Read on Twitter
Hello- We're debuting a new free Illustration resource (at the bottom of this thread) to help with the herculean feat of asking clients for more money!
A thread to get you paid more from your friends at Litebox >:]
1/???
A thread to get you paid more from your friends at Litebox >:]
1/???
Too often the projects artists take on expand beyond what the original negotiation was. This common occurrence is called Scope Creep. 2/ https://twitter.com/litebox_info/status/1257035653130444805?s=20
Scope Creep can take many forms. Extra or endless revisions, tacking on social media usage at the last minute, asking for extra color variants, another round of sketches, or shortening the deadline.
There are many ways a project can extend beyond the original ask. 3/
There are many ways a project can extend beyond the original ask. 3/
What's awful about Scope Creep is that it puts us in a conflicting situation with our client. Quite often the person hiring us is ALSO the person asking us for more work.
4/
4/
While we may feel put upon by the extra work, many of us are too conflict averse to ask for more money. Fearing the repercussions of 'rocking the boat'. After all, we want the person hiring us to potentially hire us again. 5/
So it makes the hard work of pumping the breaks & saying 'whoa whoa whoa, if you want more revisions, that's gonna cost more money' much harder to do.
6/
6/
It also runs the risk of coming across as unprofessional or hard to work with. Not many of us are conflict masters, & sometimes it is hard to draw a line in a way that is courteous & not just curt. None of us wants to say 'Sorry but this extends beyond our original agreement' 7/
What if I told you, you don't have to tell your client 'no' or pump the breaks to ask for more money? What if I told you a method of doing this has existed in the world of contract work for AGES, but your art school just never told you about it? 8/
Scope Creep exists in all other forms of contract work. Construction, plumbing, electrical work. We've all dived into jobs that wind up bigger than what we expected when we were first ironing out the deal. 9/
& because of that, a professional workaround for this common occurrence already exists.
The 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖊 𝕺𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖗 Form
10/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xyKCyp6O0jXARQYljuNgCUTyl5n-M1EVXF0J6Sk0TjE/edit?usp=sharing
The 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖊 𝕺𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖗 Form
10/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xyKCyp6O0jXARQYljuNgCUTyl5n-M1EVXF0J6Sk0TjE/edit?usp=sharing
A Change Order form is a quick 1-page document you can fill out that details the changes to your project, schedule, & final costs as you're in the middle of production. 11/
How it works:
The next time you're in the middle of a project & your AD says, "I love it! But we're gonna need a 4th round of revisions & can you also send a square JPEG of the final for our IG as well?"
12/
The next time you're in the middle of a project & your AD says, "I love it! But we're gonna need a 4th round of revisions & can you also send a square JPEG of the final for our IG as well?"
12/
This is what you say:
"Sure! Those revisions sound great & I'll have the square crop for social yr way in a jiffy. I've attached a Change Order to cover the adjustments. LMK if you have any Q's. Excited to get these your way!"
13/
"Sure! Those revisions sound great & I'll have the square crop for social yr way in a jiffy. I've attached a Change Order to cover the adjustments. LMK if you have any Q's. Excited to get these your way!"
13/
This is what you attach:
14/
14/
BADA BING! You did it!
What this simple move & change order form does- is it moves the imposition of the extra ask from your shoulder onto your client's shoulder. 15/
What this simple move & change order form does- is it moves the imposition of the extra ask from your shoulder onto your client's shoulder. 15/
Now if they don't have the budget to be asking you for this extra work, THEY have to hem & haw & think of a way to explain to you why they aren't paying you for the extra work they're asking you for. 16/
The form handles these common changes professionally. You're cool as a cucumber rolling with the changes. The clients are the ones that have to pump the breaks, if need be, but in my experience, when you use the form, people usually just say, "Looks good." & sign off on it. 17/
It's also a time saver. How many of us have spent HOURS hemming & hawing over the right way to phrase "please client, i'm so sorry but I must explain, I need more money for this more work kindly, ever so greatly my lord"
Never again.
18/
Never again.
18/
Anyway- I hope this is helpful in getting you paid more. You deserve it, & when clients ask for more work, they need to pay more.
No more free rides.
19/
No more free rides.
19/
Here's the resource: Go forth & Yeet! (& tell us how it goes!)
Also also- if you have any horror stories abt Scope Creep or asking for more money. Plz bless the comments, & share this resource widely.
20/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xyKCyp6O0jXARQYljuNgCUTyl5n-M1EVXF0J6Sk0TjE/edit?usp=sharing
Also also- if you have any horror stories abt Scope Creep or asking for more money. Plz bless the comments, & share this resource widely.
20/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xyKCyp6O0jXARQYljuNgCUTyl5n-M1EVXF0J6Sk0TjE/edit?usp=sharing
As always- if you want the link to submit rates, wanna share client horror stories, or just want to say hello- hit us up at Litebox.info@protonmail.com
21/
21/
You can subscribe to our free newsletter for more art/labor news or if you like what we do & want to support us, you can donate to our Ko-fi to help us buy a Zoom subscription at the link below.
22/
https://litebox.info/2019/07/12/get-involved/
22/ https://litebox.info/2019/07/12/get-involved/
Hope you get paid more for your client's impositions my friends & comrades.
Stay cute!
23/End
Stay cute!
23/End
