A day spent business planning for the next 12 months combined with reflection on the last 12 months has been enlightening and sobering at the same time.
Some of the biggest problems of the last 12 months have been caused by the making of assumptions. It’s an embarrassing admission but one worth sharing.
In one case I assumed the client did not want to spend any more than the absolute minimum on their site. All they seemed to do was query costs so I assumed money was tight – I did everything I could to reduce costs. After 6 months we parted company, still friends (just) and the client went to another designer and spent a significant sum to get what they wanted. We could have done the same for half the price but my assumption got in the way and everyone lost out (except the new designer).
A bid for another job failed because of another assumption, this time on the part of the prospective client. The stated reason: ‘You are too cheap, we’re not convinced you can do it’!
On the other hand there have been some wonderful cases where the client under-estimated and under-assumed where we were concerned, which meant we over-delivered and everyone was thrilled (don’t you just love it when that happens?)
There is no point in dwelling on the past
BUT I think we ignore it at our peril. Taking time out to reflect on what has gone, review client files and communications, pinpoint what has gone well and what has gone not so well, has been time I didn’t want to spend (hey, I’m busy!), but has it been worthwhile? I’ll say so.
My mantra for this year is to not assume, but to check. I want to make sure I fully understand where a client is at and where they want to go. Because the focus of this site has always been about the provision of low cost solutions I had allowed myself to slip into a mindset which has without doubt had cost in the last 12 months. I am resolved it will not happen again.
So, as you plan the next 12 months for your business what have you learned from the last 12 months? What are you determined will not happen again? What went well and what did not go quite so well? Capture it all and learn!