Unfortunate Policy #10: Expect Us To Be Busy!

Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.

In this season of scares, let's see if you identify with any of the following nightmares:

1) Many creatives think they work better under pressure which goes hand-in-hand with a bad habit of procrastination.  This flows throughout one's life into terminal situations such as "didn't get your Christmas shopping done yet?"  and it's December 24th.

2) Some people are addicted to being busy.  I've met people who just have to substantiate their lives by listing off their to-dos and making themselves stressed just to prove their worth.  Spoiler alert, it's not a competition.  Enjoy peace and less to do!

3) Still others deny human nature and the chaos that follows when everything has to happen all at once and then patience is shot and everyone is crying.  Hence the birthday or holiday parties that almost expect problems to occur.  See "definition of insanity."

The irony is we often get calls from clients who exhibit one or more of these traits and then are shocked when we can't bail them out.  Further more ironic, is the clients come from areas you would assume would be extremely detail oriented and strategically planned.

We are typically busy the equivalent of every day of the year - crammed into 2 days of the week.  When back in the office on Monday, it's "recovery time" and a gradual preparation for the next weekend.  The cycle goes on and on.  Coupled with the natural flow of the season (whether kids are in school or not!) and it leads to the following pieces of advice for those of you planning an event:

1) Reach out AT LEAST 6 months in advance.  If it's around a major holiday or event ( Happy 250, America for example) make it a year in advance.

2) Don't expect us to wait, save dates, or guarantee anything without a firm commitment - and that includes a non-refundable deposit.  If you expect us to give up prime earning time, you put your money where your mouth is.

3) If you want anything customized, produced or developed beyond what we have standard, expect it to cost extra.  Time spent on your project is time we aren't earning.

4) You're not helping us develop.  We don't need extra costumes we'll never use again, the stress of time and labor spent on a once-in-a-lifetime production, and pulling talent in multiple directions.  Yes, this is a service.  No, we don't need your advice.

5) The longer you wait, the less likely we'll be able to do anything.  If we can do it at all, expect it to take a lot of effort that we will not do for free (see #2.)

Expect anyone that deals with seasonal work to have similar if not exactly the same rules - petting zoos, food trucks, inflatables, tents-and-tables, venues and so on.  

So make that call "yesterday" and we look forward to helping you!