How Project Planning Doubled My Profits
Updated: Mar 31, 2021
I’ve been doing logos and websites since 2005. We used to shoot first and ask later. In other words, I would take people’s money first, get started on projects, and then I would start asking questions as we were producing work.
I needed the money, I had my eyes on the green, and I was willing to do whatever to get it as fast as possible. After all, most clients presumably needed their projects 911 fast!
It’s no wonder projects took forever, there were tons of changes, and we spent a lot of time having to undo and redo tasks. We would eventually fix things, but it came to be done after a lot of time spent.
Another unintended consequence of not planning was that I wasn’t taking the time to consult the client through the big decision they were about to invest in. After all, we’re talking about starting their business and giving them an identity. That’s a big deal for a new entrepreneur.
Years later I realized that if I spent more time planning with the client before starting, I could save a lot of time and money not having to go back. Planning literally cut the time of project completion in half.
Furthermore, the more time I spent planning with my client, the more I could consult them in the right direction.
Before collecting deposits, I had to learn to stop, look, and listen.
Do you have a tendency to leap into projects without weighing them carefully? That can be a good thing if the client is under the gun and needs their stuff for a trade show that’s this weekend.
However, being impulsive can be fatal for your business if in your haste you are run over by oncoming traffic. Control your impulses and respond prudently.
How?
I started selling a strategy session BEFORE selling them logos and websites. I broke up projects into 2 parts. You first buy consulting and strategizing. We would work through all the possible scenarios, business options, and creative directions.
This lets me slow down the process and intelligently enter the project. With a plan, the execution took HALF the time. Oh, and I got to make money upfront by providing my expertise on brand strategy.
The Bible warns against being imprudent.
"Don’t agree to guarantee another person’s debt or put up security for someone else. If you can’t pay it, even your bed will be snatched from under you". Proverbs 22:26-27 NLT
A careful Godpreneur will not be right in every decision he or she makes, but will not enter into any decision too lightly either. The prudent business owner understands that everything does not turn out the way it seems it will at first glance. So we think our decisions through, especially the ones with wider implications.
Godpreneurs weigh our decisions carefully so we can double our profits. We can smear all of our profit in a moment of haste.