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SEVERALDOLLARSINNEWINCOMEISNEEDEDTOOFFSET1INUNBILLEDTIMEEXPENSES.CREATIVEBUSINESSMANAGEMENTBENCHMARKWealsoseeatrendfordesignerstoshoottheirownphotographyanditoftenmakessensetous.Onewaytopro-videmorevaluetoaclientistoreducepho-tographycosts.Hiringasinglepersonphotogra-pherartdirectorischeaperthanhiringtwo.Thereisadangerthatitcoulddamagerelation-shipswithphotographersyoumightwanttoworkwithinthefuturebutitisprobablyminimal.Themajorappealofofferingbothwillbetoclientswithsmallerjobs.Sowewouldbecautiousaboutmakingtoomuchaboutitonyourwebsiteorinpromotionalmateri-alunlessthatisyourfocus.Yourmajoremphasisshouldstillbeonyourdesignbusiness.Youdontwanttoturnoffclientswhobelievethataphotographerisrequiredfortheirhighly-demandingintheiresti-mationprojectorwhohaveaprojectlargeenoughthatitwouldberequired.Inotherwordswewouldpositionitasanextra-benettalentthatcansavetheclientmoneyincertainsitua-tions.Butforlargepro-jectsorthosewherespecicexpertiseorextensivetravelisrequiredyouhaveasta-bleofphotographicpro-fessionalswhomyouworkwithregularly.Youragentwasnegli-gent.AsyoubelatedlydiscoveredyouneedspecialinsuranceErrorsOmissionsorEOforthiscoverage.EOinsurancepro-tectsagainstliabilitiesarisingfromroutinemis-takessuchasthecostofreprintingabrochurebecauseofyourerror.Itcanalsocoverconse-quentialdamageswhichcanbeapotentiallygreaterliability.Moreextensivecover-agecanalsobeobtainedthroughprofessionalpracticesliabilityPPLinsuranceacreativermsorindividualsversionofmalpracticeinsurance.EOinsurancetypi-callystartsaround1700annuallyforarmwiththreetoveemployeesPPLinsurancestartsataround2500.Oneshotcoverageisalsoapossibilityforaclientrequiringthatarmhaveit.Thispricingputscov-erageoutofthereachofmostcreativermsalthoughtheonlywaytobesureistodescribeyourrisksandgetaquote.Withoutcoveragermsmustrelyontheprotectionsaffordedbyinsistingonclientapprovalssignoffsonproofsandcontractualdisclaimers.Inadditionownersofrmsstruc-turedascorporationsandLLCsareshelteredfrompersonalliability.Anydamagesarelimitedtothevalueofthermsassets.Firstrecognizedthattheperceptionofvalueisstronglyinfluencedbyhowdifficultaprocessappears.Thelongerandtougheritseemsthemoreclientsarewillingtopay.Tominimizemakingyourspecworklooktooeasywesuggestyoushowonlyonefull-sizedevelopedconcept.Fortheotherfiveshowonlyfrontpanelsanddoitinstoryboardorlessthanfullsizeform.Thisshouldbothdemonstrateyourabilitytoconceptualizetheneedsofthebrandaswellasyourabilitytoexecutedetails.Even11Whateverthereasonnotbillingclientsforworkdoneorexpensesincurredisasignificantfinancialdrain.Howmuchsoisdifficulttogeneralizebecauseitdependsoneachfirmsprofitability.ButheresanexampleLetssayyourprofitis20ofincome.Forthepurposeherewellconsiderprofittobeacombi-nationofprincipalssalariesandbenefitsshareholderdistributionsandanyretainedearnings.Toreplaceevery1notbilledyoullneedtotakein5worthofnewbusiness.Moralbillforeverybillablehouranddontletbillableexpensesslipthroughthecracks.CreativeBusinessMarchApril2008Ihavethoughtaboutthisformybusi-nesssinceIcandobothverywell.ButIamconcernedaboutwhetherthiscouldbeaconictwithcertaincustomers.WhatdoyouthinkD.M.EuclidOHImadeaclaimwithmybusinessinsurancecompanyforaprint-ingerrorthatwasmyfaultandresultedinmepayingforareprint.Theinsurancecom-panydeniedtheclaim.IwasabitfrustratedabouttheirdenialbecausewhenIorigi-nallyinsuredmybusi-nesswiththemitwasclearIneededcover-ageforthisverything.FortunatelyitwasforasmallamountbutIdontwanttogetstuckagain.ItisapparentIneedtoreviewmypolicyandunderstandtheterminologybet-ter.Ifyoucanhelpmeonwhattoaskforthatwouldhelptremendously.K.K.BellaireTXWehavebeengivenasmallpackagedesignassignment.Theclienthasstatedthatthejobisatrialandthatifwedowellwewillgetacrackatoneormoreoftheirbrandsinthefuture.Tofurthersellthemonourcapabilitieswedecidedonourowntodosomespecwork.Weveputtogetherhalfadozenpolishedvariationsonacon-ceptforoneoftheirmajorbrandsweknowwillberestagedsoon.Ourconcernisthattheymaylikewhattheyseeandsincetheworkisalreadydonewillwanttopurchaseitforafractionofwhatwewouldnor-mallycharge.Yoursuggestionsonhowtohandlethiswouldbeappreciated.R.L.ColoradoSpringsCO