Scope Creep Is Not Free

One of the biggest places your design business can lose money is scope creep.

And the funny thing is, scope creep usually starts with something good. Your client is happy. They trust you. They see what you’re creating and suddenly think, “Oh! While you’re here, could you take a look at this, too?”

Of course you want to say yes. It’s more business!

The problem is when you say yes without capturing the additional time and getting paid for it.

Imagine you’re working on a kitchen and hall bath remodel. Everything is clearly outlined in your letter of agreement, and then your client asks if you’ll take a look at the fireplace, too. You already know exactly what you’d do because you noticed it needed attention in the beginning.

You say, “Absolutely!”

Then you get back to your studio and realize you’ve just agreed to several more hours of drawing, getting bids and presenting the idea, without ever talking about the additional cost.

And this is where so many designers simply think, “Oh, it won’t take that long. I’ll just do it.”

Please don’t beat yourself up. We all struggle with this. But those little hours add up.

Your Clients Cannot Read Your Mind

You also can’t assume your client understands that they’ve asked for something outside the scope of work.

I learned this one myself.

I had a high-end hotel client ask us to find trash cans for an outdoor dining area and tennis courts. My lead designer spent about two and a half hours researching options, found three good choices and sent them to the manager along with an invoice for her time.

The manager was upset. He didn’t expect to be billed… and it turned out he wasn’t looking for $350 designer trash cans at all. He wanted an opinion about what to buy at Target!

The lesson is simple: you cannot assume your client knows that additional requests cost money.

So expect these requests. They’re going to happen. Residential or commercial, it doesn’t matter.

Be ready with your language. When something falls outside your agreement, you can graciously say, “I’d be happy to do that for you. It’s not part of our current letter of agreement, so there will be an additional cost.”

That isn’t rude. It’s clear business.

Capture the Opportunity and the Money

For something small, you might already know the time involved. You could say, “I’d love to do that fireplace for you. It’ll take about four or five hours to draw it and get contractor bids. Would you be good with $800?”

If they agree, invoice it and move forward.

For something larger, take a little time to work out the scope and return with a new letter of agreement. If they suddenly want to remodel the primary bathroom, for example, tell them you’ll calculate what’s involved and come back the next morning with the agreement.

But then (and this is important) come back with it.

Don’t leave it floating around. Capture the opportunity while it’s fresh.

Because losing just three hours a week at $200 an hour, over 50 working weeks, is $30,000 a year. That’s real money left on the table simply because you didn’t step in and talk about money.

Scope creep isn’t something to fear. It’s often more business waiting to happen.

Your job is to recognize it, communicate clearly, capture the additional work and get paid for the value and time you’re providing.

That’s how you build a design business with generous profits, happy clients and boundaries that actually support you.

And that’s what we’re here to help you do.

You can listen to the full podcast episode here.

Until then, design something beautiful… and get paid what you’re worth.

With love,
Terri