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Testimonials
"Let me just say it is FREAKING WONDERFUL! It has made my billing life easy, I don't how I managed before without it. And YES, I tell anyone who will listen about your program and highly recommend it as an integral component to any successful design business."
Vanessa Pizzinato
SmallWorld Media Group
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"We are totally impressed with the software – clearly it was designed by a team that knows exactly what an advertising agency needs."
Ellen Burns
Madison & Main
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"This is the first time in my 23-year career that I've actually kept a regular timesheet. Not sure what I like best...it's all good. Easy to use—maybe even fun to use. It's great to be able to see all the data on a project."
Ross Hogin
Ross Hogin Design
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"I'm getting pretty into it. I love it! And best of all, so does everyone else! :-)"
Jose Reyes
Turbulence Advertising
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FunctionFox is committed to helping smaller creative companies improve their business. TimeFox, our web-based time and project-tracking tool, is designed to help smaller advertising, design, marketing and PR firms manage their business, and do more with their valuable time.
Are you looking to give your creative team a boost? Check out the tips we provide in this month's feature article. You'll learn how to motivate and inspire your team and create an in-house department that consistently produces high-caliber work.
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Feature Article: Building a Better In-House Creative Team
Design Spotlight: Power Squid
Customer Profile: Zen Marketing Group
Time Management Resources: In Search of Lost Time
FunctionFox Referral Program
Contact FunctionFox
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Building a Better In-House Creative Team
If you oversee an in-house creative department, you may find that your employees' greatest strengths are also your biggest management challenges. The desire to innovate and develop original concepts is an essential quality in design and marketing professionals. But this trait also may make it harder to keep your top performers engaged when they're promoting one brand instead of several, as within an agency setting.
As a manager, it takes a little creativity on your part, as well as strong leadership skills, to keep your talent inspired and producing their best work. Here are some tips:
Remember the work is the bottom line
While fair pay is important to creatives, the ability to develop compelling images and ideas - and receive recognition for them - matters just as much. Praise your staff generously, and communicate their successes to senior management. Enter employee projects in local, regional and national design, marketing and communication shows, along with giving members a range of assignments that will keep them motivated and fresh.
Continue the learning curve
Creatives are interested in getting to know new software programs and keeping up with current trends. Training your print designer on the web is not only motivating and educational - it helps diversify the talent level of your staff. Sending team members to seminars where they can learn the latest trends and techniques can also revitalize them.
Create varied career paths
Not all designers aspire to management - or are cut out for it. Yet, within many organizations, transitioning into an art director or creative director is the only way to move up. If possible, try to develop alternative options that enable team members to advance their careers without supervising others. When you promote employees to management roles, make sure they're given the training necessary to succeed. Mentoring programs and leadership seminars can help prepare staff to assume new responsibilities.
Keep them connected
In-house creatives are sometimes the last to learn of company challenges, strategies and bottom-line results. This can stem from communication lapses, or the design team may not show an active interest in this type of information. Whatever the reason, knowing as much as possible about the business as a whole is essential to producing the strongest work - and feeling part of the team. Regularly share company news with your staff. When assigning a project,
More...
This article has been reprinted with permission from HOWdesign.com and written by The Creative Group.
For more information, please visit their website at
www.creativegroup.com.
If you have an article that you would like to share, please contact us at 1.866.369.8463 or email
info@functionfox.com.
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You're gonna love this gizmo! It's a cool creative solution to the problem of max-ed out electric power strips, and it's ideal for your creative department. The PowerSquid™ Surge Protector takes your old, gray power strip to a whole new level. Its sleek cephalopod design frees each outlet from the confines of the surge protector, putting them on their own flexible cord to make it more flexible and functional, as well as offering greater reach and ease of use. Bonus: it easily accommodates bulky transformers that can block outlets on traditional power strips!
For more information about the PowerSquid Surge Protector, check out:
http://www.powersquid.net/
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TimeFox: building strong client relationships.
How Zen Marketing used TimeFox to build deeper, stronger relationships with their clients.
Zen Marketing Group works on a
"virtual company" business model, outsourcing
Marketing Managers who work with clients to
develop strategic marketing programs.
Their business model is very effective at providing
the service their clients need. Strategic positioning
plans, consumer research studies and viral marketing
programs are developed by independent
Marketing Managers, who work with a centralized
administrative system.
"It's a very efficient, effective system," said Gregg
Meiklejohn, Zen Master's longest serving team
member, "Except for managing timesheets."
Zen Marketing found that the weakness of their
administrative system was exacerbated as they
grew. What was manageable when they were
small had become an enormous problem.
They were collecting timesheets, formatting
them to produce client reports, then reorganizing
them again for invoices, wasting time and
building frustration.
"I happened across TimeFox at a presentation.
I made the decision to implement it because it's
so darn easy and intuitive. It took a few hours over
the course of a month to nail it all down. Their
support people were excellent to work with. It's
been great. Really simple." said Meiklejohn.
More...
If you would like your company to be featured in a TimeFox newsletter,
on our website or in our promotional package,
please send your request to
info@functionfox.com.
For more articles and resources, see www.functionfox.com/resources.html.
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Priority Magazine, A Pitney Bowes Publication, provides readers with "Business Ideas to Make Every Minute Count". FunctionFox received mention for our About Time Newsletter in Priority Mag's May/June 2006 Article "In Search of Lost Time". To read the full article and gain valuable tips for improved time management, check out the full article
In Search of Lost Time here...
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If you refer someone to FunctionFox, and they purchase a TimeFox subscription,
we'll give you a month's subscription to TimeFox! Refer 12 new customers,
you'll get a whole year's subscription on us!
Don't miss this chance to pass the word and realize considerable savings!
Here's how: Ask the person you refer to enter your name/company under 'Referral (Client or Friend)'
when they sign up for a demo at
www.functionfox.com/demo
or tell a friend at
www.functionfox.com/referral_program.
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Call: Toll-Free 1.866.369.8463
For a TimeFox Demo, go to:
www.functionfox.com/demo
To arrange a guided tour of TimeFox, please send your request to:
info@functionfox.com
To order a TimeFox subscription, go to:
www.functionfox.com/purchase
If you would like your company to be featured in a TimeFox
newsletter, on our website or in our promotional package,
please send your request to:
info@functionfox.com
You can opt out of the About Time Newsletter at:
www.functionfox.com/newsletter/no_thanks.asp
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