Paper Bag Bandits
Did you hear about the rather lucrative printer cartridge deal?
The highlight for me was the public servant who:
‘… bought enough black toner cartridges to supply the government department for 40 years — despite toner cartridges expiring after two years.’
As my taxes paid this person’s salary, I felt encouraged by her initiative and commitment.
Then I wondered [...]
Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em
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 [...]
Tomorrow’s Loot Today!
Do your customers pay it forward?
I wasn’t going to do a tax post, but something unprecedented and rather special happened this week.
One of my newest clients asked if she could pay me a chunk of change now for work I’ll do next year.
After deliberating for several nanoseconds, I agreed.
I like this deal very [...]
The Jury’s Out
Have you done your duty?
Four years ago I was summoned for jury duty.
I’d always wanted to do my bit (and witness a court case).
But when the time came, my business couldn’t afford the income hit.
So I piked.
Testimony
This is what I wrote to the Juries Commissioner’s Office:
I am a self-employed sole trader who does not have [...]
200 Grams of Resume Thanks!
Must I weigh my words?
In The Agony of Price, we saw that charging for what we sell can be a tricky affair.
I’d now like to explore the conflict between discrete and continuous goods (or services).
Half a Kitten
Discrete goods come in whole units – like cars, kittens, football tickets and DVDs.
Continuous goods come in measured [...]
I Say Pareto, You Say Pareto …
Fine in principle. What about practice?
Have you heard of the Pareto Principle (also called the 80-20 rule)?
It says that for many things, 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes.
In business, this means 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your clients.
I’ve found this principle extremely useful.
But does it work for [...]
When Should We Say Thanks?
Do you have an attitude of gratitude?
Our robust cheque debate got me thinking.
When, if ever, should we thank our clients?
I’ll tell you what I do, so we can compare notes.
Giving Thanks
An associate once advised me to thank clients whenever they paid my invoices on time.
I liked this idea because it was:
Polite.
A way to [...]
Indebted
Do not collect $200.
Naomi asked how my end of financial year (EOFY) was going.
I reflected that it was rather less cheery than the current crop of pay TV ads.
The source of my ennui is a large sum of money which I’ve earned, but not received.
For the first time in Empire history, I’m thinking debt collection.
I [...]
Charity Case
I’d rather work and donate money than go and volunteer.
That said, I have optimised a community newsletter and a few immigrant resumes for free.
So I didn’t turn off when I got this direct message from a new Twitter follower:
Hi Paul, would you be willing to help out a young start-up with your experience? Dave*.
I checked [...]
Qui Ckon CEO Ver.
Is this all white for you?
Sorry about that title; only had time for a ‘quick once over’.
All the letters are there: the caps and spacing didn’t confuse, did they?
As a copywriter, I sometimes get quick once over requests. I wonder if you do too.
The request has three variations:
1. Just give it 15 minutes.
Some clients assess my [...]
