> a price to pay for anything or everything
my silent prayers had been answered, but there is a "price" to pay.
coming back from RT i received a phonecall confirming my suspicions. and also the aforementioned silent prayer ("wish" more like). an opportunity presented itself whereby i would be released from my current gig via dubious and questionable excuses and reasons by the client. whatever. but it meant i would be "free" from the doldrumic situation i was in. and i was happylikefcuk! but there was a price to be paid - whereby an entire night mired in phonecalls and double-edged-words and more falasies eventually leading to a compromise. that compromise was money. needless to say, t'was an expensive lesson learnt at the end of the day. and an important component of any business or job/gig = the contract.
whether its for a old friend or a totally new client, the initial contract is key to any business; i insist. clarifications and requirements need to be stated in total clarity and understanding. be it job requirement, services rendered, services provided or even payment terms. in the past, my usual practise was to include a clause whereby the/any initial deposit (which i ALWAYS insist on - nothing is EVER free kiddies!) once given will not be refunded in any event of cancellation of job by whatever reasons. but with blind faith (or as my sis says: "a leap of faith") and ignorance, i had left that clause out this time around. and now i am hurting from it. hurting bad. with nothing but words against client/service provider = means shitteall at the end of the day. whatever "trust" is convieniently forgotten and that piece of paper? that "agreement"? means shitte even to wipe your own overflowingarsehole with.
be it that singapore ain't exactly the land of the "i sue you!" at any drop of the hat (for which itz a double-edged-sword as well) - how else to protect "ourselves" in the event of a business-situation? i sure can't afford a lawyer (even paiseh to ask frens right?) to draft me an iron-clad contract. or even if it happens, mine is not exactly the business that CAN afford any legal tussle in the courts, coz the moolah ain't worth it in any case. but of coz bigbucks'll be different lah? but tis bread'n'butter i'm talking about here and as sure as hell's i'm struggling to even provide "bread" on the table, there'll sure be someway or someone who'll swipe your "butter" away... and unfortunately at the end of the day, i have only myself to blame; for not protecting myself enough. an expensive lesson learnt indeed.
no one's gonna take care or lookout for you, but yourself.
for those who are interested in these sorta things, please bare in mind the following if you ever wanna draft an agreement or pseudo-contract (besides the obvious, of coz):
(1) state amount to be paid. be it in percentages or timeline. and if you include/require an Initial Deposit, attach a clause to it that states that no refund would be made after payment has been made. of coz this must be in agreement with your client.
>> im now stuck with a situation whereby i have completed my work to the current mark, but when the client pulls out, im left naked in the hailstorm. and all the client has to say is: "somebody else has proposed a better/cheaper option to us and you have not performed as expected" - which is in essence bullshitte. ignorance in the process of work; becomes the official excuse and there is nothing left but a clash of words and intent.
(2) the timeline for the entire project (with only your involvement) for which you will be paid for. any additions/delays to that timeline is subject to a seperate negotiation and agreement.
>> i was caught in a situation, where the agreed upon dateline was pushed back 2weeks or so. but payment / reimbursement was never discussed (my fault as well) - and it was a seeming "given" by the client that i'd carry on with the project for the prior approved budget. but what about my other jobs that're linedup after that time? so im supposed to say byebye becoz itz my responsibility to the current gig? of coz it is - but when it comes to business, remember = no one's gonna take care of you. trust me.
(3) completion of payment. with the stipulated date and the stipulated amount. any additional delays to the completion of payment is subject to a percentage increase or penalty.
>> this is the hardest, for no one ever adheres to the penalties, even if they signed that darned piece of paper in the first place! in this given industry (media), where the payment terms are usually between 2weeks to 60days to 90days and beyond, you're just at the mercies of the client, innit? which is all bullshitte to me, becoz, YOU (ie. production house/agency) engaged ME, not their client. and so what if they dun pay you on time, so i'll haveta suffer? the "norm" may not neccassary be the "right", but still we trudge-on to survive and whine about them in blogs (like what im doing! AHAHAHAHAHAHA) put it simply, i have an outstanding fee to the tune of $4K owed to me from near 7years back! HOW LIKE THAT? paper means shitte orso lah ahahahaha *PUI*
ah, at the end of the day, who am i to talk about "iron-clad-contracts"? alla these mentioned above are based on experiences and lessons learnt in the past. do they actually work? most times. but sometimes things do fall thru the cracks, just make sure you're not dragged down and get stuck amongst the gutter as well... am i missing anything else here? anybody else have anything to add? heh :)
all the hardwork and latenights and opportunity-sacrifices means naught now (even if i've been whining about it in the past few entries - but how can you ever quantify "design"? and even if i've completed whatever requirements neccessary? *blergh*) nobody's EVER gonna throw you a bone. even if they could afford it. for the job i do is intangible to many. be it production design, art direction or any design in general. its not about how many pieces of pretty drawings you do? or is it? opportunities and trust sometimes make strangebedfellows, tho most times they might be a stranger to each other. oh well, time to move on innit? dwell not on the past, but learn from it and we'll all live to fighton for another day :)
coming back from RT i received a phonecall confirming my suspicions. and also the aforementioned silent prayer ("wish" more like). an opportunity presented itself whereby i would be released from my current gig via dubious and questionable excuses and reasons by the client. whatever. but it meant i would be "free" from the doldrumic situation i was in. and i was happylikefcuk! but there was a price to be paid - whereby an entire night mired in phonecalls and double-edged-words and more falasies eventually leading to a compromise. that compromise was money. needless to say, t'was an expensive lesson learnt at the end of the day. and an important component of any business or job/gig = the contract.
whether its for a old friend or a totally new client, the initial contract is key to any business; i insist. clarifications and requirements need to be stated in total clarity and understanding. be it job requirement, services rendered, services provided or even payment terms. in the past, my usual practise was to include a clause whereby the/any initial deposit (which i ALWAYS insist on - nothing is EVER free kiddies!) once given will not be refunded in any event of cancellation of job by whatever reasons. but with blind faith (or as my sis says: "a leap of faith") and ignorance, i had left that clause out this time around. and now i am hurting from it. hurting bad. with nothing but words against client/service provider = means shitteall at the end of the day. whatever "trust" is convieniently forgotten and that piece of paper? that "agreement"? means shitte even to wipe your own overflowingarsehole with.
be it that singapore ain't exactly the land of the "i sue you!" at any drop of the hat (for which itz a double-edged-sword as well) - how else to protect "ourselves" in the event of a business-situation? i sure can't afford a lawyer (even paiseh to ask frens right?) to draft me an iron-clad contract. or even if it happens, mine is not exactly the business that CAN afford any legal tussle in the courts, coz the moolah ain't worth it in any case. but of coz bigbucks'll be different lah? but tis bread'n'butter i'm talking about here and as sure as hell's i'm struggling to even provide "bread" on the table, there'll sure be someway or someone who'll swipe your "butter" away... and unfortunately at the end of the day, i have only myself to blame; for not protecting myself enough. an expensive lesson learnt indeed.
no one's gonna take care or lookout for you, but yourself.
for those who are interested in these sorta things, please bare in mind the following if you ever wanna draft an agreement or pseudo-contract (besides the obvious, of coz):
(1) state amount to be paid. be it in percentages or timeline. and if you include/require an Initial Deposit, attach a clause to it that states that no refund would be made after payment has been made. of coz this must be in agreement with your client.
>> im now stuck with a situation whereby i have completed my work to the current mark, but when the client pulls out, im left naked in the hailstorm. and all the client has to say is: "somebody else has proposed a better/cheaper option to us and you have not performed as expected" - which is in essence bullshitte. ignorance in the process of work; becomes the official excuse and there is nothing left but a clash of words and intent.
(2) the timeline for the entire project (with only your involvement) for which you will be paid for. any additions/delays to that timeline is subject to a seperate negotiation and agreement.
>> i was caught in a situation, where the agreed upon dateline was pushed back 2weeks or so. but payment / reimbursement was never discussed (my fault as well) - and it was a seeming "given" by the client that i'd carry on with the project for the prior approved budget. but what about my other jobs that're linedup after that time? so im supposed to say byebye becoz itz my responsibility to the current gig? of coz it is - but when it comes to business, remember = no one's gonna take care of you. trust me.
(3) completion of payment. with the stipulated date and the stipulated amount. any additional delays to the completion of payment is subject to a percentage increase or penalty.
>> this is the hardest, for no one ever adheres to the penalties, even if they signed that darned piece of paper in the first place! in this given industry (media), where the payment terms are usually between 2weeks to 60days to 90days and beyond, you're just at the mercies of the client, innit? which is all bullshitte to me, becoz, YOU (ie. production house/agency) engaged ME, not their client. and so what if they dun pay you on time, so i'll haveta suffer? the "norm" may not neccassary be the "right", but still we trudge-on to survive and whine about them in blogs (like what im doing! AHAHAHAHAHAHA) put it simply, i have an outstanding fee to the tune of $4K owed to me from near 7years back! HOW LIKE THAT? paper means shitte orso lah ahahahaha *PUI*
ah, at the end of the day, who am i to talk about "iron-clad-contracts"? alla these mentioned above are based on experiences and lessons learnt in the past. do they actually work? most times. but sometimes things do fall thru the cracks, just make sure you're not dragged down and get stuck amongst the gutter as well... am i missing anything else here? anybody else have anything to add? heh :)
all the hardwork and latenights and opportunity-sacrifices means naught now (even if i've been whining about it in the past few entries - but how can you ever quantify "design"? and even if i've completed whatever requirements neccessary? *blergh*) nobody's EVER gonna throw you a bone. even if they could afford it. for the job i do is intangible to many. be it production design, art direction or any design in general. its not about how many pieces of pretty drawings you do? or is it? opportunities and trust sometimes make strangebedfellows, tho most times they might be a stranger to each other. oh well, time to move on innit? dwell not on the past, but learn from it and we'll all live to fighton for another day :)
