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Testimonials
"I just wanted to tell you how happy I am with TimeFox. The best purchase I have done in years. I thought I was working for "free" but with the time software I see the opposite! I am making profit and that certainly cheers you up! Business is good here."
Tuuli Sauren
Inspirit International Communications
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"TimeFox has definitely improved our business! With TimeFox we have an accurate account of every task that goes into a project and now we bill out for exactly the work we do and estimates are a breeze. TimeFox simplified the process, made every billable minute accounted for, and has proved itself as a valuable tool for our business!"
Chris Ehlinger
THINK! Creative Advertising, Inc.
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"There is no chance that you can get such an advanced service and support for the minimal fees."
Ken Jurina
Top Draw Inc.
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FunctionFox is committed to helping small creative companies improve their business. TimeFox, our simple time and project tracking system, helps small advertising, design, marketing, and public relations firms manage their business and do more with their valuable time.
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Feature Article: What You Really Need to Run Your Business During Tough Economic Times
Recession Outlook Survey Results: Small Creative Businesses Are Using Tough Economy to Get Smarter
FunctionFox Webinar Series: Grill the Expert!
Advertising and Design News: Resourcing the Creative Process
Creativity Spotlight: Emma Gives Back
Contact FunctionFox
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What You Really Need to Run Your Business During Tough Economic Times
by Corina Ludwig and Matt Humphries
FunctionFox executives Corina Ludwig and Matt Humphries meet with expert TimeFox customers from varying disciplines of creative service, to uncover the themes common to success during tough economic times.
If today's tough economy presents challenges for small design firms, it also presents opportunities to grow businesses, say owners of some of the leading shops in North America. Beyond profitability all agree that staying one step ahead of the competition during a down economy requires fortitude, confidence, a laser-like focus on the bottom line and a drive to innovate.
Running a successful small design business in 2009 is a challenge, and owners are scrutinizing their internal business processes, their staff, company culture, and client relationships to figure out what is necessary and what needs to be cut.
Tough times mean making some tough staffing decisions. Now more than ever, owners of small design firms are acutely aware of staffing mistakes they've make in the past. Staying lean when budgets are shrinking is top priority, so they're holding off on new hires. They are looking closely at their existing talent pools and the resources at hand, such as software systems, as a solution. As a result, the current staff is being asked to do more with less.
"In the last few months, when the shop gets busy and we consider hiring, we stop and think: can we do this without hiring someone new? Could we pull this off by working a little harder?" said Sean Adams, Partner, AdamsMorioka in Beverly Hills, CA.
"With shrinking client budgets and the economy in free fall, we're running lean and mean, which means that everyone's doing a bit extra to get things done," said Mark Busse at Industrial Brand in Vancouver, BC.
Shifting more work to current staff doesn't necessarily mean that everyone at the company give up their personal lives. What is required is a change in approach to the work itself. For example, says Adams, train teams to stay more focused. He says that a lot of time is wasted - and efficiency lost - when projects meander. "The biggest issue I see with designers is that they won't make decisions," he said. "The solution is to work harder, not by doing more, but by being deliberate and
more
This article has been provided by FunctionFox. For more information, or if you have a resource that you would like to share, please contact us at
info@functionfox.com.
Please visit our
resources page
for more industry tips!
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Small Creative Businesses Are Using Tough Economy to Get Smarter
FunctionFox survey finds smalls shops are getting more focused, pricing more flexibly
Change can be good. In this economy that might well be the mantra for owners of small creative businesses who report that they have changed the way they look at pricing, personnel and their firms' point of view. Despite the downturn, nearly 40 percent of survey respondents reported that business is about the same, somewhat busier or busier than it's ever been.
The FunctionFox Recession Outlook survey was designed to take the pulse of creative business executives with 25 employees or less as they manage the rough and tumble reality of the tight economy.
Keeping business thriving, the owners report, requires having a fresh perspective. For some companies, that entails offering discounts, selling projects in "chunks" to lower the price of entry, and even charging more for some services.
Highlights of the survey indicate that to survive and thrive today:
- 70% have trimmed back expenditures
- 25% have broadened their range of services
- 28% have narrowed or changed their area of expertise
- 32% have accepted projects they normally would not take
- 33% have changed the way they price projects
Read the summary >>
Download the full report >>
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Grill The Expert!
An Interactive Panel Discussion featuring Design Industry Experts from Around the Globe
Thursday May 21, 2009
1PM Eastern | 10AM Pacific
(what time is that in my time zone?)
Our panel of experts have seen it all, and will answer questions based on countless years of experience. Panelists Mary-Lynn Bellamy-Willms, Emily Ruth Cohen and Deborah Dawton bring viewpoints from the agency, consultant and trade association perspectives from Canada, USA, and the UK.
Register with your question(s) below for the expert panel to discuss, or simply attend and learn from the questions of others. Questions will be answered anonymously, and we'll do our best to respond to as many questions as possible within the 45 minute webinar.
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May 2009
for this free webinar.
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Resourcing the Creative Process:
Managing Pricing, Deadlines, Budgets, Quality, and Capacity
With David C. Baker
This two-day ReCourses seminar (April 20-21, in Nashville, TN) is ideal for principals responsible for setting the system up, or anyone directly responsible for resourcing (traffic, production management, pricing, or even some account service roles if they are combined with this function). The sessions are a mix of presentation, hands-on exploration, exercises, and roundtables. Resourcing, our 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 our system for a Profit Based Management Environment (PBME). Research underpinning the RFM began in 1998 and continues today. 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.
More information at
http://www.recourses.com/seminars.
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Making a difference, one customer (and five trees) at a time
For more than a year now, the email marketing & communications company Emma has been planting five new trees for every new customer. With the help of tree-planting partner Plant-It 2020, Emma's planted 23,121 trees all over the world since 2008. That's a forest, people.
Along with helping our leafy friends, the folks at Emma also help people. They donate their email marketing & survey services to worthy non-profits each year and work with Kiva to give small-business loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. To learn more, visit
Emma Gives Back.
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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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