Outsourcing Studios, What's Driving Your Business?

Not long ago, I talked with a friend who had just started his own business in game-art outsourcing, and I asked him what was driving his business? But an awkward silence shortly redirected us to the other topics.

It is not exceptional because many companies have no clue why they're doing their business, nor do they know why their customers become their customers, not to mention would they have any idea why their essential employees would join or flee from them in the first place. 

With honesty, some would argue their purpose is to make money, and their customers are loyal because they provide premium services, which is identical to the answer of why they could attract and recruit their employees - good salaries. 

If we make an analogy that premium service is the tool and profiting is the result, then it's obvious to see the purpose driving the business is blank. Something is missing, it may not be a big deal as long as the company is still operating and everyone keeps themselves busy, or is it? 

In reality, values, visions, and social responsibilities seem to appear affectionately cliche. A company needs to implement them in a way that unites knowing and doing, and the leader is inevitably a crucial role in making that happen:

A true leader attracts people and inspires them. 

"There are leaders, and there are those who lead," said Simon Sinek in his book Start with Why. Leaders hold a position of power or influence. They can be a boss, a superior who take manipulative measures to make sure things work by their orders but often fail to earn the respect and loyalty of their employees. Those who lead start with why. They begin with the right question in doing a business. By answering the question, they find the reason that gathers the people who have the same goal, the same ambition for whom a true leader would provide stage making all possibilities happen.

A nobler purpose is the key to gaining corporate cohesion.

Imagine a fine artist is no longer into art after becoming a studio boss. Ideology shifted; the idea steered toward merely making mass asset production rather than focusing on proper completion. As a result, there is little doubt that the people he attracted and hired would share the same enthusiasm anymore but only suffer endless overtime work with reluctance. Eventually, clients undertake the consequences of what the above could bring them. However, the situation can be reversed if the leader figures out what's driving his business, that calling he gets from the beginning, may it be a passion for art or striving for the good of everyone in the team, warm and inspiring.

Being different isn't always a way out, but being authentic is. 

• Honesty is the priority. There were times I suffered from overly boasting company capabilities when faced with top-tier developers, trying to attract them to buy our products. Still, it often turned out to be the opposite. The cost of a boast is low, but it takes much to compensate. If there is only one virtue that a salesperson should have, I think they should be smart with honesty, know the emphasis of what buyers need, and not overwhelmingly brag about what can be easily seen through. 
• Precision is respect. An old Chinese saying goes, "a happy marriage requires families of equal social rank." The same can apply to the outsourcing industry, and you won't expect a studio good at slot machines to take a sudden leap into the AAA world. It takes time for those aspirations to be achieved. But looking for the right partner is not only for the good of yourself; it's also a respect for the potential clients. Otherwise, you'll be wasting time on both sides.  
• Turn an outsourcing studio into a supportive one. Outsourcing now seems a dirty word in the industry. The competition on prices is severe, translating into the universal fact of quality going down. Companies have to sell more to compensate, further aggregating the vicious circle and turning many outsourcing studios into factories. A few could take the lead by adopting the holistic approach from the art to animation, becoming a supportive role to ease the stresses of game developers. But for small studios, especially startups, it's tough to make a debut when more and more developers demand entire sections of the pipeline. That's why cooperation between outsourcing studios is crucial, and it's good to see it happens in some cities, but in my town, everybody seems to be vigilant and remain competitive.

Seeking out the purpose of doing a business is like figuring out the meaning of life. There are religions and many "isms," but the point is to choose one and live up to it instead of being idle, or in that case, nihilism may work for some people. But again, it's not a good excuse for having the attitude "let it rot" or "lying flat," the two favorite buzzwords among Chinese young people, showing their frustrations and uncertainties due to the lack of economic opportunities during the post-pandemic era.