Agency interview: nGen Works

This is the second in a series of four interviews - my first was with nclud - that focuses on what it takes to start, manage and grow a successful agency business. In this interview, I speak to Carl Smith of nGen Works, located in Jacksonville, Florida.

When and how was nGen Works started?

nGen Works was started in June of 2003. I was part of a full-service agency and got sick of seeing the disconnect between talent and pay. I was also working crazy hours and had a young and growing family and wanted to be home more. So I called some friends and we decided to give it a go. Our original mantra was “Serious Fun.”

We were serious about every opportunity and if it wasn’t fun we weren’t interested. We also set up some basic rules to act as guidelines for everyone so we didn’t really have to have a boss. The name was decided on after several beers. nGen is an abbreviation of next generation and an engine is a driving force. It’s also a pain in the ass to spell, but hey that’s the price of nGenuity.

Are the services you provided at the start the same as you offer now?

Not at all. We started as a Flash shop, now we’re a standards shop. It’s funny how little we knew when we started. Guy Kawasaki says you don’t know what you sell or who will buy it for three years after you start a new company. I firmly believe that.

Why did nGen Works transition its service offering from Flash to web standards?

There are a lot of reasons I suppose. It started when Travis joined nGen and explained to us there was a better way to build sites. We were also getting into situations with clients needing to update sites and search engine issues. Once we started reading more about standards and saw both the technology and business benefits we were sold.

There are still ongoing challenges in being a standards shop, but we feel like we’re fighting the good fight. We keep learning and getting better for our clients on every project.

What have you found to be most effective in marketing nGen Works?

Like every business it’s word of mouth. We treat our clients really well, create the best work we can for them and they blab about it. In the early days we did a lot of Flash cards and those raised our awareness quickly. We also used to put sayings in our window to talk to traffic, my personal favorite was our pong window.

Recently we’ve started sponsoring events like Web Directions North and Geeks Love Bowling at SxSW. That has been really effective. And then of course there’s Happy Webbies. Who would think you could have fun, pick on your own industry and get such a great response?

It often seems your Twitter status mentions walking to and from a business meeting. Does nGen Works prefer local clients?

Personally, I’d like to have a 40% of our clients local and 60% national/international. I’ve lived through downturns in the economy where local clients help you survive as out-of-market opportunities dry up. Right now we’re probably closer to 70% out of market which is great too. Being able to manage things remotely with phone calls and email saves a lot of time.

In terms of me walking to and from client meetings, we still like to get out of the office and have face time with clients and prospects when we can. A lot of those tweets are probably me meeting with new business opportunities.

What tools do you use to manage projects, track time and handle invoicing?

Basecamp, Tick and Blinksale. We also use Pulse to track cashflow and I use Gootodo to manage my to-do list. The boys also use Backpack. I have been considering Highrise as my role has shifted to 100% biz dev. I’m also looking into Freshbooks, those guys seem really smart.

At first we didn’t invite clients into Basecamp, but over time we saw the value. When clients resist Basecamp now it’s a bit of a red flag for us.

Have you ever had a client disagree with your payment policy of initial deposit and final payment required before delivery? If so, how did you handle the situation?

Umm…yeah. Especially big clients who I won’t mention. We bent the rules a few times. The results - once we didn’t get Christmas bonuses because it took 14 weeks to get paid, another time it took over a year. I think the big change comes when you have a sound financial base. Then you can make decisions based on what’s fair to everyone instead of fear. Once you get a reputation for being fair and creating a good product clients don’t mind as much.

Are all nGen Works staff full-time, in-house employees or do you also hire contractors who work remotely?

Every one is full time. On some projects we do have key companies we turn to for support, but we generally stay away from individuals. Every nGeneer can work from home if they need to, the office is really for camaraderie and clients. One of the things we’re very proud of is that every nGen Work’s employee has 100% healthcare coverage including dental. This year were getting our retirement plans in order.

What are some important business lessons you’ve learned since starting nGen Works?

- Always trust your instincts. If something seems wrong it is.
- Never let things get quiet. Always fill that void between you and the client even if you’re just saying “hey we’re working on your project this week.”
- Never start working before you receive a deposit. Never deliver before you receive the final payment.
- Always reiterate the process to the client. They don’t want to drive, but if they get scared nobody is in control they will try to take over.
- Never, ever show work you don’t like. The client will love it every time!
- Never make a decision based on fear, greed or anger.
- Be nice to Canadians, they are very influential.

I first heard of these guys at Web Directions North so I would say that sponsorship is indeed working as an effective marketing tool. They created the artwork for the conference loot bags

Are all your interviews going to be with companies who start with the letter ‘n’?  ;)

Great interview - thanks Geof.

Thanks Jon, glad you’re enjoying these. As for the ‘n’ theme, I’m actually moving onto ‘c’ and ‘e’ next :)

The nGen Works teams rocks ... I really love that window art; that is the kind of stuff that keeps me wanting to be more and more creative.

It was great meeting you guys at SXSW finally. And thank you again for sponsoring SXSW Bowling.

The sponsorships have been great, both for exposure and because it feels good to help the industry, like the nclud interview said. Or nTerview as we would say.

You really have to commit to the n, give n to it as it were.

Martin, you are most welcome. Thanks for running it. Much smoother this year, everyone said so.

The window was fun for a long time and we got a lot of awareness from it. I was really hoping to get to talk with Nolan Bushnell after the Pong window but that never happened. Oh well.

Thanks again Geof!