We’re changing some things in 2014.
Taking an honest look at our business… there are some things we do really well, and there are some things we really need to improve on.

Let’s start with our 3 values at SecretPenguin, and where we fall short.

1. Deliver high-quality, remarkable work.
I’d like to think we do – and according to responses and reaching the goals of our clients, we do. However, I think we have yet to see our best work.

Some ways we can do better:
• Refocus where time is spent. The majority of my time was away from creative work this year.
• Eliminate stress. We depend on many tiny projects for finances. If one fell behind (in response-time or payments), it then challenged our tight work schedules, deadlines and income.

2. Provide the best customer service our clients have ever experienced.
We strive to make our client’s lives easier. So much so, that if we were to part ways, it would truly make their life at work harder – we’re that passionate about being there for them.

Some ways we can do better:
• Refine our list of clients. We deliver great customer service to a couple key clients, but the others fall behind – on service and some deadlines. We just can’t realistically give that level of service to that many clients.

3. Foster a creative work environment.
We have a great studio. We have a workbench to hand-make items. We’re in a building with people we enjoy being around. We have a skateboard ramp and swings to clear our minds – based on the thought that the best ideas come to us in the shower… but a shower in the studio would be a bit strange.

Some ways we can do better:
• Have better meeting spaces for internal meetings and with clients.
• Surround ourselves in an open environment with incredible people to learn from one other, and be more intentional with collaborating.

Now that we know what to improve… what next?

I started SecretPenguin with a passion to create remarkable things – remarkable work, remarkable service, remarkable studio, remarkable team, remarkable results… not just in profits for our clients, but all the way down to how the community is affected by the work we do together. The only way to continue, is to take steps to continuously make ourselves the best we can be. So here are our next steps to deliver our values…

Creative Studio
We’re moving in November, and I can’t think of a better place to move to. We’ll announce where in the next few weeks.

Quality work and excellent service.
Every studio promises this. But most take on whatever work to bring in clients/income… after awhile it will wear down the staff, it will water down your remarkable work, and I don’t see how the quality and service can last long-term as things are spread too thin. Perhaps it’s possible, but in the past 10 years, it’s been a constant challenge. So, how do we combat this?

In 2014, we’re only working with 3 dedicated retainer clients + scheduled passion projects.

3 retainer clients will take up 50-60% of our time (20 hours/wk per person), and will cover all of our overhead plus room for savings. The 3 retainer clients will be organizations/companies that we believe in and enjoy working with. Too much time was spent wooing potential clients. Now, we’ll solely focus our time on wooing our existing clients.

Passion projects will take up 40-50% of our other time (15 hours/wk/per person). This will allow us to work on projects without relying on them for income. If they need to make long-term payments, it won’t be an issue. Passion projects will also keep us inspired and keep our brains in constant motion. New challenges will only make us stronger and smarter.

The Math:
In one year, we have 2666.67 hours of retainer work.
Divide it by 48 weeks = 55.56 hrs/week.
Divide that by 4 employees = 13.88 hrs/week for each employee to bill for. This will cover all of our expenses to secure us as a solid-standing company.
That leaves us with roughly half of our billable time for optional passion projects.

2014 Client Line-Up
As it stands, we have 2 dedicated retainer clients lined up for 2014.
We have some incredible options, but are still deciding on our 3rd. Please contact us if you’re interested in a very dedicated, passionate team to focus on your needs.
(If we decide on 4 retainer clients, we have great people ready to join our team. 2014 is all about balancing our hours and leaving plenty of time to learn and explore to better the work/service for our clients and to better ourselves at the same time.)

Our first passion project is with Isa Chandra Moskowitz for her new Russian cafe!
Feel free to contact us with a project. Our time is limited on these, but we love the opportunity to work on projects we believe in.

We’re excited for 2014.