What Are You Thinking?

[Carlos]

I agree on everything you said. 8k has a long way from being a viable TV purchase.

I also don't see 8k being a good investment until it's about 3 years from today's date.

 

[V's patron]

There's a writing exercise I had problems with. Its called "Bliss" and it involves taking a childhood memory and transposing it on a character. I had a hard time finding the right memory because I kept overthinking it.

Eventually, when I did it, it felt good.

 

[Foxtrot94]

This viral emergency has solidified my preference towards digital game copies over physical ones.

 

[ef9dante_oSsshea]

I've been digital since like 2015, mainly down to not having the time to go to gamestop or other places for physical games

So I hear you on that

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

I think when I'm done going through FotS, I'll upload it to the Kindle App. Y'know, just in case I've missed something in the doc that's easier to catch when it looks more like a book... Gods, I hope I didn't mess up sending her that cover template; what if the pages aren't the appropriate number when it gets converted on KDP? O_O -Fingers crossed- The sooner I finish with this, the better.

 

[Shadow]

I really wanna work on my derivative but ugh, trying to find research material online when you can't afford to buy it. Why is so much about the Victorian Era behind paywalls??

 

[therogis]

Just finished my first commission for my very first customer under the name of my first business ever. Now I should calculate and draft my first invoice and start to make notes of the VAT in my accountacy.
Feeling awfully like an ought-to-be responsible adult

Maybe I should buy a fancy suitcase

 

[therogis]

Just finished my first commission for my very first customer under the name of my first business ever. Now I should calculate and draft my first invoice and start to make notes of the VAT in my accountacy.

Just here to add that I'm probably the first lawyer ever who has (or feels the need) to negotiate about the invoice with the customer because the customer wants to pay significantly more than I would feel acceptable to charge for the service.

I wonder if I've misunderstood the whole idea of maintaining a profitable business.

 

[Carlos]

Just here to add that I'm probably the first lawyer ever who has (or feels the need) to negotiate about the invoice with the customer because the customer wants to pay significantly more than I would feel acceptable to charge for the service.

I wonder if I've misunderstood the whole idea of maintaining a profitable business.

Keep going. You need to learn how to deal with customers, and the more you do, the more you can improve. And if you continue to do a good job, you can get good testimonials, referrals, etc. You build your reputation that way. The more satisfied customers you accrue over months or years, the more buzz you create for your self or company. Word of mouth, really.

Now: Profit is based around margins. You are offering a service, so... look at how much others are paying other companies or people and/or what price/commission your customers are paying your competitors. Once you know those, along with your reputation, you can charge cheap, to beat your competitors by undercutting them. Or you can charge more, but this relies heavily on your reputation.

So, let's say you're looking for a game. The MSRP for games is $60. But the retailer sells it for $40 to entice customers... Thing is though, the retailer loses money, because each disc is a 50/50 split between the game company, and the retailer. Best to keep it at $60, and reap the money.

However, if you're making food. You want to buy cheap, so you can have a decent margin. Let's say you see a bag of steak for $4, but you're going to sell it for $6. Profit.

 

[therogis]

Keep going. You need to learn how to deal with customers, and the more you do, the more you can improve. And if you continue to do a good job, you can get good testimonials, referrals, etc. You build your reputation that way. The more satisfied customers you accrue over months or years, the more buzz you create for your self or company. Word of mouth, really.

Now: Profit is based around margins. You are offering a service, so... look at how much others are paying other companies or people and/or what price/commission your customers are paying your competitors. Once you know those, along with your reputation, you can charge cheap, to beat your competitors by undercutting them. Or you can charge more, but this relies heavily on your reputation.

So, let's say you're looking for a game. The MSRP for games is $60. But the retailer sells it for $40 to entice customers... Thing is though, the retailer loses money, because each disc is a 50/50 split between the game company, and the retailer. Best to keep it at $60, and reap the money.

However, if you're making food. You want to buy cheap, so you can have a decent margin. Let's say you see a bag of steak for $4, but you're going to sell it for $6. Profit.

Thank you for the encouragement! Really appreciating it :thumbsup:

The problem here is this:
I've checked how much the actual professionals (aka certified advocates and lawyers) in this business are charging from their work, and based on an estimated average, I am offering my services with a 50 % discount. This is simply because I am a student, not a professional, and I cannot charge professional prices for a student-quality work. If I get some good reputation and the customers are starting to line up for me, then I would be happy to elevate the prices as well.

This first customer of mine is somewhat known to me from life beyond business as well, and with them I made an unwritten deal that if they can give me some marketing assistance, I will be glad to lower the price of my services to them in return. So they are actually trying to help me with setting up reasonable prices for my services. Note that my customer is a private entrepreneur as well, but in a wholly different kind of business and with no experience in legal counseling.

Now, the problem is this:
Compared to the price I asked for, this customer wants to pay me five times more. I'm not kidding.
This is a problem of both competitional value and, most importantly, professional ethics, because with that kind of prices my customers would be well able to hire a professional advocate to do the job. As a student, I don't feel it would be morally acceptable to charge the exactly same prices or more than the certified professionals in this area.

Still, it feels odd to tell them that for ethical reasons I cannot accept their payment. Never saw this kind of problems coming... rather some vice-versa issues.

 

[Erian1Mortal]

Work, work keeps me sane right about now...
Freaking depression demon looking over my shoulder whenever I start one of my personal projects... I started calling him "Flesym".... gonna write a story about that one someday I guess. But man it's hard doing stuff for myself, how do people do it and not break down from anxiety and fear of failure? Or rather, how did I forget how to do it?

 

[Carlos]

Thank you for the encouragement! Really appreciating it :thumbsup:

The problem here is this:
I've checked how much the actual professionals (aka certified advocates and lawyers) in this business are charging from their work, and based on an estimated average, I am offering my services with a 50 % discount. This is simply because I am a student, not a professional, and I cannot charge professional prices for a student-quality work. If I get some good reputation and the customers are starting to line up for me, then I would be happy to elevate the prices as well.

This first customer of mine is somewhat known to me from life beyond business as well, and with them I made an unwritten deal that if they can give me some marketing assistance, I will be glad to lower the price of my services to them in return. So they are actually trying to help me with setting up reasonable prices for my services. Note that my customer is a private entrepreneur as well, but in a wholly different kind of business and with no experience in legal counseling.

Now, the problem is this:
Compared to the price I asked for, this customer wants to pay me five times more. I'm not kidding.
This is a problem of both competitional value and, most importantly, professional ethics, because with that kind of prices my customers would be well able to hire a professional advocate to do the job. As a student, I don't feel it would be morally acceptable to charge the exactly same prices or more than the certified professionals in this area.

Still, it feels odd to tell them that for ethical reasons I cannot accept their payment. Never saw this kind of problems coming... rather some vice-versa issues.

Sounds like someone's been singing your praises and wants your service, and is willing to pay twice the market value because the more you pay, the more the quality of service is likely to be, since you're encouraged to work the case like a hawk. He's expecting a lot out of you. Thing is, the best lawyers are people who are coming out of college, university or master classes (higher education). Because their learning is fresh, not cynical or complacent, or whatever. Especially with COVID19 keeping everyone else home.

 

[therogis]

Sounds like someone's been singing your praises and wants your service, and is willing to pay twice the market value because the more you pay, the more the quality of service is likely to be, since you're encouraged to work the case like a hawk. He's expecting a lot out of you. Thing is, the best lawyers are people who are coming out of college, university or master classes (higher education). Because their learning is fresh, not cynical or complacent, or whatever. Especially with COVID19 keeping everyone else home.

Yes, that's what I'd like to think as well, and of course it feels good to see that a customer is valuating my services to the same level and even over the professional market value. After all, the quality of this kind of work is only matter of the resources inside one's head, hence they don't depend on the value or quality of any physical ingredients.

Nevertheless, this is a real issue and raises some ethical concerns; I am really not sure if they have really understood the fact that I am still a student and an undergraduate lawyer, not a professional advocate. My work is not supervised by any officials and, even though I only accept commissions that look like I'm skilled enough to complete without a doubt, it is more vulnerable to errors than a work of a professional.

So what I'm currently trying to do is to find an effective way to ensure that the customer really understands the difference between student work and professional work, and why they should be valuated differently. If they confirm that they have taken this into account and still want to pay more, fine, go ahead, I'll make an updated invoice for that. However, I should find a way to get such a confirmation without undervaluating my own skills or, most importantly, showing any unintentional disrespect towards the customer. A tricky situation, that is.

 

[Carlos]

Yes, that's what I'd like to think as well, and of course it feels good to see that a customer is valuating my services to the same level and even over the professional market value. After all, the quality of this kind of work is only matter of the resources inside one's head, hence they don't depend on the value or quality of any physical ingredients.

I think you're overthinking this. I'll explain...

Nevertheless, this is a real issue and raises some ethical concerns; I am really not sure if they have really understood the fact that I am still a student and an undergraduate lawyer, not a professional advocate. My work is not supervised by any officials and, even though I only accept commissions that look like I'm skilled enough to complete without a doubt, it is more vulnerable to errors than a work of a professional.

I think they know that you're a student. And that's kinda the point. You're studying this subject, so that puts you in the same "out of college" fresh mind. In other words: Whatever the case is, it needs fresh perspective. A lot of the cynical, a lot of the complacent lawyers are stuck in the "old guard" legalese. They want someone who's young, and hungry to succeed. That's you.

There is no oversight? Great news for you, because you can study the case, and have a lot of wiggle room on how to play the chess board. Too much oversight causes cases to have "too many cooks in the kitchen" so to speak, so all that noise usually muddles cases. They want an independent contractor, and none of this oversight bullshit. Honestly. That's why they didn't go to a firm, and went straight to you.

So what I'm currently trying to do is to find an effective way to ensure that the customer really understands the difference between student work and professional work, and why they should be valuated differently. If they confirm that they have taken this into account and still want to pay more, fine, go ahead, I'll make an updated invoice for that. However, I should find a way to get such a confirmation without undervaluating my own skills or, most importantly, showing any unintentional disrespect towards the customer. A tricky situation, that is.

You won't be undervalued. This is up to you. If you don't want to be paid over the market value, and be ethical about it. Be blunt. Be honest.

 

[BrawlMan]

I've noticed that Nemesis new theme sounds eerily similar to the UFE Raid theme in Max Payne 3.

 

[ef9dante_oSsshea]

I was thinking , how amazing would cake flavour ice cream be

Like coffee cake flavour ice cream sounds yum

 

[Shadow]

I was thinking , how amazing would cake flavour ice cream be

Like coffee cake flavour ice cream sounds yum

I think some places sell cake batter flavoured ice cream? Or have ice cream with cake mixed in. Not sure if that holds up outside the US, but it does exist!

 

[ef9dante_oSsshea]

That's non existent here in Ireland so I haven't heard of it

Lol there goes my original idea ha ha oh well

 

[V's patron]

Whether or not to get FF7r or wait a bit?

Whether or not to finish Death Stranding?

 

[Trish67]

So even though I work at gas station, and I am classified as essential, I am out of work until this craziness is over. My mom is worried about me getting sick. The airport isn't the best place for social distancing. I guess. I am hoping this is all over soon. My gf is out of work as well. and she's going cray cray.