C.R. Visuals

We are currently investigating our ink sources. Although we didn’t know it, some inkjet inks ruin recycled paper by not washing out cleanly. Andrew Tribute of Print CEO Blog likens this to a red sock in a white wash. It is impossible to get the paper bright enough for use. He supports the idea of items being marked if they will not recycle and introduces readers to the European “International Association of the Deinking Industry” formed by European paper manufacturers in 1989. He links to their webpage on the state of deinking paper for multiple recycling: http://www.deinking.de/ingindxe/press/pr0801.html. The blog simply shows how difficult and important it is for individuals to be knowledgeable about and responsive to ethical and environmental issues.

And for paper, we are looking at http://www.transcontinental-printing.com/en/about/default.aspx who publish a series of white papers on recycled paper.

In May, Heike Mertins and I started a workshop called Ready to Launch. Designed to help entrepreneurs find their focus and create visual branding, we alternate between practical theory and visual branding. Heike’s workbook approach gives me the opportunity to re-visit some of the basics about running a business: unique selling propositions included. Now that we have moved, are we the same company? Have we really got the same competitors and the same skills?

Obviously production has changed. With 8 people, a company has to work as a team. We are too small to break into departments and we are too big NOT to have task lists and project management. We need to work out schedules for everything and discover who handles which tasks most efficiently.

We quickly find that not everyone understands time the same way. Deadlines aren’t critical to creative people intent on perfection. I look for wires. Are they Borg? Sometimes the client wants the best job possible in the timeframe available. Should we change our mission? When I worked alone, I promised 24 hour turnaround on web maintenance and small jobs. Now it seems I should promise fantastic results when they are ready.

The first three months were challenging. So many things needed to be purchased and organized. How many desks do we need and where will people hang their coats? Are we going open concept? Do we need cubicles? Will we take charge cards now? Can we afford to be wireless?

Clive and I had to re-think our filing system and teach everyone the importance of back-up and reporting. There were days when I wasn’t sure if people were assigned correctly to tasks. Individuals showed talents that were unexpected which warped their job descriptions. But rather that than limit staff to a set of pre-defined static roles.

We are winding down for the year delighted to have made it through the first 4 months! Not that we are doing as well as we might like. The Canon printers are a huge disappointment. Projects are not moving as fast as I expected. I was overly optimistic. It’s not the staff, it’s me. I didn’t allow for how long it would take to train staff to our standards. Nor did I realize how much time I would lose in administrative “stuff” that would prevent me from fulfilling my role as mentor.

Jacky has been diligent trying to track our workloads, but I have been unable to put together the processes we discussed.

Still, there has been progress. Craig has designed a series of postcards and posters. When we get the printers under control, we will begin our marketing campaigns.

We also have met a number of great suppliers, including Ron from MP Russo and the Meidells from Modevation. It feels as if we are making progress. I have high hopes for the New Year when everything should pick up.

Hiring staff these days, you can be sure they will be an eclectic mix. Ours cover a wide ethnic and religious swathe which leaves the issue of what to do about Christmas. Kitchener is a multicultural town, but let’s face it, there’s a Christmas parade, downtown is lit with snowmen and santa clauses and the trees in Victoria Park are decorated for a festival of lights.

This town has a strong German and Scottish, Christian tradition that goes back to its earliest settlement. I look around my office and wonder how far we should go with celebrating a tradition that only half my staff find meaningful.

Then I receive a newsletter in the mail from a legal firm. Always filled with good timely advice, this month it tells me that the courts take a dim view of proselytising in the workplace. Yes, you may decorate, and yes you may exchange gifts, but keep religion out of it.

I asked for opinions. As a result, we put up snowmen in the window and an elf by the door. We strung the Christmas cards we received by reception but we didn’t send any out ourselves. I had two people who wanted to work Christmas day if they could have their own holidays instead. I see no harm in that if it isn’t official and doesn’t affect payroll. Christmas rolls by and no-one is forced to endure others’ culture thrust in their way.

it suits me. I used to work in retail and from November 1 on my days were marred by tacky holly and the insistent sound of Christmas carols which left me desperate on Christmas Day to hear heavy metal.

What can I say about the 3 day seminar I attended last weekend? I went with Joni who walked out at noon because she couldn’t stand another hour with the workshop leader. Ostensibly about search engine optimization, this was 3 days of hype.

We were told to bring laptops only to find that half the room couldn’t access the internet through the wireless connection. There wasn’t enough bandwidth. Scratch that part of the workshop, except our fearless leader kept telling us to visit this site or download that software while those who were kicked off the system just sat there.
Maybe it was just me, but my impression was that we would be working on getting our websites optimized. There was no time for that. We were raced from website to website, downloading plugins and software to use at home. In between we were told way too much about the workshop leader who seemed to feel the weekend was meant to be a pep talk. The information was largely thin, the type of thing anyone interested in the topic could have picked up in a magazine article or off Google.
I won’t say I didn’t learn anything, but if I were to place a value on what I got out of this workshop, it would have cost $350 tops. Don’t waste your money. SEO is a big topic but there are dozens of websites out there willing to give you the same information this guy did, for free. Let me start you off with our own SEO pages.

BTW: no food was provided. Not even snacks and this workshop wasn’t cheap, except in terms of the material. For those of us with health issues, this was a major problem.

Did I mention in my last post how critical it is to consider the value of attending an event? Unfortunately, I pre-paid so I stuck it out hoping it would improve. It did not.

Wow. Okay, it has been a couple of weeks since the last entry. Fawad has started working for us. He’s very nervous, but fine.

They forget to tell you when they talk about starting a business that there will be days lost to personal issues: getting new health cards (took all morning); visits from family looking to see the office (took all afternoon).

Then there are the events you attend because they might lead to a sale. Each one has to be considered carefully. Attendance means time taken from other activities and the results may not be there. Besides, is it fair to go to an event when your only goals are mercenary? Shouldn’t you go because the event holds intrinsic value for you? Nov. 24 I went to the Film and Culture forum at City Hall. Lots of videographers, the whole thing not quite located where I hoped it would be, but some faces there that are worth knowing. I met one fellow who seems really keen, keen, keen. Ambitious, full of plans. We talked for a while. He can produce video and stream it over the internet, has connections with the techie community. We hit it off and he wants to have further talks to discuss what we can do for each other strategically. Name on the cards is Chris Meidell. Two cards is a bit confusing. Two businesses. Seems to be a start-up??? Lots of questions before I go much further with this one.

The big time-waster was a 3 day seminar on search engine optimization. But I think I will save that for another entry.

Rebecca and Fawad are on-board and Richard started on Monday. I need to watch the bottom line but there is a ton of work to complete.

With 7 employees, I thought I should investigate benefits packages and get some help with marketing. Lois was here on Tuesday to discuss how she could help us grow. Tom came in on Wednesday to explain my benefits options. No decisions were made. Tom will get back to me with costs. Lois….. I can’t decide. It’s another expense. She has much to offer, but is this the time to sink that much money in outsourcing something I could do myself.

The flip of the coin is that it is harder to design a project for yourself than for others. My first logo suited me: an oval made of cut glass, inset with stained glass. Oh I loved that logo. When Clive joined the company, I asked him to make it in 3D. Not so easy. Did it print well? Not so good. It needed to shine. It needed to be made of light.

We were offered an summertime intern through Trebas. A strange but brilliant young designer joined us for 2 months before he mysteriously disappeared. Creative people are often more than a little … odd. This guy was into older women and flirted incorrigibly, with our then office manager Karen. I asked him to design a new logo for C.R. Visuals. He came back a week later with our current logo, version 1. All pastels and delicate, it seemed too feminine. I didn’t want a logo that said: sweet young thing working out of her husband’s home for pocket money.

Surprisingly, the men I showed it to loved the logo. Women did too. The designer explained that the colours represented the 4-colours used in print (got that) and the building blocks reflected our ability to build solutions. They also looked a bit like children’s blocks, so they also suggested our playful spirit. (I hadn’t expected that).

Nutshell: sometimes it helps to outsource because outsiders bring a perspective you would never consider. They see you in ways you do not; see aspects of your company you overlooked or forgot about as you dug yourself into your business plan. But I still can’t decide about whether or not to hire Lois.

It’s another busy week with interviewing potential staff. One hears all the time that there is a shortage of qualified employees out there. The old folk are retiring and there aren’t enough young people to fill the roles. They have no experience and they expect to be catered to.

In new media there are a number of companies that just about hand-feed the staff. I’ve visited 2 companies in Toronto that had couches and beer fridges in the lounge. There’s a price: employees are supposed to be so delighted to be working in new media that they are willing to do sleep-overs. The owner of one of those 2 businesses threw parties at his cottage. They were a “must attend.”

I believe work should be a joy, but it shouldn’t preclude my staff, or me, from having a life. Creativity cannot thrive in a vaccuum and once all the school-age ideas have been sucked up, if everyone is fraternizing only with confreres, from where will innovation arise? I am offering big windows, the freedom to walk about, a kitchen, library and 35 hours a week, no overtime.

This week I met with Rebecca and Fawad. Rebecca has experience, Fawad has a degree. Both seem young and eager. I only need one, but am inclined to think the universe has sent me both for a reason. Certainly the majority of resumes I received reflect the very lack of experience / education combination that Communitech claims and these 2 together have the skills I need. There’s lots of work for them to do: I need Feed Your Passion completed, Drop-in-Design, and then back to the Visual Past.

As a business person, I must balance costs versus production. I discussed this with our project manager. We spent Wednesday setting up our system and looking at what we need to accomplish over the next 3 months. It’s a lot. On the whole, I probably don’t have time to help the programmer(s) complete their projects, so ….. close my eyes (always a bad idea) and never mind the cost.

We have t-shirts and sweatshirts and a sign outside. I told Lisa she has to wear the sweatshirt everyday like a sandwich board. I explained sandwich boards to her.

Resumes are coming in for the php/mysql job. The oddest is a robotics engineer from Ottawa who wants to come in next Tuesday for an interview. Sometimes as you read resumes and covering letters, the stories people concoct about themselves for public consumption, it leaves too much unsaid. We are wondering why an engineer would want a junior programming position far from home. Our creative minds are bubbling in anticipation.