Common Struggles in Firms

Using a database of 280 + firms in 84 different metropolitan areas across North America, what are the three things that these principals struggle with the most? You might recognize yourself.

The first thing most principals struggle with is their own personal role, especially if the firm is growing. Typically the principal is a generalist at the outset of their entrepreneurial life, touching many roles because the firm is comprised of so few employees. While that is appropriate at this stage, it becomes destructive as the firm grows, yielding a greater need for his/her management input. If they remain a generalist as the firm grows, everybody does everything and nobody is responsible. The decision to grow is a decision about the principal's role, not a decision about making more money or getting larger profile client relationships. See "Recognizing Growing Pains" and "Are You a Doer, Manager, or Leader?" at www.recourses.com for more detail.

The second thing that principals struggle with is proper systems to be profitable. We call it being a "profit-based" vs, a "deadline-based" firm, and there is a white paper entitled "Profit-Based Management Environment" at www.functionfox.com/articles/article02.html that details this more fully. The principles for making this happen include centralized monitoring, no on-site promises, daily timekeeping, written control documents, a sufficiently broad definition of billable time, and no discounting of time at the entry stage. That's just a sampling.

The third thing that principals struggle with is how to position their firm. The role of marketing is one of the most misunderstood aspects of management. Most firms proudly proclaim that "we don't need to market" as if marketing is for "little people" without any other option. Smart people market all the time, no matter how busy they are. That's because marketing has very little to do with keeping busy. It has more to do with what kind of business you have than how much business you have. Stated differently, marketing is about control, not growth. Marketing consistently is the most important thing you can do at your firm. The public reason we don't do it is because we are too busy. But the real reasons we don't market are because we aren't confident. Because we aren't focused. And because it forces positioning.

This article has been provided by ReCourses. For more information, please visit their web site at www.recourses.com.

Crystal Clear Marketing (pdf)

The choice was Crystal Clear
How TimeFox helped a one-person shop get on track for increased profits

Kim Sherman is a consultant whose company, Crystal Clear Marketing, faced several problems that often plague small companies as they start up.

"I didn't have accurate historical data to price projects, I had no method to track contractors' time and I really didn't know how long it took for me to complete projects," says Sherman, "And all of those difficulties became even more apparent when clients wanted to put me on a retainer. I just didn't know how much to charge them."

Sherman had experimented with modified Microsoft® Excel and Access templates but couldn't figure out a simple way to use them to summarize her time entries. She often forgot to track small amounts of billable time, such as time spent writing emails or on phone calls with clients. So she began to look for a time-tracking system that could help.

"I read about TimeFox in a publication called HOW. What sold me on it was its pricing structure and the stopwatch feature," says Sherman. "I also liked the fact that it is web-based. TimeFox seemed perfect."

Sherman has spent most of her career marketing software products. She believes that while all software vendors strive to meet users' needs, many fail with regard to usability, customer support, or pricing.

"TimeFox is the most solid software product I've ever used," says Sherman, "It does exactly what I need and a lot more, too. It's very intuitive. Now I can show clients exactly how I'm spending my time. I have historical data so I can price projects more accurately. And I have features I never expected, like project-cost tracking, the ability to set up meetings and a place to keep project-related notes. From the minute I purchased it, a customer support person was assigned to work with me. They helped get me up and running, and answered all my questions." More...

If you would like your company to be featured in a TimeFox newsletter, on our web site or in our promotional package, please send your request to corina@functionfox.com.

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Question:
When I'm estimating a new project I'll often reference similar projects dating back 3 years or more, as well as similar projects for the same client. Can TimeFox help me pull together old estimates and time details on projects that have been closed or archived? How can I find information on these older projects without having to go digging?

Answer:
TimeFox helps you keep time and cost information at your fingertips by making reporting on closed and archived projects painless. Whenever you run a Client, Personnel or Custom report in TimeFox, archived and closed projects are included in the report as long as you report on a date when those projects existed. For detailed reporting, the TimeFox Project Report gives you the option of choosing from active or archived projects.

For compiling information on previous projects of a similar nature, you may also find TimeFox's Search tool useful. Search by project name or project scope to get a quick list of the projects that match the criteria that you are after. Example – Search for all projects with the name "corporate identity" that include the scope "3 revisions."

Question:
Can I email reports to clients or team members using TimeFox?

Answer:
All of TimeFox's reports can be produced in either HTML or Excel format. If your email program allows you to send in HTML, you can simply copy and paste your TimeFox report right into a new email and send it in the body of the message. You can also save any report as an Excel file and attach it to an email message.

Other customers have created Adobe PDF's of reports by choosing the "print to PDF writer" option.

For client access, many TimeFox customers have published their HTML TimeFox reports within a client login area of their own website. Others have set up user groups for their clients within TimeFox, allowing clients access to only the projects that pertain to them.

Do you have a TimeFox question? Email us at support@functionfox.com.