My Client Is Creating Their IP.

Okay. You have a client. They are creating their IP.

So, at the very least, you want to make sure that you are protected legally throughout this process. It doesn’t mean you need a legal team, if you are a team of one, say. Though later on, if you grow rapidly or to a substantial size, it is something you should keep in mind.

You can always put up on your website or in your first email or chat correspondence what you are about and what you do not do. For example, you do not provide any last minute changes to your work that you provide to your client, whether you have been commissioned or hired to help them on their IP, etc.

It is always helpful, if you work together in person, to make sure there is at least a one-page agreement to which your client can sign, including a clause that states if they do not honor their side of the agreement, then the work relationship will be terminated.

People have nothing to say to a contract or an agreement that they signed before working with you. If you don’t have one, people can really give you a hard time, so just be aware.

If you already are a sizeable company, whether you are an Indie company or a wildly famous AAA company, it really matters that you have your legal shoes on at all times. We always hope for the best, but usually, we end up in the worst case scenario with no idea how to deal with the issue.

Clearing things up with your client is the last resort. The best case scenario is that you will have serious clients who come to you, because they can see that you are serious about the type of service you provide to them. And a lot of misunderstandings can be avoided up front.

Once that is out of the way, you can get down to the technicals. What do they want? How would they like it? Can they afford to pay you for the type of service that they want for their IP creation? Do you have the resources to make that vision happen for real? Advertising and marketing is very helpful for getting ourselves out to the wide world, but being accused of not being all we say we are on our websites can get us in trouble too.

What type of client is coming to you? Do you actually want a bigger client? Or a smaller one? Do you do better with someone who is saying they want to create a children’s book? Or someone who is saying they want to make the next MMO? If one type of client is coming to you because you already have a reputation for that sort of work, ask yourself if this is where you want to be for the next 5 – 10 years.

If the answer is yes, stay put. You are in good shape.

If the answer is no, don’t ditch everyone first thing. Think about how you want to work your way towards your ideal clientele. You can do it over a year or so.

You should already be aware that IPs can be unwieldy, constantly growing and demanding more and more attention and work. Be clear from the beginning. “Okay, we have agreed to 200 hours of work on this for you. Once we hit 200 hours, you can decide if you want to pay us more to continue with your work, or you can take the next step to another company / team / artist.”

Once you hit the 200 hour mark, even if you’re halfway through an environment render, let your client know. “Hey, so we hit 200 hours. Here is exactly where we left off. Do you want to pay us X amount to finish this up and then see how you want to proceed? We just need a little to finish up this one environment.”

While it is great that we go the extra mile for our clients, it makes it easy for them to take advantage of our kindness ad nauseam. Once or twice? Okay. After that? Please charge appropriately.

If you get a lot of complaints from your client about the price or the time, please tell them the comparison marks to other companies or studios or artists. “Well, we are the only contracted team who does this sort of work. Sorry, we charge what is viable for our team. It’s either us or the road.”

If they complain about the time, tell them, “Well, we can do three quarters of a full render in the time you are asking us to finish the entire painting. Do you want us to leave it at three quarters? If you like the quality of what you see, we can get things to you at your desired speed.”

Even though we say the customer is king, it does not mean we let him take your kingdom. You have your team. You have your procedures, the way you do things. You have your health, your skills, your talents, and your training. Sometimes it is not enough, no matter what we bring to the table, and in cases like that, you can walk away with your down payment and not feel completely wracked by the people you have agreed to work for.

And you know the drill. If you happen to land the perfect client — you love them, you think they are so nice, they are very considerate. They even bend on the visuals of how things are designed when they see how you’ve been working towards their vision. Then tell them they are the perfect client and offer to do more work for them even if they haven’t brought it up to you to be polite. People can be shy. We do have clients who say they don’t want to be a bother or ask for anything extra. Notice when they’re holding back and offer your help again, way before you’ve finished the first round of IP designs.

If you have one client who will probably take up most of your time and skill, then don’t be afraid to let others know, “hey, please come back in a year and a half. I am otherwise preoccupied.” Plan to your comfort level and remember that in case a deal falls through, it is good to have at least 2 or 3 other clients who don’t mind the possibility of never being contacted by you but like the idea that if something happens, they’re number 3 and would love to do business with you.

Be patient and always give the benefit of the doubt. But if your business sense is telling you “no more,” then you stop the deal for your peace of mind at once.