If you're a new talent, take it easy!

Say no to too much work before it affects quality. In early 2011, I talked about a pattern I’d experienced several times when recommending a new talent to others.

Say no to too much work, even when things are going well

I’d find a good web designer, programmer or other specialist who did a good job. Then I’d refer some people, and at first they were happy too.

But more recommendations brought more customers. Some kept saying yes to new jobs even though they already had plenty. After a while, quality and service started slipping.

Work was delayed, errors appeared, and customers didn’t get proper replies. That was a shame for the customers, for me as the person recommending them, and most of all for the person who’d built a good reputation.

A higher price isn’t the problem

I didn’t recommend people because they were cheap, but because they were good. So I could fully understand them raising their prices when demand increased.

The problem arose if they accepted work and then failed to deliver. A higher price, a waiting list or a polite no could be better than promises they couldn’t keep.

Choose customers and growth carefully

I’d also seen people hire too quickly or jump into things outside what they were actually good at. Then the growing business could become hard to manage.

My advice to a new talent was to take it slowly. Keep your commitments, deliver consistent quality and think about which customers fit what you can and want to do.

You don’t have to say yes to everything to build something good. A proper no can help preserve the trust that brought customers to you. Also read Iværksætter til jeg dør about my experiences of building companies.

And a very happy New Year 🙂

Back to work after Christmas and New Year

A very happy New Year. There’s a little noise around me here in the US, and I’ve also had trouble with crackling sound from my iPhone. I hope you can hear me. I’ve relaxed over Christmas and New Year and am only properly back at work today.

Funnily enough, inspiration comes when I’m working. And now I started thinking about all the times people have asked whether I know a good web designer, programmer, AdWords person or SEO specialist.

From delighted customers to trouble after six months

Perhaps I find someone relatively unknown who starts doing some work for me. There’s talent, good integrity and great energy. I’m pleased with the work, and then I start recommending them to others.

The first people I refer are delighted too. Then more work comes from my friends and other people. But after six months, the picture may be completely different. Now I’m getting grief from the people I referred, and I sit there thinking: What the hell went wrong?

In the video, I say it’s happened in nine out of ten cases. That’s my way of emphasising how often I’ve experienced the pattern; I’m not presenting a study. And I’m not talking about the people I work with right now either. These are experiences from many earlier situations.

The explanation has often been that the person got busy and kept accepting work. I can send quite a few people in a particular direction because lots ask my advice. So a recommendation can bring more work than the person can actually manage.

300, 600 or 1,000 kroner isn’t my objection

Perhaps the person did work for me at 300 kroner an hour to show what they could do. When customers start arriving, they no longer want to work at that price. I actually think that’s fair enough.

If you want to charge 600 or 1,000 kroner an hour, do it. Then customers can decide whether the work is worth the price. I recommend you because you’re good, not because you’re cheap. The figures are examples in my story, not a price list.

My objection comes when you say yes and the work isn’t done properly. Perhaps you’re desperately trying to rescue something at three in the morning. There are mistakes, you cut corners or you don’t get back to the customer properly. In the end, you risk ending up stressed and with a bad reputation yourself.

Don’t just hire two or three people because you want to go full throttle

Another part of the pattern is that more and more things get added that have nothing to do with the core business. More money needs to come in, so everything has to happen fast.

Perhaps you hire two or three people straight away. But they aren’t good enough, they’re chosen too quickly or they’re wrong for the job. Eventually, service declines. It’s not just customers or me who suffer. You’re also ruining something for yourself.

Say no to too much work and choose your customers

My advice to you if you’re relatively new and talented is: Slow down. Hopefully, you have a long life ahead. You can say no, create a waiting list or raise your price. What matters is that you don’t compromise on quality.

That doesn’t mean you need to nitpick every last detail. I mention B&O as an example where requirements can be particular. But you need to be able to deliver ordinary, consistent, good service.

Also listen to your gut feeling about customers. If working together feels wrong from the start, say no and find another customer. Perhaps you’ll have to live a little more modestly for a few days until the right one appears.

Work out which customers create value in your business. Get rid of those who demand too much, pull you in the wrong direction or want you to do something you neither enjoy nor are good at. Say a polite no thank you. If they can’t respect that, they’re not worth keeping anyway.

Integrity, integrity. Keep your commitments, and raise your price rather than promising more than you can deliver. I look forward to making lots more videos for you in the new year.

Best wishes, Martin