Hazards of the Profession

I spent two days this week with a new client. He had a brochure that he had written himself and wanted to print copies to distribute to potential customers. It was 11 pages of text with no graphics or visual relief. He wanted to print it as a small booklet with a yellow cover - again just text.

I spent a morning with him explaining that it would be more effective to create an attractive trifold that would draw people's attention to his business. He asked me to do a proposal, so I spent a day gathering estimates. I got a two-tiered estimate from Bruno Maya, the talented graphic artist I work with and two printing estimates: one for offset and one for digital. I then typed up a proposal, giving the client four options at different price levels.

In the end, he decided to go ahead with his 11-page brochure and hired me to edit the copy. A job is a job, and I certainly improved his copy and threw in a couple of graphics to make it more attractive.

But it is discouraging to waste a whole day on a proposal that goes nowhere.

I just have to remember the client is always right!