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whosscruffylooking · 3 years

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The Purest Things-Something There

Warnings: Mentions of murder. Canon-typical violence.

Word Count: 2.5k

a/n: i am so beyond sorry that it has taken this long to get another chapter out. this doesn’t follow my post schedule that i had previously given, but hopefully this can be a good place holder till later this week.

The Purest Things Masterlist

May 2008

Bookend: "It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent." -Madeleine Albright

"There's no way I'm doing that," you rebuttal, "Hotch? Tell them it's a ridiculous idea." He stays silent, but his mouth twitches slightly.

Oh, you son of a-

"Richards is a classic narcissist. The challenge of facing a tough, fearless, and intelligent woman will give him his high. Narcissists are drawn to goal-oriented women, women who are resilient, adaptable, yet decisive. Show him that you are a good listener, but don't praise him."

"Think of him like a wild animal," Spencer adds, "You don't feed zoo animals because they are unpredictable. Remember, narcissists have an extraordinary sense of self, and when you praise his ego, you enable his unstable and feeble mind. He doesn't hear praise; he hears how much better he is than you. If you don't feed the beast, he won't have the stamina to combat your confidence later."

"Once you disarm him, I'll come in and challenge his confidence," Hotch concludes.

Could you have said that less attractively? That would have been more helpful.

Aaron cheekily smirks as if reading your mind but quickly looks away. You wish you didn't blush so fast-that you had some sense to keep your emotions to yourself. In a second, your cheeks are rosy, and you are convinced that everyone in the room can perceive your feelings as if you wrote them on little notes and passed them around.

You grunt and roll your eyes, "I hate all of you."

Derek snaps his fingers at you, "Lose the jacket."

"All men are pigs," you spit while removing your blazer, leaving you in a fitted tank top and your tight-legged jeans that hug your curves in all of the right places.

Derek wolf whistles at you, and you hurl your jacket at him. Aaron lets his eyes slide up and down your body, his gaze lasting longer than it should. He swears that as you stride into the interrogation room, your hips swing a bit farther side to side than usual. It is the very action that radiates courage, a mind coupled perfectly with itself and the world around it, concentrated and solemn.

Typically, Hotch would divert the task of adulating a narcissist to Prentiss, but he knows if anyone can take command of someone's attention, it's you. How does he know? Because you captivate him far more often than he cares to admit, defying his very being with every interaction. You are a secret weapon that he wants to keep concealed until you can allow your talents to shine genuinely. Aaron knows that now is your moment. ++++ "What is it that I am being accused of? Fraud? Embezzling?" The sharp-dressed businessman questions; his gaze is straying further below your eyes than you care for.

Pig.

You throw a file down on the medal table, and it slides across, stopping right in front of the man, successfully redirecting his stare somewhere other than your chest.

"Try murder."

His eyes widen, "You're joking. Come on, where are the hidden cameras? I'm ready for you to yell candid camera now! I am Milton Richards, for god's sake!"

"I don't know!" You shrug your shoulders. "Why don't you explain this to me, Mr. Richards. I'm just as confused as you are. What reason could a successful, charming, handsome, wealthy business mogul like yourself possibly have to kill someone?"

"Oh please," Richards scoffs, "This isn't an interrogation. You've already pegged me as guilty."

"I don't agree, but you have the right to feel how you feel."

He purses his lips, leaning as far away from you as physically possible while handcuffed to the table.

"Milton, why did you try to escape a moving vehicle when my team apprehended you?"

"Just felt like it, I guess," he shrugs mockingly.

"So, something just randomly compelled you to flee the custody of a federal agent?"

Richards leers at you. You stand up and walk around the table, leaning down next to him, "I get it. I do. You're a suave, wealthy, and ruthless business tyrant. You have to cover your tracks-do what it takes to survive."

He raises his eyebrow, turning to face you, your faces mere inches from each other. I got you now.

"Trust me. I know probably better than anyone what it takes to maintain a position you fought your entire life for. I'm a woman; I had to claw my way into the F.B.I. Do you think it's easy being surrounded by a team filled with uncontrolled testosterone? Womanhood requires balls; I see you keep your balls in your pants, cool, cool. Mine are on my chest, up top. As you've so duly noticed."

His eyes flicker to the aforementioned area, and you restrain yourself from gagging.

"And you know what, Richards? I use them every day of my life. Because in my line of business, sometimes I have to take the backdoor to get things done. Why do I get the sense that you were the same way before you became Mr. Wolf of Wall Street? How else does a kid who grew up in the projects become a multi-millionaire mogul by 27?"

"We both know what the other is capable of. C'mon, let's show each other a bit of respect here. No games, let's be upfront with each other," you appeal. ++++ Aaron watches as you work the room like it is your stage. You play the part perfectly. He admires your ability to absorb things and then responded rather than immediately react to douse firey circumstances rather than add to the flames.

Derek finds himself next to Aaron, smugly observing Aaron's visible fascination with you.

"She's fantastic, Hotch," Derek beams with pride. Hotch holds his breath behind pursed lips in an attempt to barricade himself from the feelings of foolish jealousy he feels creeping up.

I know she is. I think I recognize it a little too well.

Aaron knows that Derek will be scrutinizing his reaction to the commendation and refrains from responding.

Of course, Derek reads this lack of a reaction as a response itself. And he finds it strangely amusing. ++++ "Here's what I think happened," you twirl your finger around the manilla file, "I think you were having some money troubles and your top investors caught onto your little games. When you sat down, you volunteered the crimes fraud and embezzlement as reasons you assumed we brought you into custody. You listed them like they are apparent reasons for us to charge you. Those are two areas you are clearly willing to take the fall for and have cause to oblige by."

Opening the file, a photograph is revealed within of a murder victim. Richards shifts uncomfortably in his seat, stifling a cough.

"Do you know this man?"

"N-no," he claims as his eyes flutter from the photo to his hands.

Surprised by his blatant tell, you glance back at the two-way mirror.

Turning back to the suspect with a newfound spark in your eyes, you press harder, "Strike one. Try again."

"Excuse me?"

"The man in the image is Walter Barone, the C.E.O. of Jameson Whitely Associates...your accounting firm. Your company was going bankrupt, Milton. There was nowhere left for you to turn. So, do you want to try that again? This time, answer my questions directly and honestly."

"Walt had a reserve saved for me worth $5 million. Last week when I approached him about dipping into the fund to keep the company afloat, he withheld it. I wouldn't kill him for it, though."

"Well, see, that's the problem here, Milton. When he was found, that little reserve of yours was nowhere to be found. Naturally, you can assume where my mind goes when I try and put two and two together, right?"

"I told you," he says, clearly provoked by your accusation, "I wouldn't...didn't kill him."

"Wasn't it you, in your book, right? Who said, 'It's surprising what a man will do when properly motivated?' I don't know about you, but losing everything you'd ever worked for and having your one saving grace held from you seems like pretty good motivation."

Silence. "Oh, come on, Milton, now is not the time to act so arrogant!"

He slams his fists on the table; you abstain from being startled in an attempt to show him no fear.

Wild animals can smell fear.

"Arrogant, huh? Why don't you step up and prove me wrong? Prove you're better than me. You despise me for being successful; I despise you for your assumption that you could waltz in here like a tramp and seduce me into giving myself up. What? Too harsh? I'm not sure you and I are even the same species."

Hotch bursts into the room, and you quickly signal for him to stand down. I've got this.

He gives you a prideful wink. I know you do.

Somehow Aaron being in the room gives you that last little push to conclude this grand performance of yours. Slowly, you begin clapping dramatically for his little one-person comedy act. He certainly knows how to play the fool.

"Is that a dare? Challenge accepted. Your entire life, you have suffered from a disease... a fragile ego. You have built these walls of detachment so that you can conveniently solicit status to hide your true, weak self. You lash out because you feel it compensates for your insecurities."

"The truth is, despite being at the top of the corporate chain, every day you lead the life of a loser. You are willing to destroy people psychically, emotionally, and mentally. And you view that as a cause for celebration. You are the embodiment of a loser and abject failure."

Hotch touches the small of your back; you shiver at the sudden warmth that fills your body in reaction to it. He hands you a piece of paper, one that seals Richards' conviction.

"Milton Richards, you are under arrest for the murder of Walter Barone, Hank Simmons, Frankie Lisbon, and Jillian Ryder."

Hotch motions for you to do the honors.

"By all means, lead the way."

Holding yourself proud and tall, you waltz over to Milton and hoist him out of his chair. Inclining your lips to his ear, you tell him contemptuously, "You lose." ++++ "Way to go, superstar! You had us all on the edge of our seats," Derek says, wrapping his muscular arms around you. You breathe in his cologne and savor the sensation of being in his arms.

Since the day you met Morgan, you've felt a draw to him. Not in a romantic way, though you proudly admit he is hands-down one of the most gorgeous men to set foot on earth. He gives you the feeling of safety, warmth, and brotherly love. His hugs rejuvenate you after a long day of work, and you see to it that neither of you leaves the office without receiving your signature embraces.

Aaron observes you and Derek's shared embrace from the shelter of his office. Before he can comprehend his movements, his legs carry him to the terrace overlooking the bullpen.

What do you think you're doing, Hotch? Pull yourself together. They’re friends. Just like you and her are.

Dismissing his inner voice of reason, he calls out to you, "Y/L/N. See me in my office."

You grimace at his tone of voice but abide by his request.

Derek chuckles, "Green is not that man's color."

"What?" You turn to him, confused.

"Goodnight, superstar."

"Night, handsome," you blow him a kiss, trying to brush his comment out of your mind. ++++ "You summoned?"

Aaron's whiskey-colored eyes meet yours. The tempo of your heart quickens like a metronome.

"You did a phenomenal job in there."

"I've learned from the best." You. I've learned from you.

He clears his throat, "Those things you said...a-about the men on this team. Is that how you truly feel?"

Shocked by his willingness to believe such a misleading statement, you gasp and close the distance between the two of you.

You must have some nerve to believe that I would ever view you as anything other than the most upstanding man I've ever met.

"Aaron, what I said in there is further than the truth than I would have liked to have strayed. In fact, it was with you that I finally felt equal as a human being-like someone recognized me for my intellect and self-worth. A woman can't acquire that regardless of how 'equal' this world claims to be."

Aaron finds himself lost in your eyes, absorbing every meaning behind your words.

"It was a freeing feeling having someone I respect so highly show me similar respect."

No. Don't stop talking. Please. Hotch blushes at his inner monologue, incapable of comprehending precisely what kind of influence you hold on him.

"Anyway," you laugh, brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen in your face, "Sorry for my little tangent."

"No," Hotch interjects firmly, "Never apologize for expressing your feelings. I assured you last year that I'll always be available as a sounding board for you. That offer still stands."

Your gaze softens as you study him, his intentions, his mannerisms. He notices your pupils dilate, and it commences a chain reaction within his veins. To him, it's not the fact that you radiate beauty on the outside. Sure, you are physically fit and put in the effort to maintain your appearance. Naturally, that would be why someone like Derek Morgan would have you on his radar.

But, Aaron has gradually grown accustomed to the kindness that you seem to reserve just for him. He sees the differences between how you act around the team versus when you step inside his office or are alone in the car with him, even the way your confidence elevates when he walks into the interrogation room.

These differences aren't unique to just you, though. Aaron notices the same changes in himself when he is around you. Never did he expect to go home from work and lie in bed thinking about the way your eyes strayed on his for a moment too long, or how as he completed paperwork at his desk, he'd replay in his mind a cheesy joke you told the team. He knows how you like your coffee from observing you in the break room one too many times.

One cream, two sugars.

Your laughter warms his body from the inside out. When you talk about your favorite comic book with Prentiss and Morgan, the twinkle in your eye never fails to bring a smile to his face. He knows that you hate getting out of the car when it rains because your perfectly straightened hair that you spent god knows how long on will undoubtedly curl.

His changes were less evident on the outside. But, he knew that deep down, there is something there that wasn't there before.

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apprenticemcthot · 4 years

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Apprentice April

no one asked for this but I wanted to write more about my boy so I answered all 20 questions for #ApprenticeApril

1. The Basics. What is your character’s name? How old are they? How tall are they? Skin color? Eye color? Hair color? Gender identification?

Patleayegan, from the Nahuatl patlea (medicine) and yegan (guide). Though he goes mostly by PJ because he had a hard time remembering his own name when Asra had to teach him to speak again after coming back to life. The “y” is actually pronounced as a “j”, so PJ stems from the syllables (Patlea-Jegan).Asra began calling him that instead, and the nickname stuck.

late 20′s, around Asra’s age

5′2″ (158 cm), he comes from a long lineage of shorties

brown skin, brown eyes, brown hair ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

he/him pronouns, but as someone who was taught by Asra, he has no regard for gender

2. Love Interest. Who does your character love? What attracted them to that particular LI?

Julian. He actually had a slight crush on him when he apprenticed for him during the plague. that crush carried over 3 years after when the two met again. At first, his looks were certainly a factor. but once they got to know each other, Julian’s incredible irony of being both a flirt and easily flustered amused PJ

For all the other Love Interests, I use an MC named Naz (they/them)

3. Familiar. Does your character have a familiar? How did they meet?

his dear Tlahtoani. Toani for short. he’s a white Cairn Terrier. They met when PJ was about 6, wandering around the streets. He found Toani looking for food scraps and took him home, fed him, and fell in love with the little ball of mayhem

4. Hobbies. What kinds of things does your character like to do for fun?

Literature. He loves to read. when he came back to life, Asra taught him how to speak again by reading to him. eventually, PJ fell in love with literature. prose and poetry alike. he loves to write love letters to Julian.

5. Hidden talents. Is there something neat that your character can do? Tie a cherry stem into a knot with their tongue? Say any word backwards perfectly?

Lingustics. He’s very good with languages. once he re-learned the Vesuvian language post-plague, he didn’t stop there. he’s fluent in 3 languages and can hold a simple conversation in 5. can read 3 different types of alphabets. has a talent for pronunciation. oh, he’s also pretty acrobatic.

6. Magical talents. Is there a specific type of magic that your character excels at? Any magic they aren’t so great at? Or do they actually shy away from magic altogether?

Fire Magic. He’s best at magic that involves the elements, but as someone who tends to have strong emotions, he’s the best at using fire. Almost burned down the shop the first time he tried it with Asra post-plague

His family specialised in healing magic (hence his name) but he was never able to live up to his parent’s expectations. He prefers to use potions and herbs rather than his energy to heal. Asra taught him almost everything he knows about being a healer.

7. Interaction. How does your character typically interact with people?

polite boi in the streets, shady bitch in the sheets. He’s tends to carry an air of confidence and professionalism when talking to people he’s just met, especially those of higher social status. Likes to be kind to strangers. But once you get past that layer of chill, he is an absolute savage when it comes to come back. Will call his friends “foolish whores�� as a term of endearment.

8. Romance. What is something that your character and their LI love to do together? How do they show affection?

Sleep together! not only in the sexy kind of way but also in the literal sense. Can and will cuddle with Julian for hours on end on any furniture in the shop.

Love letters. because of their work schedules, if PJ can’t spend his morning with Julian, he’ll write him little love notes and have Malak deliver them to him.

9. Travel. Does your character like to travel outside of Vesuvia? How often? For how long? What kinds of things do they do away from home?

Would love to travel the world but hasn’t found the time. It was his parents who did most of the traveling while he stayed behind in Vesuvia to watch the shop. Though after meeting Julian, the two have gone on their fair share of trips that were nothing short of honeymoon-like wink wink

10. WTF. Has anything just…weird ever happened to your character? Something that made them stop and go “What just happened?!”

well, apart from being brought back from the dead

lose things. he tends to misplace things quite often only for them to reappear months later. At first he thought it was Faust or maybe even the stove salamander hoarding his trinkets but turns out the shop itself has magic and it tends to be pretty mischievous

11. Crime. Has your character ever been arrested? If so, what did they do? Have they ever helped stop a crime?

other than buying illegal ingredients from the Red Market, he has no desire to break the law, especially if it means Nadia will be disappointed in him

12. Secrets. What is a secret that your character has? Are they in line for the throne in a far off land? Was there this one time at band camp…? Are they secretly involved in an assassin’s guild?

He’s actually AFAB but was able to change his body into something more affirming at an early age with the help of his parents who were Vesuvia’s best healer magicians at the time. (Though there was nothing they could do about his meager height)

He’s not exactly hiding this part of his past but he has spent the vast majority of his life in a body that is true to his identity that he often forgets about the body he was born in. In fact, it was Asra that had to explain this part of his past to him post-plague

13. Overcompensation. Is there something that your character just HAS to do better than anyone else? Or are they just that dang good without trying? If they see someone else showing off, what is their kneejerk reaction?

Has a tragic case of the Napoleon Complex in that he compensates for his lack of height with a pretty big attitude. Has the confidence of a dragon and the body of a lizard. Would rather climb over counters than have someone taller hand him something he can’t reach

also thinks he’s a good drinker but is a complete lightweight because of his small body

14. Fight Club. Is your character a good fighter? What kind of skills do they have?

Rutheless. He’s never killed anyone but had he been a gladiator, he would’ve absolutely destroyed his opponents. Again, his emotions heavily influence his fire magic, so he’s able to burn someone pretty badly if he finds himself angry/determined enough

Can and will cut a bitch during a bar fight. Not afraid to fight dirty. Skilled at hand-to-hand combat but prefers to use weapons.

15. The Arts. Is your character a creative type? What kinds of things can they create? Can they act? Street perform?

Really good visual artist (loves to paint and do sculptures), even better writer. Mediocre actor compared to Julian, so he prefers to write scenes and have Julian act them out

16. Goofy. Is your character a clown? Do they like to make people laugh?

More of a jokester than a clown really, though he’s really good at throwing shade (he learned from the best)

17. Language. Is your character multilingual? How many languages do they speak? Do they have an accent? Is it sexy? Is it silly? Do they have a multilingual lisp?

Bilingual, though he can read and understand a number of other languages. When speaking Vesuvian, dear darling boy has an accent that is the result of a bastardisation of all the languages he has encountered and picked up throughout the years. He has an accent most commonly see in people from the Western lands as that’s where his mother tongue originated.

In modern terms, his accent sounds like a grotesque combination of accents from Manchester, Brooklyn and Mexico

18. Embarrassment. What is something really embarrassing that your character has done/said?

Drunken stories. Doesn’t remember this himself, but before the plague PJ would so some pretty reckless and hilarious things whenever him and Asra would drink.

Julian has come to find that PJ still is a daredevil drunk

he did a backflip on top of a table at the Rowdy Raven and broke the table in half

19. Memory. Has your character gotten any of their memory back? If so, what? Did it change them?

Kind of. Most of what he knows about his past come from Asra telling him stories. barely remembers his family but is fine with it as he considers the other characters his family.

He sometimes gets small flashback of his childhood when he was about 6 or 7, but it’s mostly just images of him practicing magic

the most cherished memory he gained was that of his familiar Toani when they first met.

20. Family. Talk about your character’s family. Who were they?

In modern terms, his has Aztec heritage

His family comes from the West, though his parents moved to Vesuvia to start up what is now the magic shop

a long lineage of healer magicians

Had two siblings but both died alongside his parents during the plague.

Doesn’t know if he has any extended family, though Asra thinks that he might have some uncles and aunts left back West

#apprentice april #apprenticeapril #the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana mc #the arcana apprentice #fan apprentice

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momtemplative · 4 years

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MASKED.

In a house with two young kids, our quickest sanity-stabilizer in this COVID era was to head outside and go for a walk, or a bike ride, or to roller skate. We’d pay close attention to the proximity of passers-by, but typically the grassy fields by the bike paths were an open canvas for the kids to blow off some steam. And we’d all return home a bit winded and slightly more stable.

Then, a little more than two weeks ago, a strong recommendation came from Governor Polis for everyone to wear masks in public. But what, pray-tell, was “public” referring to?

Here’s what the CDC endorsed: wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

So that’s what we assumed Polis recommended as well. That night we even had a happy hour gathering with our neighbors, all at least 6-feet-away, but without masks. We didn’t feel like we were being sneaky or non-compliant, we were simply following the guidelines as we understood them.

But then we started seeing people in their yards wearing masks, and on walks wearing masks— in addition to 6-feet! There was an eerie infiltration of mask-wearers, and, with that, the non-verbal communication of an abrupt change of protocol. Our sacred, oft-traveled, 1,000-step bike path that loops around the block started to feel unfamiliar, as if it were a movie set peppered with strangers, wearing homemade cloth curtains over their cheeks.

We quickly felt like a minority out there with our bare faces.

An afternoon walk was once a favorite time of day—quarantine or not. Quickly though, in light of the current mask situation, and before I began to wear one, my brain started to get stuck in a grinding pattern of managing everyone else’s whereabouts in accordance with my own. I noticed that I was judging those who were masked, at least in part because I was sure they were judging me.

Their judgment and my judgment felt cut from the same cloth: judgement as a way of controlling the uncontrollable. There is so much confusion about protocols. So much fear of the radio broadcast of white noise and speculation that is to be our future. All these feelings get lumped together into just trying to do it right. I returned from one particular walk stiff as a board and deeply grumpy.

“Jesse,” I said, “I’m not going on a walk again without a mask.”

I opted out of any domestic sewing of masks at first, and started with my old-lady cardigan tied around my face like a waist. I then upgraded to a bedazzled bandana that I bought to fill Opal’s Easter basket last year. I love the happy fabric, but it wouldn’t stay up over my nose for anything beyond the liquor drive-through (my singular biweekly errand). Store-bought masks are not an option. They’ve been back-ordered for weeks and if the stock is replenished, it needs to be saved for the blessed healthcare workers.

By the next weekend, Jesse and Opal wore masks that they made from a YouTube video, using mustard-yellow t-shirts and rubber bands, while on a bike ride. That ride turned out to be very brief because, according to Opal, it was so hard to breathe.

The solidarity and confidence that come from wearing a mask are helpful and significant, sure. But the act of wearing a mask changes the experience entirely.

On a purely physical level, it muddles your peripheral vision, steams up your glasses, makes it hot and very hard to breathe.

On a social-emotional level, the masks create a real separation between people. It feels similar to being at a costume party—even if the invite list includes most of your friends, everyone is suddenly anonymous.

I walked behind two people (in masks) and a dog from a block away that I thought were my beloved next door neighbors. I even hollered at them. (They didn't hear me.) Then I got closer and realized it was a different dog and very much not my neighbors. It’s all very disorienting.

One week in, and Opal has taken Polis’s suggestion as gospel. Of course, I don’t blame her. Sometimes when we are out and about, so is the rest of the neighborhood. During those times, the mask feels safe and dare-I-say comforting. (Like we are good, complaint citizens. Go us.) But other times, there is nobody outside. I tell Opal, “Sweetie, we can keep our masks around our chins until we see someone (dozens of feet away!) and then put up our masks.”

Opal’s reply: NOT A CHANCE.

I try to imagine what it would be like to experience all this at age ten. What other such details has her system become accustomed to over the last month? Zoom call playdates, online school, little sister around all-the-effing-time. Maybe some feelings come out sideways? Maybe everything seems overwhelming and busy even though very little is happening?

In the olden days, before COVID, any sort of outdoor trek was soul-nourishing for all of us. It ticks a lot of boxes: sunshine, fresh air, exercise for me and the dog and the kids, a brain reset. Now, masked, such an activity is beyond taxing. Ruth has no desire to keep her mask on and she’s a runner. We can bribe her with a lollipop to stay in the stroller, but the girth of the BOB, along with the leashed (80-pound) dog requires skill and intentional footing on an average day. Trying to juggle it all through a face-drape is the emotional equivalent of walking through tar. A guaranteed headache.

Returning to our backyard, with its creaky swingset and patchwork yard, and removing our masks (along with the associated invisible constraints) is beyond restorative.

“That’s the best part about a mask,” Opal said. “Taking it off and having the air taste so fresh and cold again.”

On Sunday morning—a few days ago and two solid weeks into the mask-in-public rules of conduct—the kids were scattered on the floor watching Frozen while I folded laundry and Jesse tinkered away at the sewing machine. Project: to sew face-masks that fit each of us properly. It was a lovely scene of the times. I would imagine Norman Rockwell painting such an episode if he were alive during COVID. A family of four (plus cat, plus dog) in their natural weekend habitat. Slow to dress, sipping juice or coffee, and, sewing face masks.

“Ruth,” Jesse said, “Come on over here and try this on to see if it fits.” Ruth scurried over to him to try on her mask like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Later that day, I walked our dog wearing the mask Jesse so lovingly crafted for me (after three fittings). It was exquisite, hands-free, spacious around the mouth. He even used the sweetest yellow-petal, summer dress fabric. When I returned, I kissed him straight through the mask.

In spite of a good fit, it still takes exponentially more effort to greet someone while masked—you have to yell or over-gesture to compensate for the fact that both of your faces are completely erased. Because we wear ours primarily outside, most people are in sunglasses with their masks. But if not, they are far enough away where eye-reading is not an option. It’s all a straight-up guessing game.

More often than not, for the sake of simplicity, it’s just me and the dog these days. Typically, I have my dog’s leash in my left hand, and a steamy bag of his shit in my right that gets carried for countless unpleasant blocks. This is due to the lack of public trash facilities on the neighborhood routes I find are easier to navigate within the guidelines of 6-feet-between. Bike paths are pretty tight if there isn’t open space to veer off on either side. And now I’ve got my mask on, and fogged-up sunglasses. The uniform is similar to that of someone on Halloween in a last-minute ghost-sheet costume, with just the eyes cut out, cobbling along with both hands full. This is not a “path is the journey” sort of moment. I’m lucky if I can twitch out a head-nod or an elbow-wave to a passer-by.

It feels important to counteract the separation that has become synonymous with health and life. But I’d be lying if I said I was able to muster a greeting every time.

In our culture, masks (when not worn in a medical setting) often represent sinister actions—bandits or bank robbers or the KKK who want to hide defining features.

For many Asian countries, mask-wearing was a cultural norm even before the coronavirus outbreak. In East Asia, many people are used to wearing masks when they are sick or when it's hayfever season, because it's considered impolite to sneeze or cough in public.

The 2003 Sars virus outbreak, which affected several countries in the region, also drove home the importance of wearing masks, particularly in Hong Kong, where many died as a result of the virus. Says the BBC news: “One key difference between these societies and Western ones, is that they have experienced a contagion before—and the memories are still fresh and painful.”

I recently read a story about two black men who were wearing masks at Walmart—fully in compliance and trying to keep themselves safe—when they were accosted by police. It hit me like a whip how individualized each of us are experiencing this pandemic. I skoff at my mask because it’s a pain-in-the-ass. But I’ll never be faced with also having to weigh the risks of racial profiling.

Delving further, I read that to-mask-or-not-to-mask has become a way to take a political stance. Trump supporters carrying “My body, My choice” signs, with an illustration of a crossed-out mask—this is a common image to see in the media right now.

The Washington Post said: “Even as governors, mayors and the federal government urge or require Americans to wear masks in stores, transit systems and other public spaces to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the nation is divided about whether to comply. And it is divided in painfully familiar ways — by politics and by attitudes about government power and individual choice.”

So, clearly, it is about so much more than just a mask.

This just in.

In a press conference that took place a few days ago, April 20th, Governor Jared Polis and state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy outlined how life may change in Colorado as soon as next week, when “shelter-in-place” shifts to “safer-at-home.” They are essentially the same, just with a select few businesses opening with strict distancing rules and incremental shifts toward less physical distancing over all. Polis mentions nothing different about mask-wearing. Meaning, still wear them in public, especially if you can’t get 6-feet-between, especially if you’ve been exposed or have symptoms.

I noticed an immediate difference on my walk following his announcement. There was a family of four playing frisbee in an open space without masks! My initial feeling was wait, WTF? (And yes, I realize we are living in a strange state of affairs for my initial reaction to a beautiful family frolicking in a field to be contempt.) There was a man throwing a ball for his dog in a park that still had many visible CLOSED signs—also NO MASK. (Again, WTF??) I then gave a wide, grassy birth to a group of mask-free bike riders.

I notice my mask feels more like a burden on my face without the unifying solidarity of everyone doing it. We all seem to be getting different memos.

There’s a huge relief that people are back to having faces, to be sure. I miss people. I love faces. But I have to admit that in spite of my hemming and hawing, I’d gotten used to feeling protected. It’s impossible to make sense of any of it. Even little Ruth came in yesterday and gave a tiny cough. “I’m sick,” she said, “Since I didn’t wear a mask today.”

Circling back to the facts, the only thing worth grasping at right now, I am challenged to find any bit of news to suggest that our household need to be wearing masks while out on walks—under any level of regulation thus far. Neither Jesse nor myself are working outside of the house. We don’t visit with friends or family. (Big sigh.* We miss everyone terribly.) The odds of us being silent carriers are beyond slim. We are not immuno-compromised. So wearing masks these last few weeks—while still on socially distanced walks—could probably be categorized as an act of cultural alignment, an act of doing everything we can for the cause.

As of right now, this moment, I do not see our mask-wearing as being impactful to our macro OR micro community. So, for the sake of preserving the sanity of our tiny culture for the long haul, I vote that we wear our beautifully-Jesse-crafted masks on our chins, like flattened feathers at the ready.

“As it (the “safer-at-home” regulations) rolls off April 27, we need to figure out how to run the marathon now that we’ve run the sprint,” Governor Polis said in his most recent press conference. “I hate to break it to you, but the easy part was the sprint.”

#momtemplative #HeatMamaWords #mindfulparenting #COVIDwords #masked

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and-sometimes-i-draw · 5 years

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Draw Everyday Challenge: 2019

This challenge was created by myself and @markiplieristoblame

The rules:

The point of this challenge is to draw something at least once a day and document it to hold yourself accountable. The drawing can be a full illustration or a simple sketch the only rule is you must have shown some effort. Don’t just draw a smiley face or a stick man to get out of missing a day, draw a smiling stick man doing something. You are not limited to pencil and paper, draw every day sounded nice but painting, sculpting, textiles, etc. all count. Your work of art may have taken seconds or it may have taken hours but in accordance with the rules a work of art can only count for a single day. For example, posting a progress sketch of a larger illustration can count for one day but posting the final illustration a week later does not count for another day. Feel free to post and share more artwork than needed, but this challenge is meant to make you find something to draw and draw it each day whether the inspiration be from life or from your mind. The point of this challenge is to force you to look for things to draw even after you have exhausted your go to drawings. This will help you to draw outside your comfort zone, learn new shapes, and see more things that you want to draw in the world as well as give you practice to improve your drawing skill. From beginner to expert this challenge can encourage you to improve and for those, like myself, who struggle with motivation we have introduced a motivator. Punishments. Following are a list of punishments (hopefully you won’t need more but if you do feel free to get creative!) Life happens, and we all know that. Many of these punishments are harmless. If there are any that you cannot perform due to religious or cultural constraints, please replace them with your own. If you just really don’t want to do one, all the more reason to draw! Should you find yourself with an emergency, you are granted one free pass for every 30 days you draw in succession. This is all up to the honor code but I hope you will participate to the fullest of the rules as it will bring you the most satisfaction come 12/31/19 when the challenge comes to a close. Now, what is a punishment if you can just say you did it? For a punishment to be considered complete, you must record video proof of your completing it and post it to the same account you have been drawing on with a tag or description containing the day the punishment is replacing. This may all sound harsh, but it is because I have so much faith in you to succeed. If you are going to participate in this challenge please post these rules on your blog. Punishments must be completed in numerical order. Yes, there are some easier ones down the line but that is because if you miss that many days we figure you need a break. If you found this after the first of the year it is not too late. For the number of days you have missed since 1/1/19 you may draw 2 drawings a day to compensate without punishment. THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THAT DRAWING TWO IMAGES THE NEXT DAY WILL BAR YOU FROM THE PUNISHMENTS ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL RULES. If you are planning to participate and use this challenge as a baseline for your own rules, please reblog this with your changes to the rules so that we can consider those changes for the official rules should this challenge be hosted next year. I wish you all luck in your pursuits, now on to the punishments!

Punishments:

1. Publish an apology video

2. Write “I will not miss another day” 50 times on any surface

3. Do a piece of art in a medium you usually don’t

4. Sing a song (karaoke is fine but no lip syncing)

5. Dance on camera

6. Caramelldansen (if you aren’t old enough to remember look it up)

7. Show us your bedroom. Now!

8. Do an exercise on video

9. Walk a dog. If you don’t have a dog borrow one.

10. Review a product in your home

11.Go somewhere in your town that you have never been before

12.Go for a hike (complete the hike)

13.Make a collage of pictures of what matters most to you (minimum 5 pictures)

14.Attend a local class or function (school courses do not count this is an elective attendance)

15.Go to your local grocery store in a costume (this punishment must be completed at least a week before or after Halloween. Delay it if necessary.)

16.Find an instrument and play it as best you can in a video

17.Create a tutorial for a piece of art you feel confident in (if you are a new artist, follow a tutorial online and film that instead)

18.Cook something and film the process

19.Review the nearest red product to you (if you are colorblind or otherwise visually impaired reach out to your left without looking and review the third object you touch.)

20.Learn to say “I promise to try and do better” in another language and film yourself saying it.

21.Take a self-care day and post pictures and a list of your activities. You do not have to be in the pictures.

22.Call a relative over 50 years old and explain a meme they are not familiar with to them. (Obtain consent from the relative first if you plan to include their audio in the video.)

23.Go to the site nyan.cat (not sponsored) and listen for a minimum of 30 minutes.

24.Write “DRAW” on the back of your hand. (If you are prevented from doing this by occupational or otherwise binding restraints, write it on adhesive notes and stick one to either side of every door in your home)

25.Text a friend who in not aware of the challenge “art is shrek and skrek is <3 so art is life bro [eggplant emoji]” including the typos and lack of capitals. You cannot explain for a minimum of 10 minutes after they have read and/or responded.

26.Call the fifth contact in your phone without explaining why to them first. (Obtain consent from the person you called before posting any audio with their voice. If they do not consent and you do not have a way to remove that audio from your video, post a picture of your contacts showing just the names and then a picture showing them in your recent calls.)

27.Call your mom and explain the challenge to her and that you accepted it. Admit that you have missed 27 days so far and provide her with a link to where you are posting your art. (If your challenge has contained NSFW art just show her your punishments and at least 5 SFW drawings. Obtain your mother’s consent before including her in the video. If she does not consent post a video summarizing your experience with this punishment.)

28.Eat something you hate on camera.

29. Post a piece of art to Facebook for all your family to see. (If you or your family are not on Facebook, text the image of your art to at least 10 people.

30.Watch Nanalan’ for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can find it on YouTube.

The most important part of all of this is to have fun. This is meant to help you improve and stay accountable, not to be torture. Lets draw some stuff and have a great time. Feel free to suggest additional punishments to be added. If either @markiplieristoblame or I need additional punishments we will be sure to post a list here and on her blog.

#draw everyday #draw everyday challenge #draw everyday challenge 2019 #art #self improvement #challenge #new years resolution #2019 #challenge 2019

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limgsblog · 6 years

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The Ten Essential Qualities of a Civil Litigation Attorney

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In each field of law, any attorney who wishes to be successful must possess certain skills and character traits which will enable him or her to distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack of attorneys. These skills vary with the fields of law. Organizational and transaction skills are most advantageous for the business planning attorney, whereas technical and scientific knowledge will enable the patent attorney to succeed. Civil litigation attorneys should also aim to achieve or posses certain skills which will assist them in attracting and retaining clients, winning cases and potentially making new law. Following is a list of the 10 most important qualities that a civil litigation attorney should possess in descending order.

10. Knowledge of the Rules of Evidence:

Many civil cases often turn on the admissibility or inadmissibility of a certain piece of evidence. Many practicing attorneys fail to have a proper understanding of the rules of evidence, and lack the knowledge of how and when to object and how to answer an objection. Often times, failure to object or preserve an issue for appeal can cost the client significantly more in legal fees, or even worse, cause the client to lose the case. In addition, an attorney with a mastery over the rules of evidence can use them as either a shield or a sword in admitting or barring important evidence.

9. Confidence

An essential element of attracting business is the manner in which an attorney projects him or herself. Confidence is more than mere hollow bravado or misplaced self-assurance . Confidence conveys to the client, judge and opposing counsel that you have a complete handle of the case and can control how and where it flows. As part of projecting an air of confidence it is first necessary to read your audience and adjust your behavior accordingly. A client does not want an attorney who simply offers them options for them to choose. A client wants an attorney as a true advocate, one who can give them an answer and a firm and confident recommendation. Without confidence in their attorney, a client's trust for that attorney will decrease, and the potential of repeat business is small.

8. Organizational Skills

While not the most important skill, especially for the experienced litigator, organizational skills are important, both for efficiency and the image one leaves on clients. No client is looking for an attorney who appears disheveled without an idea of where certain documents may be located within the mound of papers on their desk. Litigators are not generally the most organized attorneys, but it is important to take the extra time to organize files and work areas. The organization will project to the client that you are in control and will also allow you to use your time in an efficient manner.

7. Honesty

Too often, attorneys are inclined to tell a client what they want to hear, rather than what they should hear. Appeasing a client with an incorrect or misleading answer may make that client happier for that moment, but will cost you in the end. Honesty includes telling a client when it is the type of case that you do not typically handle, while referring them to another qualified attorney. Losing this business might hurt in the short term, but that client will remember you when they face an issue that you have a firm grasp or specialization in. Honesty, as a matter of policy and client relations, should be of utmost importance.

6. Ability to Learn

Along with being honest, an attorney should strive to never lose the ability to learn about a new area of the law. Most clients have come to you to deal with their specific and particular problem, and view it as a hassle and waste of time if you must refer them to another attorney. Upon assessing the client you must first decide whether their problem is in an area of the law in which you can educate yourself in a relatively short period of time. Only when the new area is so specialized that you would do them a disservice should you refer the client to other counsel. As students of the law, we must never forget how to learn new areas of the law. The law will always change, but it is the attorney who can always analyze and interpret the law who will remain successful.

5. Clearly Explained Fee System

Some of the most common complaints made regarding one's attorney stems from compensation disputes. To avoid this, it is always necessary to put in writing and clearly explain to the client the method of billing, whether it is hourly or contingency billing. Additionally, many billing disputes arise when there is a discrepancy in the understanding of the client regarding whether the fee is taken before or after taxes. A clearly explained and detailed fee agreement accomplished in the first intake meeting can avoid many of the post case disputes, and can also help to avoid potential complaints being filed with the state disciplinary committee.

4. Negotiation Skills

The vast majority of cases never appear before a jury, but the willingness to bring a case to trial is often a factor which can spur settlement negotiations. If you are capable and willing to take any case to trial, defendants, and most notably, defendant insurance companies, will initiate the negotiation process. When negotiating, it is necessary to do so in good faith, but one must be sure to keep in mind the goal of getting the best deal possible for a client. Studies have shown that the cooperative, as compared to the aggressive combative negotiator, is able to achieve a more desirable settlement offer. Whatever your particular style, it is important to keep in mind that you will most likely deal with that person in your area of work again in the future, so good faith dealing is necessary to ensure appropriate behavior and offers in the future.

3. Interpersonal Skills

The need for honed interpersonal skills is not unique to the law, but its importance is greater for practicing attorneys than for most other professions. The civil litigator spends most days talking and meeting with colleagues, clients, judges and co-workers. Each relationship demands a separate and distinct set of interpersonal skills. Some of these relationships require management skills, while others require the ability to listen and respond meaningfully. Unlike transactional attorneys, civil litigators must be comfortable talking to people and must be able to get along with many different kinds of people. If a client does not personally like his or her attorney, they are less likely to return to that attorney in the future, sometimes regardless of the prior outcome.

2. Persuasiveness

Any litigator must possess the skills to persuade a judge, jury, client or opposing counsel regarding any particular issue. In any context, the power of persuasion is crucial. Whether it is trying to persuade opposing counsel that your case is stronger than it is, or persuading a client that a settlement offer is the best that they will get, the quality is of primary importance. If a case goes to trial, the side that wins is generally the most persuasive, absent a clear finding of law. Underlying the idea of persuasiveness is the ability to understand and relate to people. If you can identify and relate to your audience, persuading them simply consists of addressing their concerns and highlighting the advantages to your point of view. A mastery of the power of persuasion will result in success in the civil litigation field.

1. Ability to Clearly Communicate

So you have a great case, or a case that is winnable as long as people can understand your theory of law. What distinguishes successful from unsuccessful attorneys and cases is the attorney's ability to communicate to the decision maker, be it the judge or the jury, the premise of the theory and the reason for selecting your proposed outcome. Communication is more important than persuasion or interpersonal skills or any other factor combined. The reason being is that communication underlies every important attribute that a successful civil litigation attorney must obtain. Understand who are communicating to and what the purpose of your communication is and you will be on your way to becoming a successful and much improved civil litigator.

[ad_2] Source by Nicholas Deleault

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pamelahetrick · 6 years

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Agency pricing models: how to select the right one for your business

There are plenty of things you need to consider when you’re building an agency, like how you’re going to brand yourself, what kinds of clients you want to target and what your core services are going to be.

But one of the most important things to consider also happens to be one of that most challenging—and that’s your pricing model.

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Your pricing model has an effect on every single aspect of your agency, from profitability to how you sell, who you hire to who you pitch—which is why it’s so important to choose a pricing model that aligns with your long-term goals and is the right fit for you, your team and your agency.

But choosing the right pricing model can be a real head-scratcher. What options are out there? What is the best model for the kind of work you do? And which models are your clients most likely to respond to?

Let’s take a look at the different agency pricing models, the pros and cons of each, and how to choose the right pricing model to help you hit your goals out of the park and take your agency to the next level:

Agency pricing models —

Charging by the hour

The first agency pricing model is also the simplest—and that’s charging by the hour. With an hourly pricing model, you set an hourly rate and charge your client for every hour worked. So, if your hourly rate is $150 and you work 10 hours on a project, your client would pay you $1500.

With the hourly pricing model, time is money. Logo design by twelve.point for Wake Cafe

If you’re going with an hourly pricing model, remember—not every hour you work is going to be billable to your clients. There’s plenty to do to keep an agency up and running outside of billable hours, like admin work, business development, and managing your team—so when choosing an hourly rate, make sure to charge more to compensate for those non-billable hours.

A lot of clients like an hourly pricing model because it’s simple, straightforward, and helps them understand exactly how much they’re paying for the work you’re doing (which can be a bit tougher with other pricing models). Where it gets tricky is if a project ends up taking longer than you originally thought—or, in a lot of cases, longer than they think the project should take. Before you start a project, set expectations with your client. Let them know how long you anticipate the project will take (giving yourself a few extra hours as padding), how many hours you have to devote to the project total, and come up with a gameplan if the project goes on longer than planned (which might include an increased hourly rate or extended deadlines).

The key to success with the hourly pricing model is making sure you’re tracking all your hours. If you work an extra hour here or there and don’t document it, that’s an hour you won’t get to bill—and an hour’s worth of cash your agency will lose.

Pros:

Simple and straightforward

Easy sell to clients

Can be lucrative if you’re working on a project that takes a lot of problem solving, like software development

Cons:

Extremely challenging to scale

No incentive to work hard/fast (the faster you complete projects, the less you get paid)

Best for:

Agencies that work with clients who have a tendency to change their minds or require lots of edits/revisions (this model will protect you from scope creep)

Agencies that are just starting out and aren’t sure how long project work will take

The hourly pricing model can work in certain situations—especially if you’re just starting out. Just keep in mind that if/when you want to scale, you’re going to have to hike up your rates or move to a different pricing model.

Pricing model: Project-based

A project-based pricing model is another simple pricing structure where (shockingly, I know) you charge your client by the project. So, for example, if you’re a digital marketing agency, you might charge a flat fee for developing a new Facebook ads campaign or an SEO site audit. Or, if you’re a graphic design agency, you might charge a flat fee for a logo and brand identity package.

Logo design by ananta* for TheProjectToFixEverything

The project-based pricing model works well for agencies because you can price based on your expertise, not your time. If you have an expert team of logo designers, they can probably whip up a logo pretty fast—and when you charge by the hour, that actually hurts you. But when you charge a flat fee per project, it doesn’t matter if it takes your team three hours or 30 hours—as long as the client loves the end result, you’re good to go.

When it comes to setting rates for a project, figure out how many hours you think the project will take to complete (including non-billable work like administrative tasks, answering client emails and research), add a few extra hours as padding (because, let’s be real—when does anything ever go exactly as expected?) and multiply that number by your ideal hourly rate.

Clients like project-based pricing because it lets them try you out before they make a longer-term commitment—kind of like test driving a car before buying it. However, some clients struggle with project-based pricing because they think it lacks transparency; since they don’t know how much you’re charging them per hour, they worry they’re getting overcharged.

Pros:

Simple and straightforward

Easier to scale than hourly pricing model

Cons:

Easy to underestimate how long a project will take—and end up underpricing yourself in the process

If your project price is too high, certain clients might get sticker shock

Best for:

Agencies who specialize in a specific kind of project (like web development) and can accurately estimate how long a project will take

Agencies who work on projects with clear deliverables (like a logo)

Pricing model: Retainer

When you work with a client on retainer, they agree to a pre-negotiated and pre-paid fee for either a) a set amount of time, or b) a set number of deliverables.

Closing the deal on a retainer can be a huge deal for your agency. Logo design by nnorth

Let’s start with time-based retainers. With a time-based retainer, your client agrees to purchase a set number of hours per month. So, for example, if your client agreed to purchase a 50-hour-per-month retainer at $150 per hour, your monthly retainer fee would be $7500. With a time-based retainer, you can either stipulate that a client must use all their hours each month (or lose the cash) or, if you’re feeling generous, you can allow them to roll a certain number of hours over to the next month.

The other retainer option is based on deliverables. So, let’s say you’re managing social media for one of your clients. You might have a retainer with that client that says for $7500 per month you’ll deliver three social media posts on each of their platforms each day, create 15 social media images, and respond to 100 social media comments. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get those tasks done—as long as you deliver, you’ve held up your end of the retainer.

Clients like working on retainers because it makes budgeting and accounting easy for them; they know exactly how much they need to pay you each month and when they need to pay it, so it makes the billing and payment portion of things easy-peasy. On the flip side, some clients struggle with retainers because they are definitely on the pricier side—so if someone is working with a shoestring budget, this probably isn’t the best model for them.

Pros:

Guaranteed income each month

Retainer fee paid up front

Allows you to easily scale

Cons:

Can be a tough sell for new clients

With retainers based on deliverables, projects might take longer than anticipated, which would lower the profitability of the retainer

Best for:

Agencies with established relationships with their clients (long-term clients are easier to transition into a retainer model)

Agencies who work with larger clients with bigger budgets

Agencies who work quickly and can produce a large volume of work each month

Pricing model: Performance-based

If you can directly tie the work your agency does with a specific outcome, like increased sales—and you’re confident that your work will deliver on that outcome—you might want to consider a performance-based pricing model.

Just like in sports, this pricing model is all about performance. Logo design by 69logos for PTA Performance

With a performance-based pricing model, you charge your clients based on the performance of your work. So, for example, if you run a copywriting agency and you create a sales page for a client, you might charge a percentage of all sales the company closes as a result of said sales page.

Pros:

Can be extremely lucrative

Easy to scale

Cons

If your work doesn’t perform, you don’t get paid

Best for:

Agencies whose work ties to a clear, measurable outcome (like sales or lead generation)

Agencies who have the metrics to prove their work can deliver

Pricing model: Value-based

The last agency pricing model—and arguably the most lucrative—is value-based pricing.

With value-based pricing, your clients aren’t paying you for your time—in fact, they’re not even paying you for specific deliverables, like they would with a project-based pricing model. Instead, they’re paying you for the value you bring to their company in the form of your expertise and the solutions you can provide to their pressing problems.

Logo design by visualcurve

Value-based pricing can be extremely lucrative—but only if the demand is there. Your agency needs to do something that not many other agencies do, has to do it better than any other agencies out there and has to do something that your ideal client actually needs.

So, if your agency specializes in logo design, you’re going to have a tough time with value-based pricing, since there’s so many agencies out there doing the same thing. On the flip side, if you own a digital marketing agency that specializes in promoting online courses for entrepreneurs through social media advertising—and you’ve been able to generate six-figure sales for 100+ courses—there’s going to be a lot of course creators out there who will be more than happy to shell out the big bucks in exchange for the value you can bring to their project.

Pros:

Most lucrative agency pricing model

Easiest model to scale (as it’s typically the least time intensive)

Cons:

Can be a hard sell

Only lucrative when there’s enough customer demand

Best for:

Agencies who are considered experts in a specific area

Agencies who specialize in a niche area (but not so niche that there aren’t enough customers to create real demand)

The “money” part: How and when to charge your clients —

Alright, so now that we covered the different types of pricing models, let’s talk about the logistics—in other words, how and when to charge your clients.

Logo design by Akdesain

There are a few different ways you can charge your clients:

Upfront

You can choose to charge your clients upfront and have them pay 100% of your fees before you start working on a project. This practice is the norm with retainers and value-based pricing models, but you’re likely to get some pushback with other pricing structures (like project-based).

On completion

On the flip side, you can choose to collect your fees once you’ve delivered your project to the client. While clients will be thrilled about this pricing structure, it can cause serious problems for your agency—there are some clients who might just disappear after you finish the work and send them an invoice or try to renegotiate. The one exception to this rule? Performance-based pricing—with that model, the only way to get paid is on completion.

50% up front, 50% on completion

The best pricing structure for both you and your client when using a project-based pricing model is 50% up front and 50% on completion. (Alternatively, some agencies split this into thirds or quarters with pay happening after certain milestones.) That way, you get the deposit so you can get to work but your client has the security of knowing they won’t have to pay in full until they’re satisfied with the project.

Invoicing

When you’re using an hourly pricing structure, you’re going to have to invoice your clients. How often you invoice your clients will depend on the nature of your relationship; if you’re working with them on a daily basis, invoicing weekly is appropriate. If you just work a few hours here or there, a monthly invoice would make more sense.

With invoicing, it’s also important to set the terms of payment. How long does your client have to pay the invoice? Is it upon receipt or NET 30? Setting clear payment terms from the start will help to avoid any confusion—and will ensure you get paid on time.

What to do when you need to charge outside your pricing model —

Now, in an ideal world, your clients would adhere to whatever parameters you set for working together—and in that ideal world, you’d never have to deviate from your pricing model.

Character design by PanjiAsmoro

But let’s be real—we don’t live in an ideal world. And no matter what pricing model you choose, the time is going to come when you need to charge outside of your pricing model. So the only question becomes how do you do that—and still preserve the client relationship?

The easiest way to manage charging outside of your pricing model is setting the parameters from the start. Clearly outline what is included in your pricing model, and add a stipulation to your contract that says anything outside of what you’ve agreed upon—whether it’s phone calls, meetings, or extra deliverables—will be charged at your hourly rate. This sets the expectation that you’re only going to do the work you agreed to do—and your client should expect to pay for anything additional.

Not only will this protect you from scope creep, but it will also discourage your client from changing their mind a zillion times over the course of a project—which can be super frustrating for you and your team.

Other things to think about when choosing a pricing model —

Logo design by Bila Designs

If you’re still on the fence about which pricing model is the right fit for your agency, here are a few other things to consider:

What structures will you have to implement to make a pricing model work for you? In order for each pricing model to be successful, you’ll need to have certain structures in place; so, for example, if you decide to go with an hourly pricing model, you’ll need time tracking software and a tool to keep track of your invoices. If you go with a performance-based model, you’ll need analytics in place so you can measure performance for your clients. Before you decide to go with any pricing model, think about the structures you’ll need to have in place to support it—and whether or not those structures will realistically work with your agency.

What kind of clients are you going after? The pricing model that’s going to be the most successful completely depends on the kind of client you’re going after. If you’re going after brand new clients, they might be hesitant to go with a retainer until after they’ve worked with you on a few projects. If your potential clients have never worked with an agency before, the high fees that typically come along with value-based pricing are going to be a hard sell. Before you settle on a pricing structure, think about what’s going to work for your clients.

Remember—you can take a test drive before you buy the car. There’s no rule that says you need to choose a pricing model and stick with it forever. If you’re not sure which pricing model is best for you, try a few out and see what happens! For example, if you’re a design agency, work with two clients on their logo design—one on an hourly basis and one on a project basis—and see which is more lucrative. You can also continue to evolve your pricing model as your agency grows—for example, as you work with more clients and establish yourself as an expert in your space, you can transition to more retainer and value-based work.

Which pricing model is right for your digital agency? —

Choosing a pricing model can be tough. But now that you know the ins-and-outs and pros-and-cons of the different agency pricing models (and when each model is the most appropriate), you have everything you need to effectively price your agency’s amazing work—and make a killing in the process.

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susaanrogers · 6 years

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Agency pricing models: how to select the right one for your business

But one of the most important things to consider also happens to be one of that most challenging—and that’s your pricing model.

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Agency pricing models —

Charging by the hour

With the hourly pricing model, time is money. Logo design by twelve.point for Wake Cafe

Pros:

Simple and straightforward

Easy sell to clients

Can be lucrative if you’re working on a project that takes a lot of problem solving, like software development

Cons:

Extremely challenging to scale

No incentive to work hard/fast (the faster you complete projects, the less you get paid)

Best for:

Agencies that work with clients who have a tendency to change their minds or require lots of edits/revisions (this model will protect you from scope creep)

Agencies that are just starting out and aren’t sure how long project work will take

Pricing model: Project-based

Logo design by ananta* for TheProjectToFixEverything

Pros:

Simple and straightforward

Easier to scale than hourly pricing model

Cons:

Easy to underestimate how long a project will take—and end up underpricing yourself in the process

If your project price is too high, certain clients might get sticker shock

Best for:

Agencies who specialize in a specific kind of project (like web development) and can accurately estimate how long a project will take

Agencies who work on projects with clear deliverables (like a logo)

Pricing model: Retainer

When you work with a client on retainer, they agree to a pre-negotiated and pre-paid fee for either a) a set amount of time, or b) a set number of deliverables.

Closing the deal on a retainer can be a huge deal for your agency. Logo design by nnorth

Pros:

Guaranteed income each month

Retainer fee paid up front

Allows you to easily scale

Cons:

Can be a tough sell for new clients

With retainers based on deliverables, projects might take longer than anticipated, which would lower the profitability of the retainer

Best for:

Agencies with established relationships with their clients (long-term clients are easier to transition into a retainer model)

Agencies who work with larger clients with bigger budgets

Agencies who work quickly and can produce a large volume of work each month

Pricing model: Performance-based

Just like in sports, this pricing model is all about performance. Logo design by 69logos for PTA Performance

Pros:

Can be extremely lucrative

Easy to scale

Cons

If your work doesn’t perform, you don’t get paid

Best for:

Agencies whose work ties to a clear, measurable outcome (like sales or lead generation)

Agencies who have the metrics to prove their work can deliver

Pricing model: Value-based

The last agency pricing model—and arguably the most lucrative—is value-based pricing.

Logo design by visualcurve

Pros:

Most lucrative agency pricing model

Easiest model to scale (as it’s typically the least time intensive)

Cons:

Can be a hard sell

Only lucrative when there’s enough customer demand

Best for:

Agencies who are considered experts in a specific area

Agencies who specialize in a niche area (but not so niche that there aren’t enough customers to create real demand)

The “money” part: How and when to charge your clients —

Alright, so now that we covered the different types of pricing models, let’s talk about the logistics—in other words, how and when to charge your clients.

Logo design by Akdesain

There are a few different ways you can charge your clients:

Upfront

On completion

50% up front, 50% on completion

Invoicing

What to do when you need to charge outside your pricing model —

Now, in an ideal world, your clients would adhere to whatever parameters you set for working together—and in that ideal world, you’d never have to deviate from your pricing model.

Character design by PanjiAsmoro

Other things to think about when choosing a pricing model —

Logo design by Bila Designs

If you’re still on the fence about which pricing model is the right fit for your agency, here are a few other things to consider:

Which pricing model is right for your digital agency? —

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yes-dal456 · 7 years

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12 Daily Habits Of Exceptional Leaders

One of the most popular Dilbert comic strips in the cartoon’s history begins with Dilbert’s boss relaying senior leadership’s explanation for the company’s low profits. In response to his boss, Dilbert asks incredulously, “So they’re saying that profits went up because of great leadership and down because of a weak economy?” To which Dilbert’s boss replies, “These meetings will go faster if you stop putting things in context.”

Great leadership is indeed a difficult thing to pin down and understand. You know a great leader when you’re working for one, but even they can have a hard time explaining the specifics of what they do that makes their leadership so effective.

Great leaders change us for the better. They see more in us than we see in ourselves, and they help us learn to see it too. They dream big and show us all the great things we can accomplish.

Great leadership is dynamic; it melds a variety of unique skills into an integrated whole. Great leadership is also founded in good habits. What follows are the essential habits that exceptional leaders rely on every day. Give them a try and see where they take your leadership skills.

1. Effective Communication

“The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.” —Joseph Priestley

Communication is the real work of leadership. It’s a fundamental element of how leaders accomplish their goals each and every day. You simply can’t become a great leader until you are a great communicator.

Great communicators inspire people. They listen. They create a connection with their followers that is real, emotional, and personal, regardless of any physical distance between them. Great communicators forge this connection through an understanding of people and an ability to speak directly to their needs.

2. Courage

“Courage is the first virtue that makes all other virtues possible.” —Aristotle

People will wait to see if a leader is courageous before they’re willing to follow his or her lead. People need courage in their leaders. They need someone who can make difficult decisions and watch over the good of the group. They need a leader who will stay the course when things get tough. People are far more likely to show courage themselves when their leaders do the same.

For the courageous leader adversity is a welcome test. Like a blacksmith’s molding of a red-hot iron, adversity is a trial by fire that refines leaders and sharpens their game. Adversity emboldens courageous leaders and leaves them more committed to their strategic direction.

Leaders who lack courage simply toe the company line. They follow the safest path—the path of least resistance—because they’d rather cover their backside than lead.

3. Adherence to the Golden Rule +1

“The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.” —Jon Wolfgang von Goethe

The Golden Rule – treat others as you want to be treated – assumes that all people are the same. It assumes that, if you treat your followers the way you would want a leader to treat you, they’ll be happy. It ignores that people are motivated by vastly different things. One person loves public recognition, while another loathes being the center of attention.

Great leaders don’t treat people how they themselves want to be treated. Instead, they take the Golden Rule a step further and treat each person as he or she would like to be treated. Great leaders learn what makes people tick, recognize their needs in the moment, and adapt their leadership style accordingly.

4. Self-Awareness

“It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself.” —Latin Proverb

Contrary to what Dilbert might have us believe, leaders’ gaps in self-awareness are rarely due to deceitful, Machiavellian motives, or severe character deficits. In most cases, leaders—like everyone else—view themselves in a more favorable light than other people do.

Self-awareness is the foundation of emotional intelligence, a skill that 90% of top performing leaders possess in abundance. Great leaders’ high self-awareness means they have a clear and accurate image not just of their leadership style, but also of their own strengths and weaknesses. They know where they shine and where they’re weak, and they have effective strategies for leaning into their strengths and compensating for their weaknesses.

5. Passion

“If you just work on stuff that you like and are passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” —Mark Zuckerberg

Passion and enthusiasm are contagious. So are boredom and apathy. No one wants to work for a boss that’s unexcited about his or her job, or even one who’s just going through the motions. Great leaders are passionate about what they do, and they strive to share that passion with everyone around them.

6. Humility

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” —C.S. Lewis

Great leaders are humble. They don’t allow their position of authority to make them feel that they are better than anyone else. As such, they don’t hesitate to jump in and do the dirty work when needed, and they won’t ask their followers to do anything they wouldn’t be willing to do themselves.

7. Generosity

“A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.” —John Maxwell

Great leaders are generous. They share credit and offer enthusiastic praise. They’re as committed to their followers’ success as they are to their own. They want to inspire all of their employees to achieve their personal best – not just because it will make the team more successful, but because they care about each person as an individual.

8. Infectiousness

“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” —Reverend Theodore Hesburgh

Great leaders know that having a clear vision isn’t enough. You have to make that vision come alive so that your followers can see it just as clearly as you do. Great leaders do that by telling stories and painting verbal pictures so that everyone can understand not just where they’re going, but what it will look and feel like when they get there. This inspires others to internalize the vision and make it their own.

9. Authenticity

“Just be who you are and speak from your guts and heart – it’s all a man has.” —Hubert Humphrey

Authenticity refers to being honest in all things – not just what you say and do, but who you are. When you’re authentic, your words and actions align with who you claim to be. Your followers shouldn’t be compelled to spend time trying to figure out if you have ulterior motives. Any time they spend doing so erodes their confidence in you and in their ability to execute.

Leaders who are authentic are transparent and forthcoming. They aren’t perfect, but they earn people’s respect by walking their talk.

10. Approachability

“Management is like holding a dove in your hand. Squeeze too hard and you kill it, not hard enough and it flies away.” —Tommy Lasorda

Great leaders make it clear that they welcome challenges, criticism, and viewpoints other than their own. They know that an environment where people are afraid to speak up, offer insight, and ask good questions is destined for failure. By ensuring that they are approachable, great leaders facilitate the flow of great ideas throughout the organization.

11. Accountability

“The ancient Romans had a tradition: Whenever one of their engineers constructed an arch, as the capstone was hoisted into place, the engineer assumed accountability for his work in the most profound way possible: He stood under the arch.” —Michael Armstrong

Great leaders have their followers’ backs. They don’t try to shift blame, and they don’t avoid shame when they fail. They’re never afraid to say, “The buck stops here,” and they earn people’s trust by backing them up.

12. A Sense Of Purpose

“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” —Ken Kesey

Whereas vision is a clear idea of where you’re going, a sense of purpose refers to an understanding of why you’re going there. People like to feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. Great leaders give people that feeling.

Bringing It All Together

Becoming a great leader doesn’t mean that you have to incorporate all of these traits at once. Focus on one or two at a time; each incremental improvement will make you more effective. It’s okay if you “act” some of these qualities at first. The more you practice, the more instinctive it will become, and the more you’ll internalize your new leadership style.

Please share your thoughts on exceptional leadership in the comments section, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

Want to learn more from me? Check out my book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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imreviewblog · 7 years

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12 Daily Habits Of Exceptional Leaders

Great leaders change us for the better. They see more in us than we see in ourselves, and they help us learn to see it too. They dream big and show us all the great things we can accomplish.

1. Effective Communication

“The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.” —Joseph Priestley

2. Courage

“Courage is the first virtue that makes all other virtues possible.” —Aristotle

Leaders who lack courage simply toe the company line. They follow the safest path—the path of least resistance—because they’d rather cover their backside than lead.

3. Adherence to the Golden Rule +1

“The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.” —Jon Wolfgang von Goethe

4. Self-Awareness

“It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself.” —Latin Proverb

5. Passion

“If you just work on stuff that you like and are passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” —Mark Zuckerberg

6. Humility

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” —C.S. Lewis

7. Generosity

“A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.” —John Maxwell

8. Infectiousness

9. Authenticity

“Just be who you are and speak from your guts and heart – it’s all a man has.” —Hubert Humphrey

Leaders who are authentic are transparent and forthcoming. They aren’t perfect, but they earn people’s respect by walking their talk.

10. Approachability

“Management is like holding a dove in your hand. Squeeze too hard and you kill it, not hard enough and it flies away.” —Tommy Lasorda

11. Accountability

12. A Sense Of Purpose

“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” —Ken Kesey

Bringing It All Together

Please share your thoughts on exceptional leadership in the comments section, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

Want to learn more from me? Check out my book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://bit.ly/2pO00F7

#Healthy Living - The Huffington Post

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ovulationtracker · 7 years

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Tamara Ecclestone, breastfeeding, and how it feels to see representations of love that you’re unable to give

Last week I was interested to see a picture of celebrity Tamara Ecclestone pop up on my newsfeed.

Source: BBC. http://ift.tt/2lkKMb8

Tamara was shocked. Shocked and saddened that her valiant attempt to normalise breastfeeding through a stunning photoshoot had not been received with the blanket adulation that she had expected. More than that though, for Tamara there is nothing but love in the images and it’s such a shame that it brings out anger in some of you it’s sad for you that that’s how you choose to live. Personally, I think that love may well have been the order of the day, but there were also probably more scatter cushions than there were in the John Lewis Christmas sale this year.

I don’t know why she would expect blanket adulation because my experience of being a woman and having access to the internet has shown me that I could post an image of a packet of crisps with a vagina and somebody would try to concern troll over what birth control it was using. Post a picture of breastfeeding and you are guaranteed to uncover that very special type of person who is mortally offended by a nipple. This is annoying and these people deserve to be treated as the newts that they are and I delight in doing so. However, the four of five newts come with legions of likes, shares and messages of support, as I’m sure Tamara’s PR team know well.

The thing is, we’ve seen these images before, Gisele did it, [here]. Body confidence advocate Tess Holliday used the women’s marches two weeks ago to do it [here] and this week, it’s Tamara’s turn [here]. All of these images have striking similarities. We see beautiful, wealthy, white and glamorous women gazing off into the distance while effortlessly nurturing wide-eyed babies (scatter cushions optional). These women are professionals at re-packaging our bodies as an ideal and selling them back to us, they have a team of PR execs and agents to help them in their quest for self-promotion and this is exactly what’s happening here. Usually we are allowed to be angry about the lack of realism and unattainability of things like the thigh gap, but here the product is breastmilk and it’s different rules.

In the UK, 81% or women initiate breastfeeding whilst they are in hospital. Given that figure, it’s hard to keep a straight face when someone tells you that seeing someone breastfeed is some sort of revelation, but they do. By the time the baby is six weeks old that figure falls to 55% and by six months, it’s at 1%. Of those women who stop breastfeeding, 80% of them desperately wanted to but could not. These women have internalised the mantra breast is best and they’ve given it everything they’ve got but come away feeling like abject failures when their breastfeeding dreams didn’t come true.

For them, when they see an image like that with the words powerful demonstration of love and nurturing it feels like a kick in the teeth. As I imagine it does for those among the 20% who don’t attempt to breastfeed because they’re transgender or survivors of sexual violence, on certain medications or adoptive parents, or because it simply isn’t the best choice for their family. For those parents all they can hear is:

A powerful demonstration of love and nurturing THAT YOU CAN’T GIVE.

That you can’t give, written as if by sparkler; bright, hot, fleeting and gas lit. Or worse, that you are too selfish to give. Of course there is anger.

The late John Berger wrote a lot about advertising and how it works. To skim it, a good advertising campaign creates a tableau that we all recognise subconsciously to some extent, like the Madonna and Child. You foreground a product of lifestyle that is difficult but perhaps not impossible to imagine yourself attaining, this creates envy. Then you distribute it far and wide. If it’s something that everybody can have it simply won’t sell as either an image or product. I mean I love my Henry the Hoover, it never lets me down. I’m never going to make it look like Tamara makes breastmilk look because it is so very mundane and attainable.

If you haven’t yet read Berger’s book Ways of Seeing then you should, because he also makes the point that:

“[P]ublicity turns consumption into a substitute for democracy. The choice of what one eats […] takes the place of significant political choice. Publicity helps to mask and compensate for all that is undemocratic within society. And it also masks what is happening in the rest of the world.” [Berger: Ways of Seeing, p. 149]

Tamara and her photographer’s image, and those that came before are the epitome of the genre. Glamorous and unattainable, always just slightly beyond reach. Why? Because for all of the hashtags and so called ‘normalising’, they do nothing to address the structural inequalities that mean that none of us really gets to choose to live the way we would really like. They are publicity as a mask.

The NHS is struggling and with maternity services, according to the National Health Executive report of January 2017, disturbingly high numbers of women are experiencing so-called ‘red-flag’ events. What are ‘red-flag events’? They’re events that happen because we simply do not have enough care for women, even to the point that of women not receiving one-to-one care during established labour. If we can’t even ensure that women have that level of care when they’re giving birth can we hope for better during the post natal period and with breastfeeding support? No prizes here for guessing that no, we can’t:

During the post natal period, women were most likely to express disappointment with their experience in the postnatal wards and breastfeeding support. (Source: National Health Executive report of January 2017)

On occasions where we have actually spoken to women who found themselves unable to breastfeed over dismissing them as bitter and hateful trolls, we find that something like 80% cite pain as a key reason that they were unable to continue. If a mother simply cannot get the help that she needs from a dedicated professional then she cannot continue.

Since 2010 the UK has faced austerity and whether or not you agree with the necessity, in March 2016 the Women’s Budget Group found that women are hit harder than men and households headed by women such as lone parents […] are hit harder. What does this mean for mothers? It means cash in hand, manual labour jobs where you can’t have your children with you. It means no maternity leave because you’re restricted to short-term, temporary contracts. It means not being able to afford the bus fare to get to the doctors when you have mastitis or to pay for the prescription for medicines you might need to treat it. It means choosing between heating and eating. It means that having the time, energy or will to go through the pain of establishing breastfeeding may well not be at the very top of your agenda.

If you do have a job that you are able to go back to, there is unsurprisingly yet more bad news. The House of Commons committee on Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination, tells us that not only is there more discrimination reported now than a decade ago, but also there is no legal duty to provide a place to breastfeed or store milk. So even women who are able to afford the highest levels of childcare may not be able to continue to breastfeed their babies until two years of age.

These images are beautiful and modern reinterpretations of the Madonna and child tableau, chic and classic, but they do nothing to address any of the challenges faced by women today. Even if women in their droves started saying that had they just seen one more photo they could have breastfed on, I don’t know if this one would really help. We already know that wealthy, well-educated and thirty something are more likely to breastfeed, it’s already normal. Most of us could only dream of owning that many scatter cushions in a lifetime and one of her shoes could probably cover at least a month’s rent. As a twenty-two year old, pregnant dropout who just couldn’t get her breasts to co-operate, the only thing that image would have done for me is amplify my failure on every single count. With the benefit of hindsight, and good research, I now know that I’m not alone.

Breastfeeding a new baby is already normal, breastfeeding a two year old has yet to become the norm. When every parent has the luxury of choice over how and for how long they feed their babies, it most likely will. Papering over the cracks with a few Instagram snaps and calling your critics angry and bitter isn’t going to cut it. We need to meet every obstacle head on. We need to treat our fellow parents with empathy. Above all, we need to support each other.

#ISupportYou.

Stephanie Maia is a UK-based writer for FearlessFormulaFeeder.com and the #ISupportYou movement.

The post Tamara Ecclestone, breastfeeding, and how it feels to see representations of love that you’re unable to give appeared first on Fearless Formula Feeder.

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