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Testimonials
"I love TimeFox. It has made such an incredible difference in the efficiency of my billing - everything is so easy to keep track of, easy to summarize, and easy to bill the client now - I cannot imagine how we lived without it in the past. What used to take me at least 30 minutes, now takes me 5 minutes. If the client has any questions about any time on any day that I spent on their project - I can tell them in detail immediately. No more fumbling and looking for notes - its all here on my desktop - my beloved TimeFox. Now I can spend more time being creative, instead of trying to do math. My brain thanks you, my bank account thanks you, our business thanks you - THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!"
Lori Salee
DeFord Designs
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"I just wanted to let you know how much my staff and I have appreciated your product. After working in two public relations firms that struggled with Time Slips software for a number of years, I had no idea that time reporting could be so easy and so intuitive until we tried TimeFox."
Catherine Marenghi
Emerge PR
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"We're increasingly in love with your tools. We are starting to live within CEO Desktop, with three or four tabs of Timefox screens going at once. We're in the midst of our biggest profitability and efficiency push in the history of the company and Timefox is what's making it possible."
Seth Murphy
ioCreative
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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.
This month, we're giving you a glimpse into the future of advertising and design by industry expert David C. Baker, who reveals 3 keys to keeping your business on track over the next 2-3 years. We're also looking forward to meeting you at two outstanding creative conferences coming up soon. If you'll be attending, stop by and say hello! Details in our Advertising and Design News.
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Feature Article: What You'll Need to Worry about in the Near Future
Advertising and Design News
FunctionFox Referral Program
Contact FunctionFox
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What You'll Need to Worry about in the Near Future
By David C. Baker of ReCourses, Inc.
Introduction
What will the next couple of years look like at your firm? Before answering that question, let me list my assumptions: that you are competent, that you are not working in one of the very few areas that is not doing well, and that you have entrepreneur's disease.
If you've had your head down just getting things done, you may not have realized how well advertising, design, public relations, and interactive firms are doing these days. With very few exceptions, principals are finally getting back to the point where they can be pickier about what clients they work for.
Not picky enough, though, as many of you would rather sell your firstborn than say "no" to opportunity.So some things are already happening, as you stand passively by. Even though things haven't been this good since early 2001, let me take just a few minutes of your time and provide some friendly advice about how to manage the next two or three years so that you continue enjoying it. We'll start by talking about three things you'll likely struggle with, followed by some suggestions in three specific areas.
Looking Longer for Good People
It's going to get more and more difficult to find them. Many of those who went out on their own during slimmer days have grown to adapt and enjoy the freedom. They are content charging $80-120/hour as independent professionals, choosing their own hours and type of work.
On top of that, far fewer graduates are entering this industry and demand is exceeding supply. When you do find what seems to be the right fit, wage requirements can be higher than you budgeted given the pressure on housing and healthcare that many prospective employees are feeling.
Becoming Reactively Deadline-Driven
As you get busier, you tend to get more reactive. An environment that should be more "profit-driven" becomes "deadline-driven," meaning that when something is due becomes more important at each handoff than how much time to spend on it. You focus on just getting it done to meet your external obligations, forgetting your internal obligations to consistently turn a profit.
Letting the Culture Slip
As you add bodies to the mix, you make do with less space, creating an emotional crowding that's insidious. Or perhaps worse, you accept less than an ideal facility arrangement that reinforces the separation of duties and drives wedges between, say, the suits and the creatives. If the culture is not collaborative to start with, physical boundaries can exacerbate these issues.
Each new person who joins the team is added because you have capacity issues, so it's almost assumed that they'll get dropped behind enemy lines. Later, you promise, "we'll sit down and do a proper orientation," which may not happen. So expectations aren't delineated and relationship bridges aren't built.
But what if you can't even find that employee? Do you decide to lower your standards a tad to avoid leaving the vacancy perpetually unfilled? You already know where that can lead.
In sum, you want to watch carefully that your management scrutiny and decision making is not compromised by the attendant pressures that come to you personally from increased work volume.
Now for a few suggestions on how to manage this responsibly.
More...
This article has been provided by ReCourses. For more information, please visit their website at
www.recourses.com.
If you have an article that you would like to share with FunctionFox customers,
please contact us at 1.866.369.8463 or email
info@functionfox.com.
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CRE8 Conference
May 9-10,
Orlando, FL
Disney Coronado Springs Resort
Join FunctionFox at the
CRE8 Conference,
where creative, marketing, and communications professionals go to discover tools and techniques that boost effectiveness and inspire creativity. Get an in-depth look at the new Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3) applications, including Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, InDesign, Illustrator and Acrobat 8.
At CRE8 you'll interact with design, publishing, and creative technology experts at numerous networking events, and gain a better understanding of creative tools, techniques, and technologies in sessions led by industry professionals. Register today and join design luminaries, creative professionals, and technology experts from around the world.
Conference attendees also gain full access to the Adobe Acrobat & PDF Conference, with useful information about creating, sharing, and managing PDF document workflows.
CRE8 is where creativity meets technology:
www.cre8conf.com
or 800 851-9237.
ReCourses, Inc. Seminar
June 18
Nashville, TN
ReCourses, Inc., is holding a unique seminar in Nashville, TN, on June 18, to address resourcing issues within creative services firms. FunctionFox is proud attend and support this unique seminar that shows how resourcing can be the key to profitability. Resourcing, their name for the nerve center of the firm, includes estimating/pricing, traffic, production management, quality control, yield management, profitability, resource allocation, deadline management, etc.
This course, unlike any other available, will look at workflow, roles, procedures, software, staffing, and systems. The foundation is built on the ReCourses Functional Model (RFM) and their system for a Profit Based Management Environment (PBME). Research underpinning the RFM began in 1998 with a careful identification of which functions are needed in a creative environment, how much of each function is necessary, how they can and cannot be safely combined, and what nine principles maintain the purity of the system. They've recently completed an additional study on which profiles match which positions.
While resourcing isn't taught in preparation for a career in the creative services field, it's a critical foundation for doing work that is effective and profitable, and this seminar is meant to bridge that gap. It is a full day long (8:30a-4:30p) seminar held in Nashville, TN.
For more information, a brochure, and full registration information, go to
ReCourses.com
> Events > Seminars and
download the PDF.
Space is limited.
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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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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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