The Bureau Of Small Projects

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a principal at Visionary Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in life sciences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Bureau of Small Projects?

Our existing website was outdated and didn’t have a backend for us to use internally, so we had to hire a coder every time we had a site issue or wanted to update it. We hired The Bureau of Small Projects to develop a new website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Bureau of Small Projects designed and developed a WordPress website that serves as an information tool for our investors. They also helped with branding and content for the site.

What is the team composition?

We engaged with five team members.

How did you come to work with The Bureau of Small Projects?

We met with many companies and considered their pricing and experience. We were most impressed by The Bureau of Small Projects’s past projects and the sites they’d developed. Their price was good, and they seemed to really understand what we were trying to do. We also liked that they would give us a selection of designs to choose from, rather than immediately settling on one design.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in the fall of 2018 and concluded that December.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The Bureau of Small Projects delivered a user-friendly site, allowing us to take over its management quickly and easily. The site is professional and full of useful information; it personifies our brand. We’ve had a few people decide to invest with us after finding our website, which never happened before launching the new site. We’ve also received positive feedback from our partners.

How did The Bureau of Small Projects perform from a project management standpoint?

They presented us with several design options upfront so that they could tailor the site to our exact needs. We set some tough deadlines, and although they didn’t make any promises, they were able to meet all of them.

The Bureau of Small Projects was on top of communication. Even though they were local, we never met in-person, but the engagement worked out well over the phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Bureau of Small Projects did a really good job designing a visually appealing, interactive, and engaging website. Design is their real strength.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their content services; a third-party did all of the copy. We knew exactly what we wanted to say, and they more or less got it, but it took a few tweaks.   

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing manager at Noble Iron. We’re in the B2B tech space, specifically rental asset management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Bureau of Small Projects?

As a publicly-traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange, we are required to post financial information and press releases on our website. However, our site didn’t offer much beyond this required information. It was also outdated.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Bureau of Small Projects redesigned our WordPress website. They redeveloped the site’s backend.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a total of three people, including David (Founder and Creative Director, The Bureau of Small Projects) and a project manager.

How did you come to work with The Bureau of Small Projects?

My company performed a fairly extensive search of 25–30 creative agencies and freelancers, all of whom seemed very expensive. It was hard to justify paying those prices based on the portfolios of work that we saw.

One of the last companies we came across was The Bureau of Small Projects. Their services were a fraction of the cost of the other companies we looked at, and a lot of their work looked just as good if not better than some of the more expensive agencies. We had a couple of conversations with David, who understood our vision and clicked with my team from a creative standpoint. It made sense to move ahead with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from May–July 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They did a great job designing the home page, which is a critical page from the user’s point of view. We spent a lot of time going over different renditions.

How did The Bureau of Small Projects perform from a project management standpoint?

We initially worked with David on the home page design, which went well. Then, our project manager returned from vacation, and we went from working with David to her. We felt that a lot of the original project requirements and agreements got lost in the shuffle. They did a good job meeting deadlines; from creative and design perspectives, the work that they did after the homepage was lacking. They used basic project management tools like Dropbox and Google Drive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Bureau of Small Projects was very responsive. If we needed something, they were quick to get back to us.

David had an incredible sense of design and a remarkable creative perspective. During the initial phase of the project, David helped us lay out what we wanted to accomplish with the website and the different visions that we had. He was very good at aligning all of this and transferring it to the website.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although the home page they created was fantastic, The Bureau of Small Projects stopped considering our input after that. They were responsive during the project, but once they did everything that was in their scope of work, it was difficult to get them to fix issues.

Additionally, their internal communications could’ve been better. For example, we’d spoken with David about a lot of expectations and goals, which weren’t relayed to the project manager when she took over. Also, we clearly defined the scope of the work in a 10–12-page document, but when we asked for certain things, they said doing so would cost extra.

My company was disappointed with the end result; we’d outsourced the project to expedite it, yet we had to redo almost everything inhouse. We were 60–70% on the way to having a great website, but we were disappointed by The Bureau of Small Projects’ performance toward the end of the project.

Finally, The Bureau of Small Projects assured us that they’d build our site’s backend on the WordPress Divi Builder because this was what we knew. However, they built the site using a different theme builder that no one on my team was familiar with, so making changes and adding pages was very difficult. We eventually asked for the site back so that we could redesign it ourselves, and we basically started from scratch.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of McHale Design. We do packaging and branding for entertainment brands in the children, teen, tween, and twenty-something categories.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Bureau of Small Projects?

We hired The Bureau of Small Projects to build a website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided The Bureau of Small Projects with a site design, and they implemented it in WordPress seamlessly.

What is the team composition?

My team worked with 2–3 team members from The Bureau of Small Projects. We had one main point of contact who was very responsive.

How did you come to work with The Bureau of Small Projects?

We did a lot of research online. We looked at what The Bureau of Small Projects did. Their prices were moderate, and we felt they were capable of doing high-level work and completing the project as we wanted it.

What is the status of this engagement?

Everything’s completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

My team is satisfied with the quality of The Bureau of Small Projects’ work. Now, we can update the site easily and keep everything current.

How did The Bureau of Small Projects perform from a project management standpoint?

We were very pleased with the way they worked and communicated. They launched the site in beta for us to review, which went smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The transparency of their communication was excellent. The team was responsive to our questions or concerns; I never felt that we were being ignored, which I’ve experienced with vendors in the past. Also, they accomplished all of the necessary technical aspects of the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we were very pleased. We’ve since estimated with them on at least one other project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm president of several ongoing non-profit initiatives encouraging acceptance, inclusion, and empowerment —notably Everyone Matters and Film Your Issue: Youth Speak Out, Leadership Listens. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Bureau Of Small Projects?

David and his team translated our vision into overall website portals, as well as targeted landing pages. David's talent has been to find the sweet spot between edgey, innovative, aesthetically brilliant, and user-friendly and approachable.

What were your goals for this project?

To streamline the process of finding out more info about the projects, and how to get involved in the most user-friendly ways.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

No brainer. Few people are as cool, hip, smart, dynamic and laser-focused as David.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Everyone Matters is a large, global initiative meant to engage people locally within their communities, as well as through social media, to accept others and ourselves as we are; to thrive within our own unique individually; and enable us and others to be who we all are, without judgment, attack, or marginalization.

Film Your Issue/What's Your Issue? is meant to encourage youth to engage in issues and understand and embrace the power of their voice to make a difference via submitted short videos on issues that burn for them, supported by major leadership from government, the arts, media.

What was the team composition?

The team is volunteer-driven, headed by me, the president.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The websites were visual and dynamic, appealing to a wide spectrum of audiences while also feeling fresh and engaging. It worked for youth as well as parents, educators, and youth leaders.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

While David oversaw the work, his team handled some of the nuts and bolts. Very professional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The aesthetic quality of their work, as well as their deep understanding of human nature and how and why people engage.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Can't beat excellence.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a singer and songwriter.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Bureau of Small Projects?

I was unhappy with my existing website.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Bureau of Small Projects built a WordPress website.

What is the team composition?

I mainly spoke to David (Founder and Creative Director, The Bureau of Small Projects) and someone who worked on the artistic side of the project.

How did you come to work with The Bureau of Small Projects?

A friend recommended The Bureau of Small Projects. I researched a lot of different websites and agencies, and it seemed like The Bureau of Small Projects and David would be the best fit for me.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve worked on and off with The Bureau of Small Projects for a few years, but they completed my website overhaul in March–April 2019. They do updates as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I’ve had a lot of important industry people look at the site, and I feel that it’s contributed to a lot of good things happening, like media coverage. The site is a good indicator of what I do and who I am, which is what a website should be; it should give site visitors a real feel of who you are. A few people have commented that the site is very authentic. Another positive is that my site’s Google rankings have improved.

How did The Bureau of Small Projects perform from a project management standpoint?

The team communicated well and responded immediately to emails and calls. David really listened to what I wanted, and then he delivered the exact results that I was looking for. It’s not easy to find someone who listens to what you want and finds a way to manifest that. David was personable, open, and talented in several areas, whether it was rewriting a bio or managing social media. His team used the latest advances in technology. They finished in their quoted timeframe of six weeks, and costs were reasonable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

David is an innovator, and his team’s creativity is excellent. It’s rare to find people who are strong on both the technical and creative sides. People’s attention spans aren’t very long online, so it’s important to have a website that draws users in and spurs interest. Their ability to create an attention-grabbing, authentic website is amazing; I couldn’t recommend them more highly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

 No. I was happy on all fronts.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief revenue officer at AC Global Risk.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Bureau of Small Projects?

We hired The Bureau of Small Projects to develop our website and complete a few other projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Bureau of Small Projects reconstructed a WordPress website. They also created a brochure and some PowerPoint presentations.

What is the team composition?

We worked with six team members, including David (Founder and Creative Director, The Bureau of Small Projects).

How did you come to work with The Bureau of Small Projects?

Someone in my network referred The Bureau of Small Projects. We’re a small company, so we wanted to work with an agency whose founder and leader would be directly involved in the project. We also wanted to hire someone who’d be easy to work with and capable of quickly solving our problems. David was very knowledgeable about the services we wanted, and his personality was an excellent fit for my company.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent between $20,000–$40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in December 2018, and we’re still collaborating on some small projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The results have been outstanding. The Bureau of Small Projects put a lot of creativity into building the website and other materials, which are top-notch.

How did The Bureau of Small Projects perform from a project management standpoint?

The Bureau of Small Projects understand the concepts of project management, and they skillfully keep things on track. They have a couple of different people involved in the project management area. The team meets expected delivery dates; if we miss a deadline, it’s generally because my team isn’t able to move fast enough, or we added to the scope.  

The Bureau of Small Projects is very collaborative. They strike a good balance between listening to what we want to do and providing their own creative input. They ultimately make everybody excited about the project. David is always available and responsive, and he does a great job managing the differing personalities and ideas.

Although we were initially hesitant about working with an agency in Los Angeles when we’re in San Francisco, the distance isn't an issue. David came to our office for a preliminary meeting; however, as the work has evolved, face-to-face contact has become less necessary.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Bureau of Small Projects isn’t a cookie-cutter agency; David won’t create a website that looks like everybody else’s, and that was important for us. Their pricing is also very fair.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t.  

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is a medical practice. I am the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Bureau Of Small Projects?

We hired the Bureau Of Small Projects to develop a website for our company. Pretty much every company needs to have a website nowadays.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to attract people to our medical practice by generating leads online through our website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found The Bureau of Small Projects through word of mouth. Another physician recommended them to me. They'd built websites for other doctors in the past, so they had relevant experience. 

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The Bureau of Small Projects built a website for our medical practice to help us generate leads. Our patients use the platform to interact with us online. The platform ties all the aspects of our business together. 

They added a blog to offer more information about our services and worked on lead generation. Within the platform, patients can learn about our practice. It links to other third-party companies and our preexisting patient portal so our customers can access their health information.

What was the team composition?

The company’s management worked with me to help make difficult decisions regarding the design. I really enjoyed being a part of the creative process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The Bureau of Small Projects enabled us to get our name out there electronically. They created a top-notch website that generates leads and draws attention to my company. The content on the blog helps potential patients learn about our medical practice. It’s useful internally, and the design is aesthetically pleasing.

I give The Bureau Of Small Projects my highest recommendation. They did a wonderful job. Our new state-of-the-art website has helped our practice become more financially successful. We couldn't function without it.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was very efficient. The team kept us informed throughout the project during each step of the development. 

The Bureau of Small Projects stayed on top of everything and did a great job in every regard. Whenever we had a request or ticket item, they took care of it right away. They’re not only prompt and professional, but also very kind people to work with. 
 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I found the professionalism and kindness shown by all members of the company to be very impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I really have enjoyed utilizing this company's services. At this time, I can't think of any areas for improvement. I have absolutely no complaints.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder of Tribe Builder Media, a full service media and PR agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Bureau Of Small Projects?

We needed to hire an external resource to help us with a website redesign because our old website was hacked.

What were your goals for this project?

Since we had very limited time, I wanted someone that could design a new site with limited input from me. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I thought they were easy to work with and able to create a site that was reflective of our agency.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

I gave them very little to work with, and they produced a custom design for a new website.

What was the team composition?

We worked with several people on their team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The design and processes were outstanding. Thanks to The Bureau Of Small Projects, we finally got our agency's website back up. That has a big impact on our business.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their team was very well-organized. We communicated via Google Docs and Dropbox. It was easy for us to execute and deliver what they needed to create the site. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The founder is great. He truly understands the needs of business owners, and how design impacts our business.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't name one. They were excellent.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Sacred Wisdom Circle Institute is a nonprofit business that focuses on teaching earth-based spirituality, specifically Native American church teachings and spirituality, but also Eastern Shamanism, etc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Bureau of Small Projects?

We had tried to set up the website using some other folks, but the quality of the appearance didn’t look the way we wanted it to. We have an online course and some other unique things.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our website is built on WordPress. They added a Jupiter theme and used some plug-ins that worked with WordPress. Some of the images they used are from the Adobe Suite products. What is the team composition?

I worked with two people. The majority of my time was spent with David (Founder/Creative Director, The Bureau of Small Projects). He also had somebody who did some training with me. I’m not sure who else was working on the project, but I never interfaced with them directly.

How did you come to work with The Bureau of Small Projects?

I found The Bureau of Small Projects on Codeable. In talking to them and looking at their other work, it looked like he could give us the look we wanted. They screen their folks and only pick top people. I was looking for somebody with quality, but I also didn’t have a six-figure budget to work with. They were the best in-between solution for a small nonprofit.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $9,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

People who have seen the site note how much better the site looks. The quality is there. We’ve had really good feedback.

How did The Bureau of Small Projects perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Skype and David was good about taking notes. It would be nice to have a project management software. Dave and I had one little miscommunication, but for the way we did things, it was pretty surprising that we had only one. He took care of resolving it and didn’t charge me. He’s really awesome to work with. We had things that changed over time, and they worked with us on those changes.Their turnaround time was really good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

David is kind, friendly, and wants to take care of the customer. He takes pride in his work. All of that is really impressive. He’s really good to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If they’re going to stick with Codeable, there could be some kind of project management software that could potentially improve the ability to move files and clarify communication.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of a tech and publishing startup based in London.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Bureau of Small Projects?

We needed help developing two platforms—one for music education and the other for our clients. I've worked with many other developers in the past, but had a lot of issues with the quality of their work and working on a budget.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Bureau is building out two major platforms for us on WordPress. The first platform they've worked on provides user-friendly, powerful services that enable users to post jobs, create profiles, and access a marketplace for suppliers. There's currently no international platform solution like it at the moment.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with David (Founder and Creative Director, The Bureau of Small Projects), who manages other members on his team working on our projects.

How did you come to work with The Bureau of Small Projects?

We found The Bureau on Codeable's website. We ultimately chose to work with them based on the positive reviews they had received and our initial discussions with them. They seemed to genuinely understand what we were trying to do and had the expertise to make it happen.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $5,000 thus far, but we're still waiting on estimates for the next phase of development, which could be upwards of $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2017 and we're in the process of commissioning some new development work with their team. We basically regard them as employees since they're so closely integrated with our company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We've had very positive feedback regarding the look and feel of the website The Bureau built thus far. Their frontend designs are incredibly professional and modern, and the backend is robust. Their web development work has helped inspire confidence in our business and set us apart in the industry.

How did The Bureau of Small Projects perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate mostly through Codeable's platforms, which allow us to upload assets and send messages. The Bureau has been great about meeting deadlines and delivering on budget thus far; any delays have been on our end. Despite their timezone difference, they've been responsive and efficient throughout the engagement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Whenever I have new ideas, The Bureau provides feedback that's in our best interest. They've made suggestions on how we could approach things in a more cost-effective and efficient manner, so they're good at maintaining control over projects. Most developers will take on any task, but The Bureau is driven by creating excellent outcomes rather than by making as much money as possible from a customer.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

For small businesses, in particular, I recommend considering The Bureau for the overall value they bring to the table. They're not the cheapest vendor by the hour, but the value for your money is higher than most developers I've worked with. It makes a huge difference when you're on a tight budget.