We were lucky to catch up with Ben Jinkins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ben thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Quality control is a challenge almost every entrepreneur has had to focus on when growing – any advice, stories or insight around how to best ensure quality is maintained as your business scales?

Agencies live in a fantasy world where quality creative work is pumped out fast and cheap. The reality is that you always get what you pay for. So how do you deliver quality work in a timely manner, please your clients and still make a profit? Here are a few things I’ve learned in my more than ten years of experience in the creative industry.

No. 1
Knowing Your Value.
This may sound like business 101, but you’d be surprised how many companies fail to achieve these essential foundations. It starts with harmony between Product (or Services), Sales & Marketing. Creating a strong alignment between What you’re selling, How you’re selling it & Who you’re selling to. It is essential to communicate and agree on the value of time each step of the process takes. The top-down approach often leaves creatives standing on the last step of the ladder. The creative process differs from any other in that it is not quantified by certanties, it is every sense of the term a discipline. Which means the creative process can be structured and optimized with strategies which dictate quality, such as: Ample time & space for inspiration, ideation, feedback, execution & revisions. (Predicting whether or not the deliverable will be successful is a topic for another time…) Stigmas have surrounded creative professionals such as: “(Enter Creative Role Here) is a fun artsy job, so you won’t mind 50 rounds of revisions because you’re having fun doing what you love right?” or “I can hire someone on Fiverr for $5 and have something by the end of the day”. It’s up to us creatives to change these out-dated perspectives, and it starts with knowing your value. The most successful creative professionals know that their time & expertise is worth the wait and money. If you are reading this as a business owner or stakeholder, you should charge your clients more and extend the turnaround time for your creative team.

No.2
Setting Expectations.
Setting realistic expectations for your client and team is the cornerstone of productivity. Even if your company has a standard turnaround time, ask your creative lead or project manager to review each brief/proposal. This will ensure all requests are in alignment with the expectations set with the client and the individuals executing on the work. If scaling is your goal, focus on adequate documentation for every project. This will become the building blocks of standard operating procedures needed for scaling your business.

No.3
Presentation
You can’t walk the walk if you can’t talk the talk. Update your website with new work on a regular basis. Create case-studies for proof & content. Prevent any shadow of a doubt that a potential client could have when deciding whether or not you’re the company/agency to go with.
Onboarding new clients with a high quality presentation not only shows them how much thought you put into your work, it makes them feel important and valued. Last but not least, client deliverable presentations. I could doodle on an empty wall of the office and it’s considered defacement. Yet if I doodled on an empty wall in an art museum and glued a business card beneath, it becomes an art installation. I’m not saying that a good presentation makes up for crap design work, but it does establish a great sense of professionalism that will go a long way with clients.

Maintaining quality of work while scaling is difficult, but with these solid foundations set in place your chances of preventing burnout and turnover will greatly decrease.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Ben Jinkins, I’m a husband & dad. Over the last ten years I’ve worked for a number of agencies and startups as a digital creator and team lead.

At the moment I’m balancing two part-time gigs, one with the focus on product photography & videography for e-commerce brands, Canopy Management. The other as Creative Director for a political advocacy agency, Raconteur Media Co. My third gig is my own company, Neato Creative, which I maintain a small number of clients providing website maintenance & odd jobs here and there.

At the moment, I am fascinated with the psychology behind branding and how it influences all aspects of businesses from product, to sales & marketing to company culture.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

There are a couple of ideas I live by:

1. Forget about the reward, fall in love with the process.

2. People don’t often act with logic, they act with emotion. Create work that evokes emotion that leads to action.

3. There’s a huge difference between appreciation and value. Go where you are valued.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

1. Celebrate victories on a daily basis.

2. Listen to pain points & find solutions quickly.

3. Provide support no matter what.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://benjinkins.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ben_jinkins/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-jinkins/