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Contents:

1. A Note From Shawn

A spunky time of year

2. Our Featured Quote

by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry     

3. Article: Limp fishes, dog butts, and handshakes: Creating good client agreements

by PS Head Simplifier Shawn Tuttle

4. Your Simplification Tip

The Lion, The Witch, and Rotating Your Wardrobe

5. In the News

Built for consumption; Why we procrastinate; and Find the time to do all the things you have to—and want to—do

6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com

New blog posts

7. Keep Smiling

Mac or PC Rivalry Rap Video

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1. A Note From Shawn

Such a spunky time of year! Everyone seems to be so happy to see more sun, feel more warmth, and have longer days. The cold hermit days are over and the blazing hot leave-you-in-a-melted-puddle-on-the-sidewalk have yet to overtake us. Which reminds me to welcome our new readers from Australia! (And to ask forgiveness for the northern-hemisphere-centric tendencies of my writing.)

In our little picturesque town of Nevada City, located at the foothills of the grand Sierras in California, we’re working on starting a Saturday morning Farmers Market. Seems like a good thing to mention right around Earth Day. What a lovely way to decrease our human footprint on the earth—inviting residents to buy their produce from local, organic growing farmers. How can you beat getting to know the people who grow your food? Life, it’s all about our relationships—with farmers, clients, our loved ones, our not-so loved ones… It can be tough to stay centered in all situations, but hey, we get to try again tomorrow.  =)

Be spunky and enjoy,

Shawn Tuttle
Head Simplifier, Project Simplify
Co-editor, The Simplifier

 

 

 

 

2. Our Featured Quote

“Man is a knot into which relationships are tied.”

-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

 

 

3. Article: Limp fishes, dog butts, and handshakes: Creating good client agreements

By Shawn Tuttle

What do screeching fax lines, dogs sniffing each others’ derrieres, and boxers tapping gloves have in common? They are all types of handshakes. We use the handshake as a way of conveying messages such as “hello”, “goodbye”, “we’ve reached an accord”, “I’m pleased to meet you”, and “let’s seal the deal”.

In the business world, the client agreement plays the role of truly “sealing the deal”.  While the handshake provides the satisfaction of ritual and symbology, the client agreement fills in the details and clarifies that you are, in fact, on the same page with your client. Trust in business is crucial! It’s like any relationship—you count on someone to do what they said they’d do, when they said they’d do it. By encouraging a culture of trust, communication, and respect, you’ll be in a much better position to deal with unexpected situations.

A brief survey of client “handshakes”
—The Iron Hand Bone-crusher. This is the heavy handed contract that allows zero wiggle room. It says, “I’m the boss, don’t mess with me.”
—The Limp Fish. This one doesn’t provide any substantial guidance for dealing with real or future situations. It says, “I don’t want to impose anything that might possibly potentially imply that I’m committing to anything.”
—The High-five Slap-down Hooked-fingers Thumb-curl Finger-wave. This is the incomprehensible, convoluted, legalese-esque document. What’s it mean? Who knows. It says, “Even if you read it, you probably won’t get it.”

Contrast these with the classic firm, comfortable shake complete with eye contact and a smile. Now that’s what I’m talking about! It says, “I’m happy to do business with you—let’s make it work.”

If you already have a client agreement in place or are in an industry that doesn’t use one, you can use this article to reconnect with the values of healthy relationships and celebrate how simple systems make things run smoothly.

Developing positive relationships with your client goes deeper than just providing services for them. To ensure repeat business and referrals, trust, communication, and mutual respect must also be present. Seeing that you are thorough in your process inspires respect for you and confidence in your abilities. On the negative side, you may lose some trust from people if you don’t present an agreement clarifying your method and expectations.

Creating your agreement
The easiest way to get to the first draft of your agreement is to base it on another’s template. 
— Trade organizations often have sample agreements available for members.
— Online searches for “client agreement” + “{your business type}” will likely turn up some good possibilities.
— Mentors or experienced colleagues in your industry will usually be happy to provide a copy of theirs.

“Why bother? It probably won’t stand up in court,” the lawyer in you demands to know. (It was this same suspicious nature of days past that made early handshakers grip the other’s forearm to feel for weapons up the sleeve.) Obviously, there are no guarantees there. So let’s ask a different question, should an attorney be involved in creating your agreement? To answer a question with a question: what type of business are you in?

As a simplification coach and professional organizer who is pre-paid or paid at the end of each session, my own client agreement is focused mainly on clarifying fee structure and sharing privacy policy. The goal of my agreement is to make it easy for us to stay on good terms and thereby, out of court. (The legal route is unlikely to make anyone better off!)

However, it’s a different story for service providers like contractors, marketing professionals, and web designers. Since they have a multitude of details and timelines to agree upon, higher dollar stakes, and multiple parties involved, there’s more room for controversy to grow. In these cases, working with an attorney would likely be a good idea. If you do use an attorney, I emphasize working along with your legal counsel in order to produce a document whose tone you feel good about, rather than delegating the entire document to them.

Nail the agreement at the outset
You want to have a signed agreement in your file before beginning work. This flows easily when you have a simple process in place. For example, the potential client calls to find out more about your business. Throughout the phone call, in addition to articulating how you can help them, you also cover the most relevant points in your agreement. At the end of your conversation, after you’ve set up an appointment and taken down their contact information, you conclude with, “I’ll email you my agreement; it lays out the stuff we just talked about so that we’re both starting out on the same page.” If there is time for them to send it back to you before your first appointment, ask them to do so. Otherwise, ask them to have it at your first appointment. These instructions can be reinforced in your email to them.

If you are picking up the agreement at your first appointment, be sure it is the first thing you do upon arriving on site. Have an extra copy in case they want a copy but don’t have a photocopier. This avoids your having to commit to sending them a copy once you are back at your own office. Be prepared and be done with it. Then keep your signed copy in their client file.

The goal is to create positive, long-term relationships with clients (or positive referral sources if the nature of your business is short-term projects). Clearly introducing your playing field and making your process transparent reflects a thoughtful business with solid systems in place.

The ritual used by greeting dogs hasn’t changed for eons, and faxes are slowly, slowly moving towards obsolescence. We creative entrepreneurs, however, get to morph with the times. No longer are we warriors greeting our opponents, reaching toward them with the right hand as a symbol of respect before the weapon in the left will soon attempt to destroy. As modern-day warriors, we have the opportunity to funnel that spirit of respect into creating ever-new ways of working together. Let your agreement pave the way in developing trust. Creating it is easy if you look to others for help, and working it into your intake or proposal spiel makes it relatively painless. You’ll find that the clarity gained by using your client agreement can only support your adventures as a successful entrepreneurial warrior!
—

Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify.

4. Your Simplification Tip

The Lion, the Witch, and Rotating Your Wardrobe

If you live in parts of Costa Rica’s Central Valley where the year-round average temperature is 71º Fahrenheit, this tip might not be for you. For the rest of us cold winter/hot summer weather folk whose closets don’t resemble small warehouses, rotating the wardrobe is a bi-annual necessity.Seeing as how we’re at the cusp of one of those seasonal occurrences (despite the fact that it’s cold, rainy and 49º F right now) here are a few wardrobe thoughts to get your simplifying juices flowing:

1. Have a bag designated for the thrift store handy. As you pull out each piece of clothing, do a quick check in. If you don’t like how you feel wearing it, don’t pack it! Throw it in the thrift store bag. Someone will be happy to get it.
2. While bi-polar mother nature can’t figure out if it’s time to get warm or stay nippy, you might consider splitting your closet in half. Pack up half of your out-going clothes and unpack half of your in-coming clothes. Remember Pareto’s rule applied to your wardrobe: you wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time.
3. Try to leave 20% of your closet empty for easy maneuverability. If you have to exert muscle strength to release a hanger, your closet is too full!

That’s probably enough to think about for one tip: purging, mixing seasons with the 80/20 rule, and easy accessibility. Happy rotating!

 

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5. In the News

Compiled by The Simplifier co-editor Lance Brown

Built for consumption (The Calgary Herald)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/3tltp5 
This is a very helpful article about setting up your house so it’s easier to deal with all the stuff that comes in and goes out. 

Find the time to do all the things you have to - and want to - do  (The Sault Star - Ontario, CA)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/4ef3nl 
My balance isn’t your balance. Her balance isn’t his balance. Their balance isn’t her balance. Balance is as balance does. Do what feels right to you. So (roughly speaking) says author Nadine Robinson in this column.

Why we procrastinate  (The News & Observer - Raleigh/Durham, NC)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/6z6aau        
There’s plenty of time to figure out why we procrastinate…so just put this article over there on the corner of your desktop, and get to it when you have the time. Like the next time you have a looming deadline on an important project. I know you’ll be looking for handy distractions to help you avoid staying on-task. Reading this article would be a terrifically ironic one. And irony pleases me.

If you know of something in the news that should be featured here, let us know!

 

 

 

6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com

Latest Blog Posts

Once upon a time, a guy wrote a creative introduction. He didn’t really need to, because it was self-evident what he was introducing, but you know how people are. They like to hear themselves talk. And this guy was no different. Except he typed instead of talking. He told himself that it was for the people, or even for the information itself, that an introduction was necessary. That somehow he was contributing to the general order of things, helping to keep the universe steady on its axis in his own small way. 

But really, he just loves him some words. Mmmmmmm…..words.

(Here are the latest blog posts.)

Getting rid of stuff in Nevada County
Shawn compiles a resource for folks who are too resource-full in our neck of the woods.

Clear it on out!
Yard sale tips and strategies.

Docking station
De-cluttering your electronic necessities.

Signs to live by
A “humanizer” via Matt Edwards.

Do they know what you know?
Ask the simple questions first. They usually clear things up.

Long days and still smiling
Doing good work = persistent good vibes.

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and her brain
Brain doctor discusses right & left brain hemispheres and (her own) stroke recovery.

 

 

 

7. Keep Smiling

by The Simplifier co-editor Lance Brown

Mac or PC Rivalry Rap Video

I think you’ve got to be an extreme geek to really enjoy this Mac/PC rivalry spoof song & video. Shawn (Mac) and I (PC) both found it to be hilarious. I’m a “right clicka”, while she’s an “I-book flippa”, to borrow lingo from the very creative folks who developed this funny rap song (and its surprisingly-well-produced music video). 

The music’s not necessarily in the style either of us prefer, but we’re both full-on geeks, and any full-on geek who doesn’t find this video amusing needs to spend a little less time playing The Sims, and a little more time at YouTube, if you get my drift.

If you don’t get my drift, you’re probably not qualified to enjoy “Mac or PC”, newbie. Maybe you should start with JibJab and work your way up. ;-)

URL: http://MacorPC.org

 

 

 

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Thanks for reading!

Publication Information
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The Simplifier is published by:
Project Simplify
P.O. Box 597
Nevada City, CA 95959
phone: 530.205.5775
web: www.projectsimplify.com
e-mail: (newsletter@projectsimplify.com) newsletter (at) projectsimplify (dot) com