Zero Scope Creep

6 consulting projects shipped in the past 8 months for fellow SaaS founders (7th starts today).

Interesting observation: My consulting projects have been 100% on pace & on time with zero scope creep.

...Which is very different from projects on my own products, where things always take longer than expected.

A few reasons I think:

Distraction-free:

On consulting projects, I'm focused only on the project itself. Wheras on my own products, I'm on the project plus all the other things all the time (including stuff I've delegated to teammates but still need to give input on).

Weekly pricing:

I find weekly quoting to be ideal for pacing and scheduling my work (especially when balancing multiple projects).

Up-front billing:

This relieves pressure—for both me and the client. It's common (and totally understandable) for a client to get distracted and delayed (see above). But that won't delay my ability to deliver and line it up for them once they're ready.

Predictable:

95% of things I scope are things I've done before. Easy to know how many weeks I'll need. In rare cases when its totally new to me, I'll quote it as such: "I'll spend X weeks researching/prototyping this and we'll see where we end up".

No BS:

I've been lucky to work with clients (SaaS) who appreciate a "no bullshit" approach. No relentlessly unnecessary meetings (mostly async). No hassling over scope (its clearly defined up-front). No delay on payments (see above).

I get it:

As a product founder myself, I absolutely hate it when consultants miss their stated deadlines or deliver work that I'll need to re-do myself. I'd never put another founder through that.