lot), of hours, go ahead and contact me, (click my name). I can't guarantee anything, but I will need some help getting through my workload.
Greg,
Nicely put. I'm not sure I have much to add to what's already been said. I've always appreciated the approach to business that Airbag takes. Here's to web professionals in 2009.
Wonderfully written. And congratulations on your new site. A great design.
All the best in the coming year
> To those who were concerned about me maintaining some semblance of a steady income, my reply was, "look - there aren't that many jobs out there, but there's plenty of work." So far, so good.
I think we're going to see/hear that line over and over again in the next two-to-three years.
> Oh, and can I give some advice to our clients? Please, please, please pay on time! More than anything else, the impact on our cash flow of late payments worries me the most.
Keith, have you ever held back on delivering the final work? I ran into that problem a little last year and I think it's time to hold back on delivery of anything until clients make the last and final payment.
> "...while working at full speed is great for profit margins, it's not so good for quality control. A design solution almost always benefits from a second, third or fourth look. Take advantage of the slower pace of a recession by remembering what it was like in design school to spend a full semester on a single project. What seemed then like torture may now feel like a luxury, and your work will benefit."
As Michael runs a far, far larger shop than Airbag is today, my guess is that his cashflow situation looks a lot different than mine or yours or our peers. While I don't suggest completing a project quickly at the expense of quality, I don't see that it's a great idea to think now is a good time to slow down.
> Two-years later I haven't been able to land a design position and my efforts to develop more than two clients have repeatedly proven my lack of entrepreneurial agility.
Uh, "Snow-flake" is it? Have you tried networking with others both locally and through online communities? Also, I don't think any employer hiring design talent is going to care what you did before you walked in the door. All they're going to care about is your talent, skill set, and level of responsibility. Whatever you do, never give up.
> Wonderfully written. And congratulations on your new site. A great design.
Thanks Vanni. Thanks to everyone who's written in thus far. Spread the word and get out there and network.
This is anecdotal of course, but I've chatted with three clients in the last month or so that want to focus more of their marketing/communications budget on the Web, because they want to watch their spending right now, and the Web is a more efficient way of reaching their audience. I'm hoping this is a trend.
There's no better time than now to take hold of your value to the world and join a distributed network of individuals working together as a collective on meaningful betterment.
THE MOVEMENT
http://www.themovement.info/
Great read, passing it along to everyone ... one of those "I get it, but have to read it" sort of posts.
I will say though, I share that same thought of these economic times actually being the best thing for the smaller agencies and freelancers; I still believe that thought to be true. Most individuals being laid off are coming from the larger organizations or those with too much overhead -- those that overextended themselves when times where better. All of the other small agencies I've connected with are over-booked and all of the talented freelancers seem to have no availability either.
As a small agency we are able to provide quality work with very aggressive schedules and tight budgets. The work has not stopped, the budgets for the work have just decreased. It appears that the demand is actually increasing, but again, the budgets remaining very tight and schedules very aggressive.
We are finding more and more clients embracing open source solutions, hybrid teams and creative strategies. The new goal is to provide the least that will do the most amount of good -- the idea being that you reduce cost and time as much as possible while still ensuring a successful deliverable.
Excellently written article with healthy, well-founded optimism for 2009.
My own first article of the year lightly hinted at 'working better' within competitively priced budgets for 2009 (without sacrificing quality and professionalism) - but I was really talking about the freelancer-based side of the industry and my article wasn't as profound or articulate as this great piece you've written.
There's also some refreshing comments being made to this article as well - nice to read how people are supporting these ideas :)
Hey Greg great post.
I worked as a designer/jack of all trades for a corporate collection agency (specialized in handling unpaid invoices between companies) for almost 8 years. While I'm no collection expert I did pick up quite a bit on how to go about a professional way to resolve unpaid bills. I'd be happy to offer my help or suggestions to any who need some tips.
God Bless this article! Written with insight, passion and a desire to help not only our industry, but our lives as Americans as well. And with this article, I have been challenged to become and strive not only to be a better designer, but a better presence in our communities. Greg, I've been a fan of yours for quite some time, thank you for the motivation and purpose. Well done on invoking your inner President Obama.