A Guide for Creatives
If you’re a creative (designer, filmmaker, developer, musician, copywriter etc.) there is one very important thing, if not the most important, to include in your approach when dealing with clients… KNOWING HOW THEY WANT TO USE YOU.
Sounds slightly abusive, right? Well if you don’t determine the answer to this then things can start feeling that way once you start the project.
So, what you need to ask (in whatever creative but clear language you can conjure) is, “Dear Client, do you want me to create for you or execute for you?“
To create and to execute are fundamentally different processes. A lot of creative professionals have not learned this and thus get frustrated with their clients halfway through a project, feeling either micromanaged or the opposite… left in the dark.
Create = The client knows what result they want, but has no idea of how to get there visually or by any other means and is totally reliant on you to ‘be creative’ from start to finish and achieve the results, which can be anything from more sales, or global brand awareness, or a rebrand. This means you need to develop concepts and strategies and then execute and implement them to get results. You are both the originator and the artist.
“…you are the skillful artist who knows well how to use the tools, but to the client, you are a means to an end, suck it up. “
Execute = For the sake of making it clear, you are the TOOL by which they want to create something. Admittedly you are much more, in that you are the skilful artist who knows well how to use the tools, but to the client, you are a means to an end, suck it up. They are going to tell you exactly what it must look like, disregard your inputs if you have any, and are ONLY RELYING ON YOUR SKILLS ON A PRACTICAL LEVEL to bring into being what they see in their head.
So your first task when dealing with a new client is to ascertain which one it is. Do you want me to be the tool or the creator? If the tool is, then resign your creative opinion and just do what they ask. If the creator, then gathers all the needed client input and info (incl. market and competitor research etc.) to develop an informed and effective solution, void of their personal and subjective inputs.
Understanding how the client sees you then helps you to decide:
A) Whether or not you want to take on the work. If you value creative freedom above paying the bills, then you’re likely to turn down being a mere tool. Or if your execution skills are top-notch and you don’t want the creative or strategic burden, then you go for it.
B) How much do you charge them? If you want to take on the job of executing and believe it will reflect positively on your track record, then you work out how much is fair for the work, and this is more easily calculable in hours. If you are being asked to create from concept to implementation, it’s a differing costing game. You have to consider not only the hours, but the weight of the work, the longevity, and the value to the business.
In both cases, take yourself seriously and don’t undercut yourself, but also, don’t be greedy and ask for more than the value you’ll bring. Away from complex and wonderful costing models, we deep down know when we’re erring on either over or undercharging. It’s not always an exact science and will take some real-life learning to grow in confidence as to how to approach accepting and costing projects.