Upgrade to Pro
— share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …
Speaker Deck
Sign up for free
Menu
Search
Features
All features
Private URLs
Password Protection
Custom URLS
Scheduled publishing
Remove Branding
Restrict embedding
Deck Collections
Notes
Features
All features
Private URLs
Password Protection
Custom URLS
Scheduled publishing
Remove Branding
Restrict embedding
Deck Collections
Notes
Explore
Featured decks
Featured speakers
Programming
Technology
Storyboards
Explore
Featured decks
Featured speakers
Programming
Technology
Storyboards
Pricing
Search
Sign in
Sign up for free
Breaking down the Truth about Business - Conver...
Search
Rob
April 15, 2016
Business
160
0
Share
Embed
Copy iframe code
Copy JS code
Copy link
Start on current slide
Breaking down the Truth about Business - Converge 2016
Rob
April 15, 2016
More Decks by Rob
See All by Rob
Unified Theory of Studio Operations
robharr
0
120
Biz Dev: Do any of us know what we are doing?
robharr
0
86
Studio Operations & Forecasting: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - NYC 2019
robharr
0
120
Running Awesome Discovery Projects
robharr
0
370
Making sure the juice is worth the squeeze - Manage Digital 2019
robharr
1
150
Rules to Live By: Growing a Healthy Team: For People Who Run Teams or Organizations - HOW Design Live 2019
robharr
0
110
PeersConf 2019: Operations and Forecasting: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
robharr
1
210
Workshop: Studio Operations & Forecasting: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - Owner Summit 2019
robharr
0
160
Workshop: Studio Operations & Forecasting: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
robharr
0
200
Other Decks in Business
See All in Business
エムスリーキャリア Work Support採用資料 / M3C Work Support
m3c
1
15k
せたがや家の終活ナビ 登録事業者さま向け 参加ガイド
microbaseinc
0
120
AI時代、ホワイトワーカーは結局どうすれば良いのか?環境解説とOODA型キャリア戦略
makaibito
5
470
Uttoxeter & Cheadle Voice Issue 139
noelsarge
0
140
Trend Cloud OneからTrendAI Vision Oneへの切替 - 事前に押さえたい疑問とつまずきやすいポイント
todatomohiro
0
290
小さく早く作る って 本当に正しいの?— GTMの観点から見るアジャイル開発
ryu1013
0
180
【ARI】 Microsoftソリューションの活用相談ご紹介資料
arid2
0
170
DNX Capital|Introduction Deck
natsumidnx
0
190
株式会社Domuz会社紹介資料(採用)
kimpachi_d
0
65k
株式会社うるる エンジニア向け採用資料
uluru_hr
3
140k
お客様と未来を描く 戦略&技術伴走
yoshi22
0
220
インパクトレポート2026
nessu_inc
0
2k
Featured
See All Featured
Fight the Zombie Pattern Library - RWD Summit 2016
marcelosomers
234
18k
Designing for Performance
lara
612
70k
Why Our Code Smells
bkeepers
PRO
340
58k
Refactoring Trust on Your Teams (GOTO; Chicago 2020)
rmw
35
3.9k
The Organizational Zoo: Understanding Human Behavior Agility Through Metaphoric Constructive Conversations (based on the works of Arthur Shelley, Ph.D)
kimpetersen
PRO
0
510
WCS-LA-2024
lcolladotor
0
920
Navigating Algorithm Shifts & AI Overviews - #SMXNext
aleyda
1
1.7k
The Mindset for Success: Future Career Progression
greggifford
PRO
0
550
[SF Ruby Conf 2025] Rails X
palkan
3
1.5k
Put a Button on it: Removing Barriers to Going Fast.
kastner
60
4.6k
Digital Projects Gone Horribly Wrong (And the UX Pros Who Still Save the Day) - Dean Schuster
uxyall
1
3.5k
Typedesign – Prime Four
hannesfritz
42
3.2k
Transcript
Rob Harr BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS @robertharr
None
None
None
None
BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS GETTING STARTED
Running a business is really hard.
Starting a business. TAN GEN T!
Our Craft What we believe. Business TAN GEN T!
Our Craft The Truth. Business TAN GEN T!
Have a purpose.
Autonomy TAN GEN T!
None
You have to be intentional.
You have to be a little crazy.
None
None
There is no “One Way.”
BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS THE ZEN OF RUNNING
A SERVICE BUSINESS
This is a cash intensive business.
The employee arrangement Sarah 2080 hours a year Developer Salary
Vacation Benefits
Our Fake Team $45k $80k $100k $60k Salary $21 $38
$48 $28 Hourly Rate
TAN GEN T! People have different values in different contexts.
20% 5% 6% 11% 58% Your Budget 58% Compensation 11%
General + Admin 6% Rent 5% Advertising 20% Net Margin
20% 5% 6% 11% 58% Your Budget 58% Compensation
For most of us it comes down to staff utilization.
Slack Projects and Maintenance Agreements TAN GEN T!
There are seasons for things.
TAN GEN T! Surviving Growing Thriving
TAN GEN T! Surviving Growing Thriving
Having a plan vs planning
None
You will always have something to do.
None
It is ok to punt to future you. TAN GEN
T!
Work the right hours. TAN GEN T!
Embrace the “Office of the Presidency”
It is a marathon.
BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES
#1 Cashflow
Freedom is not free
6 months
Most of our costs are fairly consistent and predictable.
Plan for taxes all year long.
Separate your operating accounts from your savings account.
Micro-Cash flow
Micro-Cash flow
Micro-Cash flow
Operations
#2 Employees
I am in the talent business.
People are our biggest asset.
2 kinds of Companies: Talent Producers Talent Consumers
3 months for new Employees to become productive.
People Over Process
Why Projects Fail. TAN GEN T!
Act like you are in business for yourself. TAN GEN
T!
Embrace your staff’s super powers.
Clearly set team expectations.
#3 Finding work
12 to 18 months
Most client will not grow with you.
Sell to your existing clients. TAN GEN T!
Focus on long term relationships during your sales process.
Find something smaller to sell to bigger clients.
Pricing
Don’t steal your client’s story.
BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS DIFFICULT THINGS ARE STILL
GOING TO HAPPEN
Unexpected business tax.
Taxes.
Some of the people you hire will leave.
Negotiate pricing with Clients.
Sometimes you have to offer them something. TAN GEN T!
RFP’s
You will have off quarters.
There will be dragons.
None
WRAP IT UP BREAKING DOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS
There are no shortcuts.
Limited Control.
Rob’s two basic rules for happiness in business:
Life is too short to work with people you hate.
Rob’s two basic rules for happiness in business: Rule 1:
If you ever become annoyed by a client, it is
only because you’re not charging them enough money. Life is too short to work with people you hate. Rob’s two basic rules for happiness in business: Rule 1: Rule 2:
Accept the fact that you will be completely wrong about
things that you are sure you learned.
Want more? Businessology Podcast BizCraft Podcast Unmatched Style Podcasts Code
and Supply Podcasts
THANKS! @robertharr
[email protected]