Little Things. Creative Diary.

When we started the studio we knew that we wanted to try our very best to pay attention to the little details that make a difference. One such thing was paying people we worked with on time, before the invoice due date. Always. For us it seemed like such a basic fundamental of running a business, but sadly it’s not something that aways happens.

We also knew quite a few freelancers who would comment on how challenging it could be to get paid on time consistently, so we decided that we would aim to pay every freelancer invoice on the same day that it landed in our inbox. It’s something we started in the first month of the studio. To be honest we weren’t sure if it was something we would be able to keep up in reality, but I’m glad to say that we have and it's something that we proudly continue to this day, 15 years later.

I think on a few occasions we may have fallen short when off on holiday or out and about with clients, but for the most part we’ve managed to stay true to this founding principle.

It’s actually become something of a game with regular folk we work with, seeing if we can beat the record for fastest payment. I think to date the record stands at payment 2 mins after invoice submitted. For us there is a serious aspect to it. When we brief people on jobs we expect them to give it their all and deliver their very best work, so when an invoice lands in my inbox it has my full attention and becomes the most important item on the todo list. Because we believe the way that you treat people feeds through to the work itself, and our quick payments are not just a reflection of our studio - but rather a small gesture in recognition of our appreciation of the excellent work that our collaborators always deliver for us.

This approach has meant that we have to be disciplined with the studio finances, something that stood us in good stead - ensuring that we always have cash on hand to pay the folk we are working with regardless of when we might get paid from clients.

We are also very fortunate to have some clients who have returned the favour and pay us on the day that our invoice hits. To them we are eternally grateful, as it shows how much they value the work that we do which means a lot to us and helps build great creative & business relationships.

However, as most folk will likely experience, sometimes it’s not as easy to get people to pay up on time and part of the job running the studio is chasing invoices and trying to keep the cash flowing in a positive direction, it’s just part of the day to day of business. 

As we look to the future of the studio one fundamental will remain, as soon as that freelancer invoice appears it will have our full attention and we’ll hopefully be able to continue to run the studio in a sustainable way that allows us to make this happen.

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Graeme's writing this little creative diary as we celebrate running Jamhot for 15 years and look towards what the future of our creative & design studio holds. We're writing these for our own amusement, but if you do find yourself reading along then a big hello to you.