This is a note to all you small business owners out there who are thinking about starting or are already involved in a marketing project. It could be a new brochure or direct mail campaign but mostly I'm referring to websites. Specifically the redesign of a website.

Small business owners are some of the busiest people on the planet! I know from personal experience. So when you finally get the opportunity (read: money to pay for it) to delegate a project to someone else, it can seem like the weight of the world is suddenly lifted off your shoulders. However, be forewarned, dear small business owner - delegation is not equal to non-participation. You cannot ask someone to redesign your website, walk away, come back a month later and expect a beautifully designed and executed project without any interaction on your part. You will still need to actually attend a kickoff meeting, discuss goals and desired features and ideas, provide source material and other information, and review, comment on, and approve proofs.

In the past year, I have worked on too many website projects where business owners failed to attend meetings, didn't provide source material, didn't review proofs, didn't respond to emails and generally acted as though they didn't need to participate in the process at all. Their projects dragged on for months with me desperately pleading for feedback in order to keep the project moving. I really don't understand their thinking.

Contrary to popular belief, graphic designers, writers and marketing people in general are not mind readers. In order to produce a project that truly reflects your business' brand, we need something to go on. It may seem like we can conjure beautiful, effective deliverables from mid-air, but I assure you we don't. The best professionals take time to get to know your business before starting to plan, write or design. How is that done? By listening to you, reviewing what you've done in the past and acting on your feedback. You see, it's all about you and we can't do it without you!