Let's Help Each Other

The Creative Connection

For the past two weeks, I’ve received dozens of emails from people looking for work. They’ve got families (or even just themselves) to support and want to get back into business. I wasn’t sure what I could do, but now I think I do:

• If you work for a company that needs great creative work and plans to outsource it, please let me know. Give me the scope of the project, and I’ll do my best to put you together with creative talent who could use the work.
• If you are looking for work, send me your resume, your rates, and your specialty. I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll do my level best to connect you to some work.
• I will not in any way act as an agent. In other words, I won’t profit from this in any way. You have my word.

(We all know the job sites, and I’ll assume you’re using those. We also know networking and personal connections are best).

Don’t Panic

The party seems to be over. Companies are pulling in their oars and cutting marketing budgets. Ad agencies are laying off people because the work is drying up. I know several agencies that deal exclusively in the travel and tourism business, and they’re in deep trouble.

It seems frivolous to plan the Caribbean holiday of your dreams with all that’s been going on lately. This massive ripple effect is hitting airlines and all the people that support them. It’s more than workers at the airports. Dry cleaners that clean the crews’ uniforms are folding, along with other support businesses.

It used to be amusing to get a daily dose of stupid company news. Now it’s anything but funny. Think of what a 10,000 person layoff does to a company, a town, and families. Around the world, people are trying to make sense of a totally senseless situation. I certainly don’t have many answers, but I think if everyone can reach out to a family that is affected, it’ll be a start.

Here are some ideas:

• Answer those phone calls from friends who are suddenly out of work. Unless you are very lucky, you’ve been in their situation. Have lunch with them, offer to pass around their resumes, or just listen.
• Offer to help in other ways, too. How about free babysitting so that they can get out of the house and enjoy a movie? Job hunting is stressful on everyone in the family. Anything you can do to reduce stress will help.
• Bake something. Doesn’t matter if you’re not the Galloping Gourmet. People appreciate a meal when times are tough. Get the neighborhood together and cook a week’s worth of meals for your friend.

And here are some great ways for your company to save money without laying people off:

• Cut fat-cat salaries. Do the top three people in your firm make 20 times what the lowest peon makes? Follow the lead of the CEOs of some large public companies: Reduce or eliminate your salary for a year (you’ll still get those stock options — don’t worry).
• Eliminate useless travel. Everyone likes to go to the sexy conferences and hobnob with the elite in his or her field. Take this year off. You can find debauchery close to home for a lot less.
• Ask clients for more work. Sounds simple, huh? If you follow the 80/20 rule (80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your clients), there is a lot of work out there you haven’t uncovered yet. Have the honchos at your company pay personal visits to as many top clients as possible. It’s amazing what you can uncover when you pay attention.
• Get your whole staff involved. Do you know how many connections for new business are right under your nose? I’m firmly convinced that everyone is only three degrees of separation away from everyone else. Use your connections. Remember: The job you save may be your own.

Have a great weekend, and let’s help each other out of this situation as much as we can. You can reach me at [email protected]. Remember to include as much detailed information as possible when sending me a project outline or your own qualifications. Thanks.