the thing that changed my business
march 4, 2021
Category: business
one of the number one things that has changed my business
Do you struggle with getting clients to give you feedback on materials in a timely manner? Say peace out to scope creep, projects lasting months longer than they should’ve, and that overwhelming feeling of projects dragging on.
Let’s rewind a minute, shall we?
Flashback to Bri in November of 2017. I had just quit my full-time job to pursue my two businesses at the time (one being Brighten Made) all while trying to plan a wedding.
I quickly became overwhelmed with how my time now equaled the amount of money I’d be making. In the past, any money I made from my side hustles was “fun money” because I had a 9-5 that paid all my bills. But now that my side hustles were my actual hustles, I had to figure out how to become profitable so I could stay afloat.
As I began booking new projects and attempting to wrap up current ones, I had no idea how the heck to get clients out the door after I began working with them. It felt like every single project lasted months and months with no end in sight. I felt like scope creep kept happening. I didn’t know how to communicate that we were over our revisions or that one of the things they were asking for wasn’t a part of the originally agreed upon work.
Not only that but I had no idea how many projects I could plan for at any given time because I HAD NO IDEA WHEN THEY WERE ENDING. Without knowing when they were ending, I couldn’t plan for vacation or other life events, like my wedding. I also didn’t know how much money I was even making because each project had its own pace. One branding project took 5 weeks, the next took three months, and another took a year. You think I’m kidding — I’m not!
It seemed impossible to get clients to respond with feedback, and when they finally did, it’s like we forgot what we were even working on. I realized when you lose project momentum, you lose the creative direction and inspiration you originally had at the start of it. This not only affected my work, but the overall client experience suffered from it, too.
I knew there HAD to be a better solution to my problems, and thus my project timelines were born. *cue the confetti and the answer to all my problems!*
I began implementing step-by-step, very detailed project timelines for each and every project. Prior to working with the client, I communicated the importance of project timelines. Not only did this help me plan my calendar and create a profitable business model, but it also helped my clients, too. They no longer had to guess when the heck they were going to see their branding because they had a PDF in front of them that stated exactly when everything was happening.
My clients were no longer confused on the overall steps of the process or how many revisions they got because they were reminded exactly how many were included from the timeline.
And instead of waiting on feedback, website copy, or images, they knew exactly when their due dates were too so we could work collaboratively together on their project.
As I’ve been chatting with other designers, I’ve realized not everyone works with project timelines. I know how frustrating it can feel to feel like you never know when a project is ending. THIS IS WHY I’m so stinking STOKED to offer you my project timeline template.
My project timeline gives a breakdown on three different templates I use in my business.
01. BRANDING
02. BRANDING + WEB
03. BRANDING + WEB + PACKAGING/COLLATERAL
These templates can be tweaked and adjusted as you wish to fit your own needs and schedule, however after running this business for nearly four years, I have figured out the magic formula to each and every design project.
If your client experience feels like it’s lacking or disorganized PLEASE LOOK NO FURTHER.
Having these templates has streamlined my projects, made my business 10x more profitable, and has freed up my time so I can actually, ya know, take a vacation! I hope you love them as much as me.
P.S. Have any questions about our project timeline template? Slide into my DMs or send us an email to hello@brightenmade.com, and we’ll answer any questions you might have!
