Sprint to the finish line (instead of limping to the end of the year)

If you are reading this on the Wednesday the article is published, there are exactly 70 ‘working’ days before Christmas Day. That’s if you’re not taking time off for school holidays or sneaking in a long weekend.

As I see it you can slide into the end of the year or you can pull up your big girl pants and sprint to the finishing line. If I was still a studio owner, here’s what I’d do…

What I’d do between now and the end of the year

1. Be memorable

I’d plan to be memorable by trumping others with the best end-of-year card.

Our EOY card regularly led to new work from existing clients and referral work from colleagues who’d seen what we did (and sometimes requested their own card). It was never big budget (but often labour-intensive.)

Of all the cards we designed over 25 years, these were three of my favourites:

Beaded and sequin decorated 3D glasses packaged with a (photoshopped) photograph of everyone in the studio and the caption similar to: ‘we see things differently to others’. Yep, it was cheesy but the 3D worked a treat and it was a huge hit with our clients. On the downside we had sequins strewn throughout the studio for months and months…
We packaged set of coloured pencils, a laser cut stencil and a blank card asking client’s to DIY their own card because we were much too busy. Then, early in the new year, we had an exhibition and judging of our client’s cards. That was a lot of fun and the client’s loved meeting each other. It led to an influx of work and one of our best years. (Some clients took the brief way too seriously.)
We collaborated with a photographer to use images from his private library to celebrate what made Melbourne, Melbourne. The result was a set of beautifully printed postcards that remained pinned to our client’s notice boards for months and months.

None of these were extraordinary designs but all were cheeky, they had personality and were memorable. And worth saying they were all printed artifacts and, research shows, direct mail has far more impact than electronic messages.

2. Be organised

Everyone is frazzled toward the end of the year, trying to clear their desk/calendars/projects.

I would continue/introduce Monday morning/Friday afternoon emails counting down the weeks before closing to keep everyone and everything on track. This lightens the client’s load by increasing their confidence we’re in control of everyone and everything. That’s a great thing to close the year.

The start of the week/end of the week emails:

summarise the work completed
outline any risks, any red flags
outline the plans for the coming week
list any info you need to continue
say you’re available to talk if needed.

The emails are proactive and don’t take a lot of time. They avoid the client ‘asking for an update’, they keep everyone on track and are great summaries of the arc of a client. Valuable if questions are asked later.

3. Be reflective

I would cram in a session before the end of the year to answer these three questions, then start next year with a planning session to instigate the solutions.

1. What did I love about this year? What was the high and how do I replicate it?
2. What did I hate about this year? What do I need to do to ensure it never happens again?
3. What do I want to get better at? What do I need to do to make that happen.

So what?

It’s been a tough year. Tougher than most. But the end of is near. With a burst of energy you can finish the year leaving positive vibes in your track.

Let’s keep the conversation going. Email me for a chat.

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Carol Mackay
Design Business Council – business advice for creatives

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About Carol Mackay

After 30+ years running a design studio, I accumulated a pretty special network of fellow designers. One thing most have in common: a need for more information about the ‘business’ side of design. Most are impatient with any task competing for time spent doing what they love – designing so they wanted more info about how to work more efficiently and effectively.

Not me. I love that intersection between design and business. I built a career working with Ombudsman schemes, the Emergency Services sector and the Courts. My special power has always been an ability to use design to translate the difficult to understand or the unpalatable message.

I now use exactly the same skills with creative business owners. I translate the indigestible into bite-sized chunks of information. I share insights, introduce tools and embed processes to help others build confidence business decision-making skills. More confidence makes it easier to grasp opportunities. More confidence makes it easier to recognise a good client from the bad.

Outside DBC I have mentored with Womentor, AGDA The Aunties, and most recently Regional Arts NSW.
And I’m a proud volunteer and board member of Never Not Creative.

Always happy to chat, I can be contacted here.