I have always tried to assume people are good until proven otherwise. Socially, this is a good way to be; if you're open and honest and not at all suspicious, I believe you'll get back the same a decent majority of the time.
In business, I'm starting to believe, it may not be quite as easy. When people put survival, profitability, market share, self-interest and competition in front of community and relationships, you may just find yourself getting burned. We've been running Sixes & Sevens as a part-time project for nearly two years now, and during that time we've made some amazing business contacts, received helpful, untethered advice and been given great opportunities by people willing to give us a chance. We would like to think that in most cases, this open and honest communication has been reciprocated by us, therefore forging some strong business links.
Just recently, we were contacted by a young entrepreneur who was looking to move into events management and promotions. He was extremely keen, but lacked the necessary guidance to help him kick things off quickly. He had an upcoming event he was involved in the promotion of and required a logo and business cards for his startup. He also required assistance with setting up his business, so I was able to provide him with links to the necessary government bodies for registering for a business name and ABN, as well as details on securing a suitable website address. All of this information was provided in good faith and at no point was discussed in terms of remuneration, despite the fact that it does not form part of our regular service. We then set about drafting several versions of the business logo and through numerous phone calls and emails, we felt that we were making some progress towards the deadline.
All of a sudden, the contact stopped. No phone calls, no email responses. I politely responded that under the circumstances it would be reasonable to let us know that his situation had changed or that our services were no longer required. Still no response. We moved on with other projects leading up to Christmas and New Year's.
As we began reevaluating new projects and leads, it occurred to me to make some enquiries regarding the client who suddenly went cold on us. With very little effort at all, I was able to find a copy of the poster online for the event he was promoting. On the bottom of the poster was an early version draft of one of the logo designs we had provided him. His Facebook page too contains a variation of this draft concept. To say that we were stunned would be an understatement.
I have not decided my course of action yet - beyond writing this RANT - and I believe that we are unlikely to receive any satisfaction. Will this encounter change the way I approach business opportunities in the future? Perhaps. I certainly hope that this incident won't affect my usually sunny outlook.