SummaryThere is an art form to asking your company for money or resources, and while business lingo changes and evolves all the time, right now that art form is called making a business case. It might not be a surprise to you that this skill generally doesn’t get taught in photography school nor is it wisdom passed among stylists while setting up the next look. It’s a skill that really gets developed on the job, and the opportunity to practice doesn’t always come up before  your thrust into the hot seat. Lauren Stefaniak joins Daniel on the podcast to help you learn how to make that compelling business case, and hopefully prepare you for a new phase of your career. Key TakeawaysWhat does it mean to make a business case?At its simplest: preparing, developing and presenting an informed point of view in an effort to persuade decision-making in your favorThey can seem daunting but on a micro level we do these every day (“what do you want for dinner”)Most people focus on the presentation, but that’s the smallest part of the wholeIceberg metaphorPreparing - 70%, 10 hoursResearch the hell out of what you’re talking aboutLook internalWho is your company today, tomorrow, yesterdayCan you tie your request to the companies mission or values?Look external (same & different industriesDeveloping - 20%, 3 hoursDistill it down into the most relevant & compelling info – 1-pagerFormat that works best for me:Current StateRequest or the ChangeBenefitsRequirements/Key Enablers[Short-term Recommendation][Long-term Recommendation]Known Open QuestionsUse language that a friend or family member outside your industry would understandTry to predict what questions you might be asked based on your information; assume someone will ask something you’re not prepared forIt can be hard to temper the desire to “show your work” but the details will drag you down & make your presentation less effectivePut the most relevant details into an appendix, 2 pages maxMake the document simple, use visuals as needed (must be pretty)Present & gut-check your work with mid-level partners for their feedback & buy-in ahead of the formal presentationSEND A PRE-READ 48-24 HOURS IN ADVANCERemember: you’ve spent many hours in this detail & even more hours living this; for some of your key stakeholders, this will be entirely new info for them. Your presentation could fall apart if leaders are caught off guard when they’d prefer to be preparedPresenting - 7%, 1 hourEnter the room with this mindset:This is not life or deathThis is not personalThese people are someone else’s family & friendsAsk to hold questions until the end – some questions will be answered in your presentation & Qs won’t derail the whole thingSpeak slowly & leave time for your audience to digest the info & what you’re saying (silence is okay)Allow time for questions & be open, honest in your answersIt’s ok to not know the answer – you can say “that’s a great question, i’ll find out that information and get back to you”If you’re doing it right, the best metaphor to describe you is a duck gliding across a pond (graceful on the surface, paddling like hell under the water)Commit to following through – this is when the real work beginsSend recap notes & next steps following the meetingCreditsProduced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.ioEdited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.netHosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com

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