Crowd Funding – Where the Hell is my Gift? – Part 10

I feel like a three year old: I want my gift and I want it now.  Now, now, now!  

So, I did a bit of research and after I’m feeling more like a ten year old. Intellectually I understand the fact that instant gratification is not always possible and that a reward waits in the future, but I still want my gift now, darn it.

I have invested in three projects on Kickstarter, a book, a cultural center and a film. Of course I have not invested in either, I have invested in PARTS of either:  small parts.  And herein lays the problem.  We (the Kickstarter community) invest in our friends’ and colleagues’ projects, or causes we are passionate about and more than not they are asking for donations to cover parts but not all of their funding needs. 

If I fundraise 10K for research of a documentary film I would be foolish to promise the finished film. First off, the delivery would be a few years from now and secondly I would not be able to guarantee delivery to begin with, because too many things can happen from research to finished film.  This seems too basic to have to mention, but I guess I do: make your pledges such, that you can deliver and do so on time. And in the interim: communicate!

There needs to be as much thought given to the fundraising part as to the delivery.  The goal is not only achieving our monetary goal by a certain date, but also - and equally important if not more important - the goal has to be to deliver on your pledge promises.  The dates for delivery have to be realistic and the goods or services to be delivered have to be realistic. And in the interim: communicate! (No, not a mistake – I just want to make that point again).  Shit happens, if it does: communicate.  Things get delayed:  communicate.  The creative process is a slippery one:  if it takes a lovely detour: communicate. 

I give you the three examples of the projects I have supported.  I did re-read and watch each of their pitches and here’s what works and what doesn’t.

Although I have waited the longest for Clouse’s Houses, the author Carol Clouse did a fine job managing expectations, explaining plan B upfront and keeping her backers up to date throughout the year she said it would take to finish her book.  Her fundraising goal was $5,000 which she reached June 22, 2011 with $5,055.  I pledged $25 to receive the book and an art card and to support (most importantly) the editor of the book for whose professional services the fundraiser took place. Needless to say, the editor, Barbara Fischkin is a friend of mine.  It’s a bit over a year, but the last communication to backers was six days ago and I’m apparently getting a 2^nd edition (after mistakes where discovered in the first) and it will be shipped to me by August 1^st.  

Good job: A. Why: Communication throughout the process.

The feature film Mulligan set out to raise $10,000, which it did by December 31, 2011 with $11,528. I pledged $50 to receive a golf ball and tee, both branded with the Mulligan logo, which I received promptly, but I am waiting on the digital download of the film and the score (both promised for May 2012).  

I just mailed with David Mandel who wrote on this blog about the behind the scenes launch a Kickstarter campaign and he says “they’re on it”.  Last Kickstarter communication: April 9, 2012. 

This would seem to be a quick and easy fix. You’re finishing a feature film, you don’t have a professional staff and you’re probably juggling a few new projects to keep paying the rent.  Make sure you make one person responsible of posting updates on a regular basis and everybody is going to be happy.  But you NEED to update.  And: if you think you’ll be done by May 2012 – add three months to be safe.  

Fair job: B+. Why: they did a partial delivery early on, but then got sloppy on their communication and delivery.

Now, on to the outfit that will make a Kickstarter success harder for the rest of us who come after.  Last summer I supported the cultural center Park51 (NYChildren Exhibit: Let’s open Park 51’s doors to the world!) for many reasons, one being that I was going to show my film there in conjunction with the exhibit NYChildren which ties in nicely with my film Abraham’s Children and the cultural center itself.  Park51 reached their fundraising goal of $70,000 on August 10^th, 2011.  

I pledged $25 to receive the book of the NYChildren exhibit, which was available for purchase at Park51.  This was September 2011. The last communication to backers on Kickstarter was posted on October 4^th, 2011. No book, no explanation and this organization has professional staff.  

Failure: F. Why: no delivery, no communication AND the book exists. Double boo!

This is the moral of the story: if it weren’t for the fact that I was supporting FRIENDS I’d not go back on Kickstarter to support a project.  I think the Kickstarter model is awesome and I hope one day to be one of the successful fundraisers to be added to a list of great creative projects at exceeded fundraising goals, but without delivery of pledges it doesn’t work and will increasingly work less, if potential backers, other than your parents, siblings and spouses, shy away after being ‘burned’.  Set realistic delivery goals and keep on communicating – it takes so little to do so, so do it!

The List – Or: Whatever it Takes

I have a list.  The list lives on my bathroom door (courtesy of Michael’s craft store and awesome pens that write on glass).  I see the list every day several times from the front as it’s meant to be read. I see the list once a day from behind as it’s not supposed to be read and I know the list by heart. 

There are only seven items on the list: it’s my job list, the über-to-do-list.  One through seven: the things that generate income or might generate income, my projects, my jobs, my films, my ‘stuff’.  It’s a very diverse portfolio.  Ever since I started the list good things are happening.  Why? 

Simple: I have the list. I look at the list many times a day, …but I repeat myself.  And that’s the point. I have a tendency to get completely immersed in what I’m doing to the point of (mild, very mild) obsession.  So the list gets me back on track.  

Item #1 is my obsession du jour, Item #2: need to schedule a half day to finish reading the article. Item #3: have to follow up with client. Item #4: a quick phone call to keep the ball moving. Item #5: need to invoice.  All my balls in the air and not, as pre shopping spree to Michael’s, two in the air and the rest collecting dust in the corner.  

ANY portfolio has to be diversified and so does mine as a small business owner and a filmmaker and a freelancer and consultant and a gym class teacher and a crazy woman.  What?  Yes, that too. I had a friend visit and I guess he couldn’t resist.  The day after his visit I realized that I had an item #8 on my list.  It read “crazy woman” and decidedly in a different hand. So, it wasn’t me sleepwalking.  I take my newest job very seriously: crazy woman, yes sir.

When to Send an Email

As I’m doing some reading on my next blog post I came across this tongue in cheek post by Seth Godin on WHEN to send an email and to go with it and even funnier infographic below (or use link for bigger format).    On a more serious note, but no less insightful, a post by Chris Anderson with some really good points to consider.  

My biggest email pet peeve that makes my toes curl is when someone sends an email with the message: “see below” or worse: “FYI”.  “FYI” what? The attachment, the 10 pages of correspondence below, that fact that you just outed yourself as a complete moron?  You have no CLUE what you’re fishing for. 

I remember being yelled at (yes, in all CAPS) by a vendor (no less) for continuing a conversation with his technician but on a different topic and not changing the subject line.  In hindsight I agree with him totally (minus the yelling) when he chided us that he would be misfiling our email conversation if it didn’t have the right subject line.  I had to ruefully think of him recently when I took advantage of a new (at least to me) feature on Outlook where email ‘conversations’ get bunched together.  It was a great feature until I sent out a whole bunch of emails with the subject line “thank you”, (this to be filed under: no good deed (thanking someone) goes unpunished). My ‘thank yous’ where very varied and the different conversations had no businesses being all bunched together under one conversational string, but that’s exactly what outlook did (and don’t tell me that’s a PC thing, ‘cause it ain’t). Totally idiotic. 

As for cc’ing: most people’s banes of existence are all the cc emails that need to be digested.  Here I’m of the mind that today where I do not necessarily sit in the same office with my production team anymore I want to be cc’ed on EVERY email.  Yes, a lot of reading but it makes up for not being in the same room or office suite anymore. It keeps me in the loop, but that might also have to do with my line of business.

Next time I send out a marketing email from Clock Wise I’ll try to look at my email addresses a bit more carefully (yuikes).

Via www.FastCoDesign.com

Things that Operate 24 Hours a Day

What do we take for granted 24 hours a day? In New York, the city that never sleeps (unless it snows real hard or Irene passes by) nearly everything and the subway system is one. Tropical Storm Irene is probably the only single event that has brought the entire system to a halt last fall.

Now repairs to the system shut down entire lines for five nights in a row leaving commuters in the 10 or even 100 thousands stranded for a week if they work night or early morning shifts. For most of us a 10 PM to 5 AM closure is merely annoying and might result in a big taxi bill for a night or two, but what if you are one of so many people who offer services and goods the “other 16 hours” of the day and depend on night schedule from public transport, to shopping, customer service and recreation? How many percent of the working force are they? What support do they get to get to work in time to serve us our first coffee at the deli when we run to the subway, or relieve us from a midnight craving of sushi? Pick up our garbage and prepare the morning news?

One thing we always can count on is the internet – at all hours, all the time, and (nearly) everywhere. That is: until now. I just goggled Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)  and Protect IP Act (PIPA) and as you might have noticed I hyperlinked them to Wikipedia. If you click on those links as of midnight tonight (1/18/12 and for the next 24 hours) they will NOT be operational. Incidentally Wikipedia will suspend operation to protest SOPA and PIPA. And Wikipedia will not be alone Reddit, MoveOn, BoingBoing, the Cheezburger Network, and FailBlog among others will join in the black out. Both SOPA and PIPA are bills slated to be passed (or not) in Congress. The New York Times has a very relevant article on the topic should you need some freshening up. The key sentence, a quote from Erik Martin, general manager of Reddit: “[…] it’s not a battle between Hollywood and tech, its people who get the Internet and those who don’t.”

Ok, so back to things that operate for 24 hours. We tend to think we need to always be available. Response times have to be under an hour. With email, text, Skype and face time (phones are now near antiquated), and our many “i ”Devices we connected at all times. I find myself hanging my head off my bed in the morning after turning off the alarm clock to totally sleep drunken look at my iPad or BlackBerry I left on the floor besides my bed (and it also gives me the right distance to read without my reading glasses), to make sure I haven’t missed anything while sleeping.

Do we really work more and are available more, or do we just push our work around the work week or calendar year to end up doing maybe even less than when we showed up at 9 AM and left at 5 PM and had worked with less technical distractions? Where is our focus? How much time do we have to dedicate to one task without interruption?

My sister said to me the other day: “I’m open for business from 7 AM to 8 PM”. I thought she was kidding until I realized that those were her hours of operation as mother, daughter, and employee. After 8 PM she wanted to be left alone, kid in bed and no more work or planning sessions – “CLOSED” sign on her forehead. Might not be a bad idea to set boundaries where there are often none (especially in the mother and daughter category). I solved the issue differently – I moved a six hour time difference away from my family and that decimates the family-operating hours. As for the vendor, friend and buddy-hours – I’m working on those.

I personally have a hard time with the “all or nothing” stance that I still see a lot in Europe even in management positions. I never forget the German producer who announced, as we were wrapping out a 13-part series of one-hour TV show, that she would go on vacation the next day for three weeks with no access to phone or email. I don’t think I’ve ever wrapped a job faster and gotten the final invoice for her approval submitted that quickly.

I’d rather check my email daily while traveling and spend a few hours a week taking care of some of the email bulk so when I get back I’m not buried in a sea of emails and pending potential disasters. Being a small business owner of course also means that I can’t disappear for three weeks without any knowledge of what’s going on at the office.

So, for now I’m open 24 hours, but will be sleeping for seven of those and as I don’t have a home phone and turn off the cell phone at night, all hell can break loose and I will be oblivious until I turn on the cell phone or check email hanging off my bed. But I’m open for business 24/7 – theoretically.