Honesty, Clients, and Deadlines

May 26th, 2010 § 0

This is a comment I received about my first post:

Aaron I like what you said about reputations. It doesn’t matter who you are or what company you are you have a reputation, and it is up to you to make it good or bad….you can maintain a good reputation if you are open and honest with the client.

I totally agree, and I think this is a good point about being honest with your client. Honesty with clients is always important – whether deadlines are met or not – as it helps to deepen you trustworthiness and level of professionalism in their eyes. Obviously, meeting deadlines will also help to do this as well, but there are times, as many of us have experienced, when you just can’t meet a deadline. But that’s why I also really appreciate the quote this commenter gave me from Leo Babauta:

Work in a cushion. It’s wise to build in a cushion for your deadline. To get a clear idea of how long a project will take, break it down into smaller pieces… And for each piece, add a small cushion to your time estimate. Then add up the time estimates of all the pieces, and you’ll have a cushion built in. This will allow for delays, and if you finish early, the client will be pleased. (Babauta, 2010).

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The Importance of Deadlines in Design

May 20th, 2010 § 0

Anyone who’s worked closely with supervisors on design projects – be they teachers, clients, or family members who ask for favors – surely understands the importance and value of deadlines. Since becoming a teacher myself, I’ve come to better understand how initial homework and assignments build upon each other to enable students to progress fluidly through a course up to the final test or project, while (mostly) retaining previously studied principles. Likewise, when dealing with clients, the first steps are often the most important, and meeting initial deadlines helps to build a solid rapport with the client. (In fact, I’ve heard some freelancers mention that it is often better to slightly overestimate the time required to finish a task, so that when they finish early, their clients beam and boast of their accomplishments – as well as pass along high recommendations. After all, it’s much better to have a little extra time on our side than be squeezing everything in up to the deadline).

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