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Backyard photography, company values, job market, Infinitely people, stress test, saving cash, How not to sound like a junkie....

Recession

Interviews

Capture Six degrees www.fastmediamagazine.com

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Contents

Regular

P8

Introduction

P62 About P64 Featured contributors

Contributors in the spotlight.

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Picture Istockphoto

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Photography

P36 Backyard inspiration

A creative suggestion by Gerry Thies

Business

P18 Stock Media stress test

P26 Technology as an ally.

Interview with Abbie

Enock

People

P10 Perfect times for sales

Sell you way out of recession P38 The job market, how to

work it

How to prepare for an industry job

P42 How not to sound like a

junkie

8 Practical CV tips

How to create a lasting cost management strategy

P44 Cash, how to save it

Five tips too save money quickly and effectively

P48 New company

Six degrees RCC

P56 Driving business results

with people.

Leading teams through difficult times

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Fast Media magazine has sourced free images from Stockxchng, low cost images from Istockphoto as well as material from our contributors. Much of this issue is about how the industry works through a recession. Using free images shows how companies with limited resources can still find interesting and relevant content. We also hope it feeds the debate on how the industry deals with free content and cheap alternatives to existing products and business models.

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Recession-beating photography

Goals / Daniel / Stockxcnng | Skeptical / Essentia Studio / Istockphoto

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Recession I

London, 27 Juli 2009. ’m very pleased to announce that Fast Media magazine is now live with a website, magazine and directory..

Our magazine for Stock media creators, distributors and users focusses on the rapid changes that happen when Stock Media hits the web.

Stock Media are all media that are preproduced and ready to use. On the web they can be created, distributed, found and used ever more quickly.

Fast Media Magazine reports on all the developments that relate to Stock Media and the incredible changes that this industry is facing. Our outlook is outward and forward because there is so much to learn from developments on the outside and there is so much to look forward too in the future.

some of the major challenges facing the industry today on an open and objective platform. Finally, the free Directory helps you to find the companies you need to do your work fast and without hassle.

Finally, this is the first issue and we will not get it right immediately.

Please help Fast Media magazine become the best it can be by giving feedback, ideas and tips. If you have a great story to tell we will happily write about it for the site and/or the magazine.

I do hope you will find this first issue interesting and look forward to your comments.

(This introduction was edited on the 15th of December 2009)

At the publicationdate of this first issue we are in the middle of a global recession, that’s why we focus on some practical tips and ideas for companies and individuals to focus on right now.

All the articles can be commented on on the site and in the forum. This is an essential part of the experience. We hope that by connecting creators with distributors and users we move away from silo’s and can develop solutions for

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Marco Oonk, Editor marco@fastmediamagazine.com

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Radio Antenna / Rodolfo Belloli / Stockxcng

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Perfect Times

For Sales people

Interview with Andy Vlaeminck

“In times like these it will be easier to create distance, to conquer a bigger piece of the market�

Sun, close up / Snowlemon / Istockphoto Regardless of economic and industry challenges, there is a rapidly expanding number of image users out there. How can you increase your companies sales or sell your more of your own pictures through these tough times? And how do you ensure sensible pricing for your products? All while having a bit of fun in otherwise gloomy times.

We asked Andy Vlaeminck to share his experience with photographers and companies. He has a long track record in sales in the media and advertising industry. He worked for Getty Images for 5 years and is now an independent sales coach and trainer. He also helps companies with their sales strategy.

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Let’s start with a reality check.

Companies are struggling to reach their numbers all over the world and there seems no end in sight. Is all really lost?

Of course not! On the contrary. These are perfect times for really good sales people. Because now that the money isn’t coming in by itself anymore, now that growth isn’t a given, is the perfect time for to show that they can make a difference.

Indeed, it’s time for a reality check. But one that isn’t set up to find excuses for under performing. We all have to admit that we adore surfing on the glory waves when things are going well and we like to take personal credit for it.

But as soon as things turn bad, it’s the economy or the crisis or the declining market. Why not blame Santa or the Easter bunny?

Do your reality check in front of a mirror. Look at yourself, at your company and especially at the way you interact with your clients. That reality check will show you that there’s quite a lot that you can change and improve. And when you do that, you will grow, regardless of the market. Or you will at least be able to control the damage. And yes, maybe the market is declining with 20%. But that means that there’s still 80% out there.

How have your own clients been reacting to the changed environment? Are they simply digging in or are they doing anything different?

One of the reasons I’m working with these clients, is because they’ve decided not to dig in. And that’s the only smart thing to do. First of all because of the message you send out to the market.

Digging in and keeping your head low, means less exposure in the market. It shows a lack of confidence in your own strength, in the future and in your clients.You can compare it with going out or flirting; nobody wants to hang out with a gloomy, sad bunch of people.

But there’s also a more rational side to that attitude.You can assume that most of your competitors will indeed hit the brakes at least a bit. And that’s the perfect time for you or your company to accelerate. In times like these it will be easier to create distance, to conquer a bigger piece of the market and to obtain a better position in the mind-set of you prospects and clients. And as soon as the market starts recovering, you will be able to hit the ground running.You will already have the speed, the experience and the contacts.

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Besides the economy photographers and companies in Stock Media are facing declining prices as well. Does it still makes sense to make that personal effort?

Without any doubt. People in advertising, publishing, marketing or communication in general are people people. Strong relationships, a big network, a good reputation; they are all priceless in this business. And we’re selling images, aren’t we? Content, creativity, the visualization of ideas and concepts. Not paper or cartridges.

Sales people control the Relationship a company has with their clients. and they contribute to the Reputation of a company or a brand. The better they perform, the stronger the R’s are in the mix, the easier it will be to justify higher prices and to stay out of the downward spiral. And again, I’m not naïve. I know the pressure is up. I know sales people have to give bigger discounts. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept this as a given.

Discounts should always remain exceptions, a favour you grant a good client. The client should appreciate that.

If you have a good relationship with your clients, you can ask something in return for the discount.

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What about microstock? This product is sold at much lower prices than before. Many companies simply cannot compete with this.

Then stop competing. Microstock is a reality. It won’t go away. But it only appeals to a specific type of client in a specific situation. We can discuss on how big that group of clients is.You might state that we loose 30% of our business to them. I might disagree and claim that it’s only 15%. But it actually doesn’t matter. Instead of wining about that 15 or 30% we’ve lost, we should focus on the 70% we still have.

You can simply compare it to any other business.You have discount supermarkets that don’t care about brands and presentation. A shopping experience? They couldn’t care less!

But have they taken over the complete market? No! And you know what the best part is? Sales people can make the difference. It simply means you have to start talking to new people, talk more to the people you already know and make sure they enjoy talking to you.

Let’s assume this all works, how do you measure it. How do we know our sales teams are truly effective and their money’s worth?

Well, the easiest way is the bottom line of any sales department: the money of

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course. Is the revenue growing?

Compared to the same period last year?, and to the year before? But there are a lot of other elements worth measuring. And they all contribute to better sales. Is the number of clients growing? Is the revenue per client growing? Is the average discount dropping? What’s our success rate on quotes? How many of them turn into an order?

But don’t measure yourself to death. A good Sales manager should feel when things are going the right way. And a good sales manager trusts his team and his or her own experience and professionalism. Things sometimes need some time.You can’t change things overnight.

Can you give us a few examples on how to bring positive energy in a sales team? Especially now this must be hard.

In theory this is quite easy. But reality shows us that most people lack the discipline and the energy to keep this up. If you manage sales people – or any other team for that matter – you simply can’t afford to have an off day.

As soon as you walk into the office, you should start spreading your energy around. There’s my mirror again. Look at yourself. How does your receptionist perceive you when you walk in ?

What is the signal your team gets in the morning ? It’s that same principle again.

If you want them to sound positive and self assured, to almost sing, you’ll have to sing harder.You simply have to create the fun and the positive energy. By celebrating for example. Obviously the good results, a big deal being closed, a record being broken. But also birthdays and other more personal stuff.

And when results are bad?, when the targets aren’t being hit? Then don’t waste time and energy nagging about it and putting the numbers in a powerpoint presentation to give your thunder speech even more power.

Trust me, they know things are bad.

Load them with energy by showing you understand and by helping them with advice or by presenting your plan to get out of the negative spiral. Give them a goal, show them that you trust them and they will follow. I often quote Antoine de Saint-Exupery in this context : “If you want to build a ship, then don’t drum up men to gather wood, give orders, and divide the work. Rather, teach them to yearn for the far and endless sea. “

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So we’ve established some level of positivity. What’s next, where do we start? Do we just go out hunting for new business?

Time, people and resources are limited, now more than ever. So even though I firmly believe that you have to be out in the market in order to sell, I advise my clients not to start running around like headless chickens.

The first thing you need to do is “map” your clients and prospects. Who are your big clients ? Who are your smaller clients ? Which are low maintenance ?

Which are high maintenance ? Are your big clients also the market leaders or big spenders in general ?

“...compare it with going out or flirting; nobody wants to hang out with a gloomy, sad bunch of people.”

Who are your prospects ? Which are cold prospects and which are hot leads ? How often do you have contacts with these different groups? What are the different stages in your development of relationships with prospects and clients?

This may all sound obvious, but you would be amazed how little companies actually have a good and detailed view on the clients they work for and the prospects they’re aiming at; and consequently, the time they spend with these contacts. And yes, they have a CRM program. But that’s just a toolbox, isn’t it. It’s what you put in and especially what you pull out that will make the difference.

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This is the first in an interview in two parts, next month we’ll explore if good sales people are a result of nature or nurture and we will look at working with sales teams through the first stages of a sales process. Also check out Andy’s 3D’s of sales on www.shacabi.com. Andy can be found on www.soulforsale.be

Businessman in black / Illustrious / Istockphoto

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If we’re not looking so much for new clients What can we do with our existing clients that will help us reach our targets?

I didn’t say we’re not looking for new clients. That should be a permanent process.

But it’s simply smarter and more efficient to focus on the existing clients first.

With these clients, you already have a basis you can build on. So you can get better results faster, with less investment. And yes, they’re already buying. Start with your top 50 clients and sketch a detailed profile of them. Based on that, you can write a tailor made development plan per client. If it’s worth your while of course. In other words, if there’s still revenue to be generated.

Questions to ask yourself about your clients 1. Are they buying regularly?

2. Would they be able to buy more?

3. Is only one department buying at that company?

4. Do you have only one contact?

5. Are there still other decision makers worth developing a relationship with?

6. Who are the other suppliers they’re buying from? www.fastmediamagazine.com Page 16 Dog / Emery Way / Getty Images

“Start with your top 50 clients and sketch a detailed profile of them”

Once we are confident about our existing clients and when we do go after new business where do we start? Even getting past the receptionist can be hard.

Again, start with the easy ones.You will be amazed how many people you know if you put your own network and that of your team together. Because it will be a lot easier breaking in to a company if you know someone there. If you’re really lucky, they’re actually the ones you need to talk to. And if not, they can surely point you into the right direction.

If contacts are one important element in prospecting, timing is definitely the other. Scan the business press, the trade magazines of the industry you’re working in. Look for prospects hiring extra people. Because hiring means growth.

Make sure you know when they win awards or move to new offices. These are moments you can celebrate and they can be perfect starting points for the relationship.

And the receptionist ? I do have a few tricks down my sleeve to work around them...:

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The Stock Media

Stress test How to create a lasting cost management strategy

Ex-McKinsey consultant and turnaround manager Jurgen Leijdekker believes that cost cutting needs to be part of a company’s long-term strategy, not a reactionary measure. With a tough economy continuing he urges companies to do a stress test where the viability is tested at a revenue reduction of at least 20-30%. Ultimately this may lead to a rethinking of the entire business model.

“In too many cases, cost cutting is done as an ad-hoc, reactionary measure, in which the only guiding principle is to ‘follow the money” Smoke cloud / Stan Rohrer / Istockphoto

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Guiding principles of cost cutting Cost cutting is something we’ve all encountered at some point in our working lives. As a tactic, it seems pretty straightforward, and hence is often overlooked in the business literature. Somehow, it’s seen as too crude to warrant much further thought.

I believe this is unfortunate. Cost cutting can do serious damage when applied bluntly and unthinkingly, as too often is the case. Personally, I certainly held various beliefs about cost cutting which I had to unlearn over time. As I went along, here are some principles that I’ve come to value. Check these against your own experiences, and see whether some ring true: It’s a strategy.

Firstly and most importantly, I believe cost cutting is a strategy. In too many cases, cost cutting is done as an ad-hoc, reactionary measure, in which the only guiding principle is to ‘follow the money’ over a path of least resistance. A good cost cutting program is planned and though through as you would any other strategy: it’s mapped out in advance with input from all stakeholders; it fits the contours of your overall strategy and values, is clearly communicated to all involved and is evaluated and adjusted afterwards.

Contrast that with how cost cutting is usually done: it’s often a reaction to a situation (a ‘surprise’ seemingly), it’s implemented quickly, top-down and without open and honest communication (often with a feeling of embarrassment from senior management). It’s either done bluntly across the board (“I call on all Department Heads to find 20% savings”) or weakly where it’s the easiest to cut (e.g. “no more external contractors”) and without regard for the overall strategy (“we’ve imposed an overall hiring freeze” – even though the stated long-term strategy clearly calls for beefing up our customer service team). When it’s all done, it’s often followed up with some ‘ after shocks’ as management suddenly realizes that more cutting needs to be done.

Any of this sounds familiar? I’ve certainly made many of these mistakes before. Let’s keep reminding each other that cost cutting is a strategy: carefully planned, conscientiously communicated and rigorously executed.

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Dangerous Clifftop / RT Images / Istock

How much is enough?

Be intelligent about setting your overall target. Too often, the answer is pretty simplistic, e.g. “we need to cut 20%”. But if cost-cutting is a strategy, it requires careful planning, right? So let’s set the objective first: is the goal to survive, to increase the ROE, or simply to ensure that we’re ‘lean’? Given the times, let’s assume we’re trying to survive right now. In this stage of the business cycle, if you’re not profitable at say 70-80% of last year’s sales, you need to take action on margin or costs.

This is the ‘stress test’ that every company should have taken in their budget rounds last year. If you haven’t yet, do it now. Just eyeballing the numbers should lead you to a discussion about where to cut, never losing sight of your long-term strategy. Again, the answer should not be a target across the board or guided by ease of implementation. Ideally you’re not just trying to survive 2009, so make sure the baby is not thrown out with thebathwater.

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“... if you’re not profitable at say 70-80% of last year’s sales, you need to take action on margin or costs.

This is the ‘Stress test’ that every company should have taken in their budget rounds last year.”

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And if you are truly just struggling for survival, you should probably look at cash more than cost. A company can be very profitable and very broke at the same time. If you watch ‘cost’ only as it shows on your P&L, you can be caught out on cash. We’ll look at this in a separate article.

yourself for a pretty boring but necessary exercise. In any company that I’ve come into, I went through the chart of accounts and restructured the various buckets, so that the management accounts show line items that quickly pinpoint me to my real cost issues.

Do the numbers

There are many examples; a manufacturing company where inventory losses weren’t separated between waste and shrink, a retail company where certain cost items were aggregated across locations thus preventing us to benchmark, etc. Go through your chart of accounts and make sure the categorizations will give you the insights you need, without too much digging.

Spend some time on truly understanding your cost base. I’ve seen many companies where management lacks a sophisticated insight into their cost base. Whereas the commercial numbers are usually analyzed in-depth (growth trends, market share, product profitability, etc.) costs are often expressed very crudely (“last year we spent X on Y”, instead of “my X as a % of sales is higher than my competitor’s, and the ratio is growing still”). If you feel that you do need a deeper insight into your cost numbers, here are some tips that may be of use.

First, have you ever gone through the chart of accounts? If you haven’t, brace

Second, start playing with lots of ratios, tables, charts, etc. The rule here is “more is more” – at least in the initial stage, I tend to look at the data from as many angles as possible, before zeroing in on a few potential issues and Firefighter / SFB Photographics / Istock

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picking a few insightful ratios or KPIs with which to go forward.

Third, look for benchmarks. Internally, compare the overheads between different offices, the productivity between your editors, the T&E between your sales people. Next, look at your competitors. Talk to each other to get some comparisons, get data from industry associations, and dig up some of numbers on public companies in your industry. Look at any ratios that you can concoct and then translate them to your size like territory size of sales people, gross margins by product line, salary cost per FTE, etc.

Finally, check your strategy. Athough you understand now where costs are outside the norm, this should not dictate where to cut. If your strategy is to excel in customer service, then it may be fine if your high-functionality website costs more than the next guy.

If you’re all about having ‘feet on the street’, perhaps it’s ok that your T&E and CRM costs are higher. But similarly, if you believe service by phone and transactions over the web is the distribution model of the future, why even have a field sales force?

There’s no right or wrong cost level.

There’s affordable and not affordable, there’s an even or uneven distribution among the stakeholders, and there’s aligned or inconsistent with your strategy.

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You don’t ‘need’ anything I believe the distinction between essential and non-essential costs is a red herring. All costs are non-essential.

Really? Well no, not really, but it’s a useful paradigm to live by nonetheless.

It puts you in the right mindset to drive the implementation, and as a bonus, it’s more true than you might think. I’ve been surprised myself so many times that life goes on just fine without certain costs that seemed “essential”. In my case, having many outside reference cases from other companies in various industries helps. It’s fascinating to see how entire industries are joined in the belief that certain costs are essential, whereas other industries have gone without those exact same costs, simply because they’ve never known any different.

In my first job, I worked for an organization that was part of the UN system. When I came in, the staff was in uproar about the new travel directive: from now on they had to travel business class instead of first class. Next, I worked at a strategy consulting firm where domestic flights were booked economy, but always full fare, the argument being to avoid change fees.

Later on, I worked for an internet startup where the management team (myself included) voted down the CFO on a proposal to stop flying business class on transatlantic flights – we sincerely felt that this would be an unacceptable impediment to our productivity upon arrival.

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“It’s fascinating to see how entire industries are joined in the belief that certain costs are essential,...”

Plan AB / TopshotUK / Istockphoto www.fastmediamagazine.com

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Fast forward to my life as a turnaround manager for private equity firms: economy flights all around (including very frequent 12-14 hour flights to the Middle East and Asia), sometimes on frequent flyer miles that are captured by the company instead of the traveller, and often staying in hotel rooms shared with colleagues. I’m not passing judgment on any of these environments. The moral of the story is simply that beliefs about which costs are essential are only just that – beliefs.

Avoid going back for seconds Cut deeper than you think you have to.

This is a golden rule in operational turnarounds. Why? Simply because cost cutting is hard. Therefore, you need some cushion for any set-backs during the implementation, and most importantly, you want to avoid having to go back for more. You’ll run into resistance from the team, you’ll encounter practical obstacles which you hadn’t realized were there, and most certainly you’ll find that there are delays before you see the numbers go down.

Also look at it at its most basic level: you can never pinpoint exactly how much cutting you need, and if you find you’ve cut too deep, it’s not that hard to increase your spending again. So go for one round, and exaggerate the target.

If you need more than a shave… your businessmodel.

A final thought comes back to the ‘stress test’ I mentioned: you may just

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find that your business model simply doesn’t work. Particularly in turnarounds, I’ve seen various examples of companies that were bought by new owners, who bet on a cost cutting exercise to permanently turn around the business, only to find out halfway through that the very business model itself simply doesn’t work.

A classic example is where your product or service has become commoditized. Margins have eroded and your competitors have moved on to new products or business models that are the new money makers. If you do your stress test and see an amount of cost cutting that looks too daunting, then don’t focus on cost cutting.

Focus on your business model instead.

Should you merge with a competitor?

Could you reduce your headcount by 80%, close most of your offices and do everything electronically? Should you put all sales staff on commission? I ran a cost cutting exercise where we first went through 6 months of shaving here and there, until everyone involved realized that we were never going to get there without a radical change to the model. We eventually attained our target by changing to a completely new production method, which turned out to be a long-term winner. With a lower target, we would have plugged along with our cost-conscious business, only to be eventually overtaken by a new entrant who adopted the new production method from day one.

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Tree on edge / Morgan Le Faye / Istock photo

“A classic example is where your product or service has become commoditized, whereas your industry has moved on to new products or business models that are the new money makers.� www.fastmediamagazine.com

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Technology

Ally

as an

Interview with Abbie Enock Technology has been a major driver of a number of revolutionary changes in the Stock Media industry. Abbie Enock, Managing Director of Capture talks about the advantages of well implemented technology and warns about some of the pitfalls in this exclusive interview.

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Swimmer 2 / Jason F / Stockxchng

About Capture Capture is the leading developer of fully integrated image management systems in the UK. It provides a total business solution to meet the needs of traditional picture libraries as well as the diverse and rapidly changing needs of today’s media, publishing, creative and cultural industries in the digital age.

Capture software includes a fully integrated web-based system to provide secure web access to images and worldwide marketing opportunities available through the internet. www.capture.co.uk

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What do companies need to think about right now?

There are a number of things companies need to think of but the most important is that whatever system they use it supports the sales effort, ultimately it’s all about sales and people should never forget that.

Companies should have an ‘end to end’ system that does the whole thing. Some companies are still obsessive about having bits of a system that do this and other bits that do that. We believe a system like Capture is the best way to build a profitable business. We call it ‘shoot to loot’ and it takes care of the entire process. A complicated workflow is made infinitely simpler if you have a single tool. Some people may find it frightening dealing with one company but it’s a hell of a lot better than dealing with many.

A system should be web based so people can access it flexibly and easily, The Stock industry is about technology now. Unless you have a passion, money, resources and patience people should never do this in-house or try to recreate the wheel, it has already been created. It’s a hard and long trip to do it yourself and it will not save money.

Finally, many companies in our industry are made up of creatives and they rarely achieve similar results as companies with a mix of people. This should include a logical, IT savvy person.

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Is it really necessary to have IT staff on board?

It is very important that someone is a logical thinker, perhaps not full time.

Even. If these people are not there the supplier will need to have a bigger input.

So much comes down to project management, if its Just creatives in a company this can create a challenging situation. They need to recognise a client side resource is needed to plan and work through the process.

What was your motivation to start Capture in 1998?

I was originally a journalist, then a photographer and did a lot of newspaper and magazine design. I also worked in senior positions in large organizations for many years. After travelling around the world I brought back a lot of photography, originally I started selling my own work and then decided I did not want to do more foreign assignment work. When I reached that point I realized I had to take in other photographers’ work and needed a system to organise everything.

I went on to research what was available and couldn’t find anything existing to suit my needs. I then proceeded to write down the spec and went to

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“..ultimately it’s all about sales and people should never forget that.”

Hard drive / Mollla Zi / Stockxcng

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external developers. I soon realized I was looking at a system that was going to cost millions of dollars and many years to build.

By then the pile of submissions from photographers was getting bigger and bigger so I decided I’d better start myself. Over a period of years, long days and teaching myself I wrote the program for Travelink. Other people started to be interested and wanted to buy it. With more and more people showing an interest I started to realize that perhaps this would be my way forward in life.

I want to do things properly and set up a software company with a business partner and friend in 1998. At that point Capture limited was born. I rewrote the program completely in January 2000 and before the end of that year we were market leader.

It solved problems for many people as we were the first to put a front- and back-end together and offer this integrated system. In short; it came from other people encouraging us that what I created could be of great commercial benefit to everybody.

How much does the company today resemble the humble beginnings?

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Capture is obviously much bigger now.

In the old days I wrote every line of code myself. I must have done 120 hours a week for 6 years or something like that, absolutely shameful! really ridiculous. It was a huge effort. In the last 3 years we made another big effort to produce the online system. The difference is that back then it was just me to start with. Now we have a team of 8 including a technical manager, project management, sales and marketing which makes my life a lot easier.

What are the biggest changes you have seen in your years in the industry while you were growing Capture?

When we started the digital revolution was underway but many people still had their feet firmly in the analogue era. Capture was built to bridge that gap and the first version has done that really well. In the old days people used to come to me asking ‘What’s a JPEG’, or ‘How do we buy a JPEG scanner’.

Nobody had a clue changes that came off the back off the digital revolution.

The Royalty Free licensing model was a big one, catalogues disappearing another.

Only big companies could afford catalogues. As a result of the digital revolution smaller companies could now play in this arena and compete, the playing field became more level.

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Istockphoto

How do you feel software has helped companies grow and develop?

Not many companies have the resources to write quite such a sophisticated system.

With Capture 2.1 small companies can now get a sophisticated system at a low price. Capture now matches the best frontends in the world and a better backend because of multimillion dollar investments. This is particularly important now that small agencies are reliant on distribution and direct sales are concentrated the market leaders.

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‘Freaking out about a lack of understanding will just throw grit in an otherwise well functioning machine’

When does IT become a limiting factor? it seems to take up a lot of time in most companies First of all, don’t do anything you are not suited to. Creative people are very often not suited to deal with technical things and a lot of frustration sets in when they try to. Things then take much longer then they should.

I’m a great believer in teams. Even in small teams people need to play to their strengths. Some owners and managers may feel a bit out of control now but if they have built a good team they have to stand back and let the people they appointed handle things without management trying to understand it.

Freaking out about a lack of understanding will just throw grit in an otherwise well functioning machine. A lot of time is wasted because a building block in the team is missing. Many times this is a logical, sensible planner.

We perform best when we’re matched professionally by top notch demanding teams on the client side. IT is now part of every organization; you have to have someone to help pure creatives in companies think logically and technically.

Iron KNow / Sigurd Decroos / Stockxchng

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There are a lot of changes in the industry, when therecession is over how do you think the industry will pick up the pieces?

It’s going to be down to good old management. Teams will have to analyse statistics and go through basic business processes and yes, a tool like Capture will help do this. Making some difficult decisions before it’s critical and planning properly is also important.

The Picture library industry has been in a wobbly state for a while so people are quite practiced in recession. This is an advantage for us. Some even think the recession will be the making of the industry because it will lead to a rise in the use of Stock imagery, albeit at the cheaper end.

The recession has made people look at what makes money and focus on this.

It has made people appreciate what they’ve got, weed out the rubbish and focus on business. People who survive will undoubtedly be much stronger.

What other things are on the horizon. Any new technologies that we should know of?

Yes, there will be things coming out.

Our whole purpose has always been to reduce the time from when an asset is born to the point that it’s useful, i.e. making money. We will also be

partnering with companies with new technologies to constantly help shrink that time scale. Distribution and the Globalization of images is another area that needs support.

What are your plans for the future; you’ve just launched Greenlight, what’s next?

Capture 2 is launched. 2.1 Is due end summer, beginning autumn. This will include enhancements to the frontend plus backend improvements including editing and review changes. It will have Lots of changes to the agents’ distribution area as well. If you think hard enough it’s quite possible to make this less onerous. Often these days original images come from the amateurs, I am keen to make it easier to ingest these images.

In 5 years time. What will Capture look like and what will you be doing?

We want to be the company that is selling the world’s best system. I think we probably do this already. We want to sell world class systems and provide world class support. It has to be a partnership between us and the client.

They should not try to do technology so trust is needed which we need to always work on and improve.

Eventually I want to have a company that will stay profitable. We invested a

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lot of money in the system. We would like to make that back and be able to invest that into some fantastic innovations. I am always thinking about what we can do for the industry, helping it move forward and become more productive and profitable.

“First of all, don’t do anything you are not suited to.”

Our clients extend beyond the picture library industry and we’ll continue to extent our reach in clients. I am not sure if everyone will like that, they’ll be going like: ‘Oh my god, she is not going to concentrate enough on me now’ but I don’t want to rule the world. I want enough excellent clients to make my company solid financially and allow me and the team to make a good living while providing a system that is good value and a world class product.

And finally, will you still be based in ‘the old coach house’ in Goring on Thames?

Probably not, we’re straining at the seams. I do want to stay here in Goring.

Lots of clients seem to love to come here. I would like to have a good, funky, open plan space. I want a big old barn and to make it an absolutely joyous experience where people can soak up the positive energy.

I really care about what we do, for clients and the staff. We’re in a fantastic industry, even on a personal level. We have to fight through this and find the way to the roads ahead.

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© Bryan Murphy

Taking pictures in one’s backyard A column by Gerry Thies

The lure of new and exciting locations for the creation of images is tempting.

When I had my first cameras growing up on a farm in Iowa I photographed little of my surroundings. I remember however, how a 90-mile car trip to the zoo tapped my right brain. And by using a Polariod Swinger, I had near immediate gratification and couldn’t wait to swab on the protective liquid to preserve each moment. I’ve never really thought before how Polaroid was so akin to digital in immediacy. It sure beat dropping off the roll of film at the local town’s drug store and waiting a week for the prints to come back.

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For most photographers and creatives when encountering a new place or a less familiar place we see in fresh ways. Since we have no preconceived baggage we think and move and capture the surroundings in a more innovative manner. It’s like our self-consciousness is gone. What do we do now in this era of saving money? We need to change that mind-set and shoot in our own backyard and still have it come out fresh and exciting.

We must force the obvious. We sometimes just don’t think about what is in front of us – or behind of us as the case may be! Ask your photographers to shoot their own backyards for you.

As you think backyard, think familiar. It doesn’t have to be quite so literal. For instance, have them walk down their street that they walk down every day or drive their car down that same road they drive down everyday and have them photograph it. The results they capture may surprise you and them.

understanding of my own artistic statements and driving forces.

Send the photographer back to his/ her childhood home. And mix it up a bit. Imagine what could develop by having two photographers switch back yards. Expand your backyard to familiar surroundings, your neighborhood, your hangouts, your daily jaunts and your city.

You can stay local and economize while at the same time add tremendous value with an exciting visual outcome.

As our visual histories grow we amass an arsenal of ideas that can morph into new images and new statements.

Although I didn’t initially use Iowa as my photographic backdrop, I did begin to plot how I would incorporate it in my ideas. Over the years as I went back home that evolved into different interpretations, provoked by memories and an added

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Flame / Zsuzsanna Kilian / Stockxchng

The jobmarket

How to work it

Interview with Steve Lake

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In times of downsizing and redundancies we asked Steve Lake his view on the job market, and more importantly what can be done now to secure an industry job in the future. Steve Lake is a veteran of the Stock Photography industry. He was responsible for recruitment at Pepper Stark in London where he developed a keen sense of the job market and its requirements.

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There are some signs the market is

starting to pick up but it’s still very flat.

The general trend among larger libraries is to only replace roles that are business-critical and to spread workload amongst existing teams where possible; in smaller libraries the dreaded internship/work experience seems to be filling the gaps.Very few new roles are being created as libraries are looking to consolidate, not expand.

With limited prospects for jobs right now there are a number of things people can do to secure a job in the future. If you can demonstrate that you have taken active steps to improve your qualities as a candidate during any enforced periods of unemployment – rather than just waiting for something to come up – that will always go down well.

Don’t be shy about making this obvious on your CV/application. More practical steps can be doing courses to improve key skills, particularly software skills – and taking an active part in wider industry discussions/developments via blogs, forums etc – also helps keep you in the public eye. Don’t assume that leaving the industry for another job means you can’t get back in if that’s your ultimate aim. Certainly in areas such as sales & marketing, experience outside of pictures can be a real advantage – shows initiative and also allows you to come back into pictures with fresh perspectives.

When you do decide to come back

in the industry there are a number of places to start looking. In the UK the vacancies page of the Bapla website remains by far the best central source for library job opportunities (and some wider industry jobs). It is one of the key elements of the service Bapla provides and has developed its reputation over time – it is free for members to advertise and almost all UK libraries are members so the number of industry jobs not appearing on Bapla is very small.

One exception may be the larger libraries – not so much Corbis who do advertise on Bapla but Getty tend not to. If you want to work for one of the big libraries it’s worth registering as a candidate on their online jobs pages.

Getty, especially, has a very efficient HR department and do keep details of strong candidates even when they have nothing to offer straight away.You can obviously also apply direct for listed jobs on their sites but do bear in mind that they have an obligation to advertise these even when there’s a better than even chance that the job will be filled internally.

Finally, In the UK, the Guardian website remains the best general media/ pictures job board and will throw up the occasional picture-related job outside of traditional libraries. If you have specific skills such as languages it’s worth keeping an eye on specialist sites like toplanguagejobs.co.uk – or for more creative roles (very few and far between over the past couple of years)

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sites like creativepool. And it never does any harm to upload your CV to Monster as many large libraries will have deals allowing them to search the database.

We will deal with the CV in a separate article but I would always put in a cover letter even if it’s not specifically requested. If sending a CV by e-mail write the cover letter in the email you’re sending don’t attach it separately alongside the CV as that will make it much less likely to be read.

Keep it short, it should be an extension of your personal profile on the CV not your life story.

“...you need to do something more imaginative to make them sit up and take notice and agree to see you.”

Don’t teach the employer to suck eggs.

Your CV should explain why you would be good for the job, you don’t need to spell it out in words of one syllable in the letter. The letter should make the employer want to read the CV not make the CV irrelevant.

Don’t make excuses. Don’t try to preempt difficult questions or assume that an employer will see the same weaknesses in your CV as you do. By trying to explain them away you only end up drawing attention to them.

Exceptions to this would be situations where you maybe had to take time out of work to deal with personal issues like caring for an elderly relative.You can clear that up in a letter.

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Don’t try to convince an employer that you’d be perfect for the job even though your CV doesn’t look right. The old… ’although my career to date has all been in sales, I’ve always felt myself to be a very creative person and I take my own pictures so I would be perfect for the job of art director’…it never works. It just makes an employer think – ‘well, he obviously thinks this sounds like a great fun job which he could do because he’s interested in it but in fact he has no experience and probably doesn’t understand what the job entails’.

Istockphoto

If you want to go for a job that you’re not obviously qualified for you need to do something more imaginative to make them sit up and take notice and agree to see you.

Even then it happens very rarely, especially in the current climate when employers are likely to be risk-averse.

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CV Tips

How Not to sound like a Junkie

8 Things to include in your CV by Steve Lake

Avoid clichés: if someone is working

through a large number of CVs the last thing they want to see is the old ‘works well in a team and on own initiative’, ‘looking for a job with good career progression’ etc. Not only does everyone write this stuff so you become one of the herd, but a good candidate shouldn’t need to say them, they should be taken for granted.

Put in a sales number when

applying for sales jobs: Sales managers love numbers; % of target hit, what the target was, increased revenue% etc. I wouldn’t advise making them up but you don’talways need the exact figure.You just need something to back up your general statements about how good you are.

Be comprehensive: I’m not one to say

you have to keep a CV short. The US model of trying to fit everything on one page I hate as it gives you no depth. If you have a full career with varied experience then state that. The thing to avoid is repetition. If you’ve been an account manager in 3 different libraries you don’t need to state the AM duties every single time, unless there’s something unusual about one of them or the job has particular relevance to one you’re now applying for. Remember, people reading the CV are going to know what most of these jobs consist of, you don’t need to hammer it home.

Jobseeker / Pinktag / Istockphoto

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Personalize your CV/application

enough to get you noticed without coming across as a dick. This is the hardest thing to do. Sections like interests are good for this. By all means throw in a bit of personality, a bit of wit but don’t overdo it.You’re looking for something that makes you sound like a human being. Anyone coming across as ‘wacky’ on their CV has no chance.

And be careful about putting things like ‘love gigs and partying with my friends’ because employers will assume you’re a drug addict who will have a permanent hangover at work.

A brief personal profile at the start of

a CV: Just 2 or 3 lines summing up your experience and what you’re now looking for in your career. Covering letters aren’t alwaysrequired or read and busy employers scanning quickly through CVs won’t always pick up on the key themes from your past experience and often won’t understand how that experience is relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Stating your case in a few lines should

then lead the reader into the rest of the CV where you provide the evidence that backs up your initial assertion.

Fit your experience to the profile. It’s

a good discipline to write a CV from scratch. The weight should be on the results you achieved in similar roles together with any evidence that you looked to take on more responsibility in previous roles.

Finally, and this is important; focus on

the important elements and lay these out clearly without excessive detail or clutter. CVs are scanned initially, an employer should be able to ascertain if you are a viable candidate within about 30 seconds of looking at it.

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Cash Now Save

By Jurgen Leijdekker

Whether you’re running a company or you sell your own products, here are four tips you can use right now in your business to help deal with a short term cash flow problem.

Red Frog / Jan Pietruszka / Istockphoto

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Plan and project Plan for the immediate outlook (e.g. 10 weeks) and for the full year, updated monthly. The trickiest part here is to get good forecasts from your sales team, probably your one key driver for these projections. It takes a while to properly calibrate these projections to reality.

Make sure that in each new forecast round the team sees their previous full-year forecasts and the latest actuals compared to their previous forecasts.

Cash flow If you need to cut right now it’s about cash, not cost. Don’t focus on restricting travel or go looking for headcount reductions. Rather, get aggressively on the phones with customers to collect quicker. Tell all your suppliers that from now on your terms have been lengthened by 30 days.

That’ll give you the immediate breathing room you need to do your stress test, rethink your business model and roll out a truly new strategy for the medium-term.

Next, ask them to explain the differences for each customer or product line. Sales management and the finance team need to really be ‘on’ the sales team in each round in order to challenge their biases, so that they slowly improve their predictions. And even then, just remember that sales teams tend to be notoriously optimistic, so some stress tests on sales and margin are essential. Oh, and clarify to them that projections are not their new targets – I forgot to make that clear once and thought I had found the world’s only pessimistic sales team!

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Renegotiate

Salaries

It’s relatively painless, and you’ll find that simply asking suppliers for a better deal will get you somewhere.

We’ve all had to negotiate in our jobs.

The single most effective tactic is just that – ask. Start with the suppliers whose business models have a high degree of fixed costs and whose service/product is a commodity, those are the easiest (e.g. telco, logistics). But remember that in these times, everything is open for renegotiation, including your office lease. Given the choice between lower rent or a bankrupt tenant, your landlord will be pragmatic.

Probably your biggest line item, so a good place to look. Starting with the obvious (though apparently not so obvious if you’re in the financial industry): all bonus arrangements should be conditional on satisfactory results for the company as a whole, and the fine print should always remind people that a bonus is discretionary. If your bonus scheme deviates from this, amend it right now. Further on salaries, we’re now at a stage where cutting salaries is no longer taboo. It’s easy to find market data to verify your intuition that certain salaries are out of whack – take the data, set salary guidelines for each position, and reset those that are either much too low or much too high. Today, many companies simply cut salaries by e.g. 10% across the board. Combine these two points and you can consider cutting base pay and adding a bonus potential.

Greem Shoots / Riyas Hamza / Stockxcng

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“...we’re now at a stage where cutting salaries is no longer taboo”

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Headcount This is your next obvious one. Some thoughts: look at where a department has been functioning fine for a while with some vacancies. Also, think of which collaborative processes (e.g. sales, customer service,purchasing) are better done online than over the phone or in person. Thinking of the image industry, another typical issue you may recognise is a long tail of small customers. If this applies to you, try to quantify the resources spent on servicing a single customer, insofar as these resources are unrelated to size. You may well find that you’re better off either losing them, or better, servicing them through some low-cost automated window instead of in person. You can complement this bottom-up analysis by a top-down one: imagine your business being run with only your 20% largest customers. Take a blank sheet of paper and design your operations around them. Now draft the matching P&L and see if it beats your own.

Giving / Andy445 / Istockphoto

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New Company

Six Degrees

How to deal with Intellectual property

We caught up with Martin Cribbs, president of Six Degrees IP Consulting, a division of Six Degrees Licensing. The company also includes Six Degrees Research Rights & Clearances. We asked him about some fundamental Intellectual Property issues as he introduced the two divisions of Six Degrees to Fast Media Magazine.

What is the most important thing Stock Media Company and advertising agencies need to know about using celebrities and/or properties?

The most important thing to know is: people own the rights to their name, image, and likeness. This is governed by laws which vary from state to state and country by country. A person’s “self” is their own personal property - a “right of personality” and when an advertiser wants to use a person’s name, their image, or likeness, they need to secure permission to do so. What stock media companies need to know and explain to their clients, whether for advertising, corporate, or editorial use is that the stock agency only has the right to the photo and not the personalities, properties, trademarks and copyrights within the photo. Ad agencies must know this first and then understand that it takes time and money to clear rights depending on the usage, media, territory, term.

You have recently started a new rights clearance business; can you walk us through how you got there, what is your career path so far?

The principals at Six Degrees come from extensive intellectual property rights licensing backgrounds. I was with the Andy Warhol estate for 14 years and then with Corbis/GreenLight for 4. Gina Ragusa was with Second Line Search for 14 years and then with Corbis’ Rights & Music Clearances for 6. And George Bartko was the COO at Second Line and Sekani and was briefly at Corbis.Gina and George founded Six Degrees in February of this year as a research and rights & clearances company. A month later, I joined the team and started the Intellectual Property Consulting division which also represents certain properties.

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As far as our career paths, we’ve all worked hard and stayed close to our respective expertises. We’ve travelled all over the world and had the great fortune to work on numerous projects with many interesting clients from both advertising agencies and the corporate sector.

Its our job to simplify the complexity of rights clearances which allows our clients to unleash their creativity.

The team left to right:: George Bartko, Gina Ragusa, Martin Cribbs

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Clearances come in all shapes and forms

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Minneapolis Ad Agency, Carmichael, utilized New York’s Six Degrees to handle all clearances for the July 1 release of “Hand Me Down” for Subaru’s Brand Campaign.

In “Hand Me Downs”, a young man is shown receiving some less than desirable cast-offs including a bicycle that he cuts the pink tassels off of, a Frankie Say Relax t-shirt, and then, finally, he receives a truly cherished item: an older model Subaru Forester. www.fastmediamagazine.com

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What made you interested in rights clearances in the first place?

and that was empowering as we began our own business.

Like most people, we just fell into it; for each of us, the whole concept of intangible, intellectual rights is fascinating. We know a little about allot of different things and all learn something new almost every day. We’re pop culture junkies and our staff are “experts” in a variety of genres; sports, fine art, personalities, estates, movies, music, etc.

Can you describe a typical clearance process?

Also the opportunity to collaborate with producers, creatives, business managers, attorneys, etc., is exciting.

We love seeing our collaborative work come to life on air, in print, on billboards – wherever.

You worked at the leading rights services provider in the industry, Corbis what are the biggest learning’s from that period?

Many of the principals at Six Degrees were instrumental in starting the Rights Services division at Corbis. It did not exist prior to Corbis’ acquisition of Second Line Search in 2002 when Gina Ragusa, Karen Alters, and others came on board. I joined Corbis to manage and run their acquisition of The Roger Richman Agency in 2005. The biggest learning for us was that building a global business for Corbis was a natural progression for each one of us. We all realized how much we knew and how much value we added to the company

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We will typically get a call from an ad agency or corporation who has a creative idea that uses some sort of intellectual property – a song, a celebrity, etc. We will advise based on our experience – how much to budget for, how long the clearance might take, whether the rights are available, etc.

From there, we tap into our database of contacts or conduct research and then get in touch with rights owners to facilitate the process of clearing the rights between the two parties.

What type of complications do you typically run into?

Clearing rights can be complex on the agency/corporate side because of evolving creative and shifting budgets. On the rights owner side, it can be complicated because they change representatives, object to the creative, demand more money than the budget allows for, etc. Also, deadlines are almost always a critical issue. But all of that really gets to the heart of why Six Degrees exists: to assist in the process, handle those complexities, and make alternative suggestions in case Plan A (or B) falls through. When we’re doing our best work, our clients can do theirs and produce great campaigns.

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Are clients always clear from the outset about what they want?

Often times clients are very specific about the song they want to use, the film or TV clip, etc. Other times, a client will only have a concept: famous pairs, greatest achievers, inventors of the 20 century, etc. And still other times, the creative can change many times if their first and second choices aren’t available or if the clip or song just doesn’t work. if this happens, Six Degrees is always available to make alternative suggestions based on the concept(s) they’re trying to achieve.

What about budget expectations, is this always in line with the possibilities and what happens when it’s not?

Budgets are probably the most critical component for a campaign that wants to use iconic intellectual property.

There is a reason iconic content is

used – it gets consumers’ attention and oftentimes is shorthand for conveying an emotion or theme. Therefore the fees can run in the six figures or higher depending on the usage, media, territory, term, etc. Since Six Degrees has been conducting clearances and negotiations for the past 20+ years, clients often utilize us to give themballpark estimates on properties before they sell the concept or idea to their client so they are not in a position of having to tell their client it’s not available or not within the budget. When this happens, Six Degrees can quickly come up with alternatives properties while still keeping the integrity of the clients concept within their budget.

Help / Koun / Istockphoto www.fastmediamagazine.com

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What can stock media companies and advertising agencies do themselves to make a clearance for a client go smoothly?

For ad agencies, they can plan multiple options.. When an agency comes to us wanting one particular clearance, we’ll oftentimes suggest having a few alternatives in case the first rights owner says no or it’s not within their budget. For stock media companies, they need to make sure their staff is well trained and well versed in speaking with clients upfront regarding the fact that that the content they are licensing does not give them rights to the IP in the content and that there might be multiple layers of rights in a single image or film clip. In addition, stock media companies must be sure that their license agreement explicitly – and in understandable language – articulates the same. It’s too late once the content is licensed. For example, if a stock media agency has images of Andy Warhol’s Campbell Soup Can, the client will need to license for the use of the photo, license the artworks’ copyright from the Warhol Foundation, and the trademarks which are owned by Campbell. It’s not bundled into one license. It can be complex and it’s often the reason an agency will come to Six Degrees to handle the clearance on their behalf.

“...an ad agency should understand the potential challenges in using intellectual property at the very beginning of the creative process”

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When do they have to start thinking of pitfalls?

We prefer to think of “pitfalls� as challenges and an ad agency should understand the potential challenges in using intellectual property at the very beginning of the creative process. Six Degrees spends allot of time with a client in the beginning stages educating them on the process to minimize those challenges. The worst scenario is when a client has produced a spot and then realizes they need clearances at the last minute. Again, that’s why having multiple options lined up well in advance is so vital.

Our competitive advantage is that the Six Degrees business model is built on the simple belief that a client should only pay for our time, expertise and knowledge.

Unlike some of our competitors who charge varying percentage mark-ups on licensing, Six Degrees does not.

Giving our clients complete transparency enables us to secure the best licensing fee - not what will give us the largest commission. Additionally, for our represented properties, we have a set commission which is the most competitive in the industry and which is also transparent to all parties involved.

Who are your clients? Is it mostly advertising agencies or do you help Stock Media companies as well?

How do you see the future of rights services and your position in it?.

Our clients are mainly ad agencies and corporations but we do offer comprehensive consultancy services for any client who needs rights expertise, including stock media companies.

As there are more platforms for advertising distribution, there will be more need to use pre-existing content and to secure rights for each platform.

Because Six Degrees is focused, independent, run by industry veterans, and available to our clients 24/7, we are incredibly well positioned to grow with the industry and its needs.

Are there many companies doing similar things?

Yes, they range from stock media companies that have a clearance division within the company to stand alone companies dedicated to rights clearances to the freelance researcher.

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Results

People With

By Darell Oakley, MD Infinitely people

Managing and leading one’s business and people is difficult at the best of times and even more stressful during times of financial pressure. The old adage of digging one’s well before you are thirsty is never truer and those businesses that have consistently focussed on their people tend to be better placed for not only the immediate difficult times, but for when the business environment improves. So how do they do it?

How are they able to retain and attract staff? And how do they remain focussed on delivering profitable results? What follows is an abbreviated health checklist for managers and leaders of organizations to assess the key people processes they need to focus on in order to increase the robustness of their people strategy. Thereby ensure their businesses are better placed to deliver results.

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Driving / Grega Inkret / Istockphoto

Darell Oakley is MD of Infinitely people, a stategic Human Resource consultancy in London. He worked at Getty Images for almost 5 years as Director of Global learning. www.fastmediamagazine.com

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Resourcing talent

Performance and Reward

Assess your business’s current and

Develop a business culture based on

future human resources needs. Don’t simply think about today, difficult times pass and there will come a time when you will need to resource additional or different types of human resources .

results and activities which drive the “what we want to achieve” and “how do we want to do it”.

Align business systems and employee

may be internal or external to the business which you may need to currently retain or engage.

performance around your strategy. Be sure you are rewarding effective performance and effectively deal with under performance in a timely and consistent manner.

Develop a clear basis for development

Focus on total reward. Money in itself

Identify and pursue future talent which

and succession planning in order for people to feel you will continually invest in them.

Ensure your recruitment processes are

robust, provide consistency and correlate to successful job performance.

does not ensure motivation. Although times are tough punishing staff by removing other benefits, such as training, significantly damages loyalty and employee morale in the long run. You will pay the price if not now then certainly later when the economic climate improves and people have the opportunity to apply their talents more readily elsewhere.

Businesses that consistently thrive and grow no matter what the economic climate are those that not only look after their people in the here and now but pro actively plan and think about how they would best deploy those talents in the future.

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Employee engagement Focus everyone on the culture and strategy of the business.

Engage employees in leadership issues

you are facing. This may not always help the decision making but will certainly provide an opportunity for others to grow and feel involved.

Coach others to be solution driven and find their own solutions to problems.

Greater autonomy provided with support encourages independence but ensures security.

Allow others to lead should the situation allow. Giving someone else the opportunity to lead is a sure way to engage and develop them.

Consistently establish a culture of

feedback as this is the key driver to innovation and openness within any organization.

Visions / Philippe Ramakers / Stockxchng

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About Fast Media Magazine offers a wide range of features that enables you to connect with each other, clients and other industries.

We write about the fast changing world of Stock Media with original articles and aggregated and curated content.

Our outlook is outward and forward.

Website News, articles, comments and entertainment Daily newsletter Free email newsletter with the latest news Discounts and deals An up-to date list and discountcode for our readers with exclusive discounts at various companies Forum A place to connect, network and get your questions answered Directory Get your company listed for free so your clients and partners can find you Magazine Want some more time to read our origininal content? Then the magazine is for you. read it online or print it out

Advertising/Sponsoring We offer a wide range of advertising and sponsorship opportunities. Please contact phil@fastmediamagazine.com for more information

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Contributors Contact

Jurgen Leijdekker Stress test | Save Cash Steve Lake Jobmarket | CV Martin Cribbs Six Degrees interview Abbie Enock Capture interview Gerry Thies Backyard Darell Oackley People Andy Vlaeminck Sales people

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Featured Jurgen Leijdekker has worked on the operational side of private equity since 2000: working either directly for a firm or as an independent contractor, he has driven performance improvements in portfolio companies as interim executive, as board director or in consulting roles. Jurgen has worked mostly in the US and UK and across a broad range of industries.

Prior to his turnaround and operational private equity work, Jurgen was a management consultant with McKinsey&Co and an economist at the International Monetary Fund. He currently lives in New York, where he is leading the turnaround of a luxury goods manufacturer.

Steve Lake fell into the picture library industry in 1989. Steve got himself noticed with an impressive reorganization at REX features of the New Kids on the Block transparency files. From there he worked as a picture researcher in a variety of libraries. Further library manager roles followed - interrupted by a brief foray into the world of picture library ownership with Buzz Pictures, where his assumption that 10 years' experience meant he knew everything was rapidly disabused - before in 2007 he moved away from selling pictures and started selling people as Senior Recruitment Consultant with Pepper Stark.

He currently works with the travel features of 4Corners Images' Solomango collection. He lives in West London with his wife and two children

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