The Bureau Of Small Projects

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner and managing director of a real estate finance company. My partner is also a co-owner and MD.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired them because we needed some marketing and web design help. As with any startup, the challenges are always budget and time — you need things yesterday that are low-cost and high-quality.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us prepare a 15–20-page marketing deck. The team also designed and developed a WordPress website from scratch.

What is the team composition?

We worked with at least five individuals at different points, including designers, developers, and marketing people. We mostly interfaced with Konan (Director of Operations), who acted as our project manager. 

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

I found them through a web search for web design and marketing firms in LA, and then I cold-called them myself. I spoke to David (Founder/Creative Director) about 18 months ago. It was a little bit too early to start our project, but about 9 months ago when we wanted to circle back and choose a circle provider, we interviewed them again. 

We interviewed a lot of firms and chose between about four finalists. We went with The Bureau Of Small Projects because they understood our point of view in the marketplace place. They were flexible in getting the project done in the time we needed but also on a budget that was comfortable for us as a startup. They were local, which was helpful. They also lined up with our vision and perspective.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started engaging them in February and then officially started in March 2020. They completed our first project in June, and then we entered phase two — which was the website — in July. The website actually went live yesterday (December 2020). There are still some tweaks to be done, but we’re just about done. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We just started showing the website to friends and family, and we’ve begun to get generally positive reviews. I think some of the more critical reviews are remaining, but it’s been positive so far.

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

My partner and I are pretty difficult people for service providers to deal with from time to time, both in good and bad ways. We’re complicated and have a unique perspective, which we like to have translated in the end result. That makes us a unique type of client for design and marketing firms. I think we sometimes chaffed at their project management style, but at the same time, we were very appreciative of how patient and diligent Konan was through the process. He helped guide us through our process as well as theirs to get the result that we were happy with. There were challenges from time to time, but Konan helped bridge any divides.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understood what we were going for. We didn’t always get there on the first attempt, but we were appreciative of how they managed the project, and how they got us to a point where we were satisfied by the end. That’s no easy feat.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. It’s a process, and we appreciated how they managed the process.

Any advice for potential customers?

When you’re choosing a design or marketing firm, you have to be understanding of yourself as the client first. Know what your goals and needs are. If you like to drive the bus a bit, make sure you’re choosing a firm that’s comfortable with a more hands-on, engaged client. However, if you’re more passive and have a goal but don’t know how you want to get there, choose a firm that’s more assertive and service-driven. That’s a very important part of the firm selection process. I can’t recommend The Bureau Of Small Projects highly enough — they were very helpful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Director of Marketing for a non-profit graduate business school

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We worked collaboratively on 1) competitive landscape to assess potential competition in our chosen positioning 2) formulating a powerful value proposition for potential students (customers), and 3) creating a new name for the school which reflects our value proposition.

What were your goals for this project?

The overall goal was to rebrand our university. To date, our recruiting efforts have been unsuccessful. In order to rectify that we wanted to reposition the school, create a compelling value proposition and finally rename the school.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

A comprehensive search and interview process led us to choose BOSP. We felt a strong connection with the people at BOSP based on common values.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

This has been a comprehensive effort to rebrand the school. Starting with doing a competitive landscape analysis followed by constructing a value proposition and finally renaming the school.

What was the team composition?

Two people on our side, myself (Director of Marketing) and a colleague in my department. BOSP assigned high-experienced personnel to work on each separate portion of the project and a project manager. The firm’s principal often attended our meetings and often offered his much-appreciated advice and support.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Having only completed the project I can only offer preliminary results, but they are excellent. We are experiencing a pickup in activity on our website and increased interest in all social media platforms.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent. Members of the BOSP team were proactive listeners and consistently responded to questions and concerns. The workflow was consequently always very smooth and professional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I found their creative enthusiasm and willingness to listen to and respond to our needs and requests inspiring. I looked forward to meetings!

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can think of none. Honestly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of DesertStrandMusic.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I needed to update my website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Bureau of Small Projects created my original website, which is used to promote my music. Their team reskinned it, which is what they called rebuilding the website.

What is the team composition?

I worked with three people from The Bureau of Small Projects on this project.

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

I found the company eight years ago and used them to build my website initially. I’ve always gone back to them because they’re the best.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent $5,000 on this most recent engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

I hired them around January 2020 and the project was completed in April. Their team had to wait because I put the project on hold a few times as things kept changing with my business.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was super successful. I’m extremely happy with their work and how the project unfolded. The website gives me everything that I wanted it to. They tailored the website for my look, which wasn't easy. The Bureau of Small Projects created a custom, specific website for me.

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

We communicated by email and they used Dropbox. Their team made it simple for me. They communicated clearly and responded right away. Their team was organized and gave me a timeline for the project. Their team was efficient and always got back to me in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team was creative and technical. They managed both the technical side of the project as well as the creative side well. They’re able to do both sides of the project well, which most web platforms don’t achieve.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I was really happy with them. I always have been.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO of The HXS Group. We offer Fortune 500 level human resources services for small businesses, with the objective of boosting productivity and business results.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed to complete our marketing strategy, and develop our digital presence and website from scratch.

What were your goals for this project?

We had two goals:

1. Develop a marketing strategy that helped us to communicate the value that we are bringing to our customers.
2. Develop a website that could reflect the innovative approach that we were bringing, in an industry that is traditionally very conservative, as HR is.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I researched and interviewed 15 other agencies.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Develop our value proposition, digital presence, and website.

What was the team composition?

The team with whom I worked directly consisted of David, who is TBOSP owner and is specialized in business strategy; A senior marketing strategist, A project Manager, A developer. But I know that there were more people from the team involved behind scenes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

You can visit the website to see it yourself.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was lead by one person. He was very responsive and professional when managing my project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I have worked with TBOSP since June 2019. I honestly can’t say enough about how positive my experience has been with them. I have founded several companies and over those processes, I have worked with several providers, from big firms to freelancers.

Working with TBOSP, however, was a different kind of experience. You can expect to have the personalized experience that you have with smaller firms, but the results and level of services/products that you have with the bigger firms. The difference? They will charge you a fraction of what those big firms will invoice you. Over these months, I have worked with several members of the company, and without exception, they went the extra mile every time.

They focus on making your business successful, not just on delivering whatever you contracted them for. They are business-minded, and small business owners themselves so they understand your situation and needs from day one. On the other hand, their previous experience at big firms becomes evident when you see what they are capable to do. I contracted them for several services, being one the building of a website. The results were beyond everything that I expected.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Even when there is always room for improvement, nothing comes to mind based on the experience that I had over this project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Sahara Atlas Tours is a small company with 3 permanent and several freelance staff. We offer high-quality guided tours of Morocco. I am the Communications Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

For the 12 years that our company has been going, we had had websites designed cheaply by friends. We were getting very few enquiries through the site, and we knew the site did not create the right image for the quality of services we offer. We were also not appearing on the first page of Google searches. So we decided to go for a complete re-build of the site, looking for a design that promoted our high-class product.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to increase enquiries from potential clients through the website and the online enquiry form, and we also wanted to appear on the first page of Google searches. In particular, the site had to reflect the high professional quality of our services to target clients looking for a luxury experience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We feel very lucky that we found the Bureau of Small Projects. We searched online and came across the platform Codeable, which specialises in design of websites using Wordpress, which we wanted. This enabled us to advertise the work we needed doing, see the profiles of designers, and engage in discussion with them in order to see who would best meet our needs.

David Gaz from the Bureau of Small Projects asked the most challenging and best questions of us, questions that really helped us to think about what we needed from our website. He also explained how BOSP would provide us with training and empower us to manage the website ourselves once his work was done. This was key in making our choice of this vendor. We also felt the price was very good value for money - as a very small business, this was important to us.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a series of Zoom meetings with David to work through ideas, and he provided us with a small but very clear set of options for the website design. Given our expertise is not at all in IT or web design, he helped us think through issues we would not have otherwise realised.

Once we had chosen the template for our Wordpress site, we were able to work with David to discuss the design, specific pages and structure, and we then provided a selection of images and texts while David put it all together. We really appreciate the fact that, as a small company, we were advised about work that we could do ourselves (with training from BOSP) to save costs.

At each stage of the process we were able to communicate about improvements and tweaks. BOSP then provided us with 3 1-hour training sessions to learn how to manage some core features of the site ourselves. This allows us to update material on the site, but they also gave us lots of advice about how to maximise the site's reach, e.g. by having our Travel Tips in a regular blog with weekly/fortnightly contributions rather than a single page, and posting regularly on our Facebook page, as this would improve our search results.

Since then, we have subscribed to their monthly update service, which ensures there are no conflicts between the different software updates, and optimises our SEO. This has also allowed us to get a discounted price on further work that we wanted doing i.e. adding a page to show information and photo examples of the accommodation we book for clients.

What was the team composition?

The project manager was David Gaz, and we mainly communicated with him throughout the project, though we were also aware that he was bringing in a technical specialist to help with advising on and migrating our site to a new server, and another designer. We also had training from another colleague at BOSP.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The rate of enquiries from individual clients coming through the website has increased massively since we launched the new website - to be honest, we are now struggling to keep up with the volume of work it has generated!

We are looking to take on a new member of staff to deal with it. We have also been contacted by new potential partners (overseas travel agencies and luxury hotel owners in Morocco) who have been very impressed with the quality of the website and the vision it projects. David promised us that he would get us better results, but we had no idea it would be this successful!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between us and BOSP was very effective. David and the team at BOSP were great communicators, and we were always very clear about what they were going to do and when, and what we needed to do and when. 

They were especially effective in resolving some tricky difficulties in transferring our website to a new server, which required communicating with several different parties - thank goodness BOSP took charge of this. We were always able to raise any questions we had with them and get a rapid and clear response. Much of this was done through the "workroom" we had set up with them, but the Zoom conversations were also highly valuable.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

David and the team at BOSP were so professional and so knowledgable, they really helped us to think through our business needs in respect of the website in a way that we could not have done on our own. Also they were so patient with us and our lack of experience in website design and management. Nothing seemed like too much trouble to explain, and we learned a huge amount during the project itself as well as the training sessions.

We're also totally confident that we can go back to them with any questions. They were very reassuring about their desire to empower us to manage our website ourselves and give us control over it (which was very much NOT the case with our previous experiences elsewhere!), at the same time as supporting us whenever we might need it. The design itself is so beautiful and classy, but most of all, it is bringing us lots of clients and it is bringing us the demographic that we want.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We don't think things could have gone better - there aren't any improvements we could suggest from our point of view.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Dr. Pimple Popper is a digital media brand that focuses on dermatological videos and content. The brand has amassed a following of 3M+ subscribers on a variety of platforms. I am the Operations Manager for the parent company, Skin PS Brands, which manages the Dr. Pimple Popper brand, as well as the SLMD Skincare brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our primary brand website had not been refreshed in 2+ years and our brands following has grown tremendously since the inception of our website. Before the refresh, our website hosted a ton of videos and content but was not easy to navigate nor was it aesthetically pleasing.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to give the brand an aesthetic refresh and carry that into the new web design. We also wanted to put certain content behind paywalls and initiate a subscription program for users to access all of the content on the website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found them on Clutch.com actually!

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Brand refresh and website overhaul. They completely redid our entire website and all of its content and completely revamped the brands look and feel.

What was the team composition?

We had a primary account manager who was our day to day contact but once a week we had a meeting with the entire team (David the CEO, a designer, a coder, etc.) to make sure everyone was on the same page about what needed to happen before the call the following week.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In just a short amount of time without formally launching our subscription program, we've already seen people signing up and exploring all the content. We've also noticed our bounce rate is down significantly since the updated website launched.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They were absolutely amazing about project managing. They were always following up and providing detailed outlines of what they need versus what they have and were never pushy or aggressive about getting information from us. They were always on their game but were incredibly patient with us when we were not due to extenuating circumstances around the office.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Everyone on the team is incredibly kind and genuine. They seemed to be just as invested in the success of our website as we were and were truly a partner and an extension of our team while we were working together. They were also incredibly willing to work within our budget.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None - can't recommend these guys enough.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a clinical psychologist in private practice in Brentwood.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a deep re-think and re-design of our website.

What were your goals for this project?

The problem was large: how to create a website that connected emotionally while expressing expertise and reliability.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had worked on a prior project with the Bureau of Small Projects. The collaboration was brilliantly satisfying and successful. Why choose anyone else??

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The Bureau of Small Projects did a deep assessment with me of the challenge we faced. They brought understanding and experience worthy of the best ad agency in America. They then designed, executed and tested the site with me. They worked with the photographers, helped choose art, edited my copy and in general made it all sing! Once the site was done they worked with me to tune in even more on our customers.

What was the team composition?

The project team was about 5 people. David was the lead executive, the has various artists and programmers working with him, Jocelyn helped train me and Michael focused on how to optimize the site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My customer acquisition has doubled. I get constant compliments on my site.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was impressive. Organized, coherent and enthusiastic. They understand how important your site is to you and your future.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to really take the time to understand my business and think through with me how to solve those problems.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They are the best!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a growing cloud software and services company. As the Vice President of Marketing, I look for capable partners since we have a small team in-house.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed to rebrand as we evolve and the website needed to be redesigned and redeveloped. I looked at five different companies who are capable in WordPress and have both design and development resources.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a partner that is both design oriented and has the chops for development. We needed the site completed by the end of June, starting from scratch, and our budget was fixed, so we didn't have a lot of room for scope creep.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After meeting with the five companies and hearing their thoughts on our scope of work and how they would approach the project, we narrowed the list to two companies. David and his team showed the most creative thinking, we're aligned with us on design approach, and were able to work within the budget.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They provided original design for the website. We asked for an illustrated approach instead of photography so we could differentiate ourselves from the other companies in our space. They designed each page of the site and provided the backend WordPress development as well for the entire site.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of a creative lead, a designer, a project manager, a front end developer, and a back end developer. We provided all of the copy for the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website design exceeded our expectations. We and thrilled with the look of the site and the navigation. The development team also provided training, so making changes is quick and easy for us to handle internally.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management of the site kept things on track and provided a common area for files, call recordings, and other materials.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their understanding of our goals was terrific. They helped us create a site that stands out and the development aspect was also on point. We were able to move quickly and stay on budget.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The project management could be improved with more documentation. I was able to help with this as I've redesigned and rebuilt multiple websites previously, but it would have been nice for some of this to be provided so I wouldn't have to handle it from a client perspective.

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.