The Bureau Of Small Projects

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a psychologist share a practice with a number of other practitioners. I’m licensed in California.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I needed a customer acquisition partner to grow my business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They assessed my marketing position and analyzed the best way to drive traffic to my website. The team then revamped the WordPress site and helped me focus my message.

What is the team composition?

I have one main point of contact and have worked directly with three people in total.

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

I found them via an online search. The team had great web design capabilities that distinguished them from the competition. They were also experts on branding and messaging.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent less than $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in 2015 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve increased the number of clients and I’m proud of the new site. After working with at least 10 design vendors, I can say this team is extraordinary.

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

The team is very clear about project goals and management processes. Communication was clear; whenever I was confused, they immediately called and talked to me. My contact was always available, enthusiastic, and friendly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design and messaging skills stand out. The team’s marketing efforts are also exceptional.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director at Enable Ministry Partners. We’re an IT firm that services churches and all of their technology needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a total website redesign. In the previous year, we had gone through a website design process with another company, but we weren’t happy with the service or the product we received.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They redid our website on WordPress. Specifically, we wanted a platform that supported our desire to be a content-driven website, and they created a really great blog for us. We wanted to focus on SEO and mobile design, and they were really intentional about designing it that way.

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager who was amazing; she was my main point of contact. I was also in contact with two design engineers, and there may have been additional people working on the project too.

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

I found them on an independent web developer site. Initially, I was drawn to the way they described their company and their vision. They worked in the Fortune 500 realm in the past, and now they use their expertise to help small businesses have the same kind of quality. Their mission to help small businesses felt very personal, and once I spoke to them for the first time, there was an instant connection. I felt like they were going to take care of us, which they did.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in November 2017, and it was a five-month project. We have signed on to be a recurring customer for maintenance with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They listened really well to what we wanted out of the site from the beginning. We wanted an attractive, user-friendly website, and we wanted it to be driven by the visual images and stories. They understood that, and we are happy with the results.

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

They are in the process of switching to more of a ticket-based system. We mainly communicated with our project manager. It was very seamless as she was the person I would reach out to if I had any questions. From my end, it felt very organized because I just went through her.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The customer experience and the relationship they built with us has been amazing. The website they built for us and the work they do is quality. What differentiates them is the way they interact with their clients; they make customer service is the most important thing. They connect with their client and make them feel heard.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I love them. They are making their system more official to document specific bugs or issues that need to be fixed, instead of having clients write up a list.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the founders of SpringML. We specialize in machine learning and data analysis.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a website developed. We’re growing rapidly and our user base wanted to understand who we are and what sort of resources we provide.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us design the layout and built the new website for us on WordPress. They provide ongoing support and handle other projects.

What is the team composition?

Our primary point of contact is David (Founder & Creative Director, The Bureau of Small Projects).

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

We were introduced to David on a platform called Codeable. We chose him because he had creative design expertise as well as the necessary development expertise.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback from our internal team is positive. We showed the website to our partners and they really like the layout that we put together.

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

David does a really good job of assigning tasks to his team and getting deliverables completed. We use Codeable for communication. David also assigned a designated project manager to keep track of open tasks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their key strength is their consultative nature. They not only do what we want to do, but they give options and come up with the pros and cons. They’re very open about the risk of particular solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They have their expertise clearly laid out and they know their strengths and weaknesses.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Their creators, designers, and website developers are very good on the platform they use, but the project owner needs to be very clear on what they need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product officer for an AI platform for employee support.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We relaunched the company with a new name and needed help with website redevelopment.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our new website using WordPress.

What is the team composition?

We worked with an excellent project manager, Tammy (Senior Project Manager, The Bureau of Small Things), and David (Founder and Creative Director, The Bureau of Small Projects), the owner of the firm. There were also 2–3 developers.

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

A friend who had used them previously referred them. We selected them over other firms because their portfolio was excellent. David is very easy to work with. They understood our priorities and were clearly able to deliver our requirements technically.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2017 until January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They didn’t overcommit; they’re very competent. They made a lot of minor enhancements and changes to the website in the weeks leading up to going live and delivered the completed project based on the original requirements within deadline. They confirmed everything we hoped for going into the relationship was accurate.

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

They were very adaptable to our tools. We held five daily check-in calls, and they were always on time. When they said they would do something, they always did. They’re responsive and available.

Our project manager was technical enough to be able to explain what the developers were doing and what the status was. She was clear when there was a change in scope and whether or not there was a cost. Whenever we needed David, he was available as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were accustomed to using certain WordPress plug-ins on our previous site, so I recommended that we use those. Several times with a form plug-in, David recommended alternative plug-ins. Every time he did, he was right, and we always took his recommendation. He’s very familiar with the various WordPress plug-ins, and it was helpful to be able to trust his judgment.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing negative to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set clear expectations about your content, vision, and requirements. They’re exceptionally good partners to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of telemedicine services at Traditions Behavioral Health.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted our website to be representative of the quality of work we wanted to convey to both our customers and prospective employees.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a WordPress-based website for us, using modern and supportive plug-ins that would allow us to display contents and gather information through a contact form. They transferred data from our old site, which included upwards of 40 different pages of varying states of repair.

They also helped us with our web hosting, maintenance, and patching going forward.

What is the team composition?

We were in contact with two developers. There were other things going on behind the scenes as well.

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

I worked with them on a personal project before and they did an incredible job with that. I also had a number of colleagues working in a similar sector that also had a very good experience with them. It was an obvious choice to use them and, while this project was quite a bit larger, we wanted to see how they would do.

How much have you invested with them?

It was $10,000. We also subscribed to a $399/month maintenance plan, which includes four creative hours.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received internal and external feedback that’s very favorable. People find the site significantly easier to navigate to get the information they need. The web contact form is extremely helpful for engaging potential customers as well as bringing on new employees. The embedded videos and graphics also received very good reviews.

We met our initial goals for the launch. Their team was very helpful in meeting the tight deadline we had for that launch. We’re continuing to build and improve.

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

It was very personal. A lot of communication was by email and telephone—it was very easy to get regular progress updates on how we were doing and to look at both the big picture and very specific goals. They were excellent with communication. In contrast to working with working with them years ago, it’s clear that they’ve grown. They have additional projects and team members, but still keep things very personal.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the key strengths was how much detail they went into for every small aspect. It made the site a perfect fit for our business and business model. There are some things about our website that might be counterintuitive as there’s such a wide range of services provided. We wanted to be very clear about exactly what we do. Even though we were dealing with a tech firm, they were fantastic at translating, interpreting, and easily conveying for people who don’t come from a mental health background.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It was an outstanding experience. We came to them at the end of the year when they were finishing several other projects. Things were a little fraught, but that’s more indicative of the time of the year than what I would expect from the company regularly. There’s nothing I can say that they could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They are a firm that you can come to with an idea or with content. You can either start from scratch or say this is exactly what I want. They’ll meet you either way. For businesses who have an idea of what they want—but don’t quite know how to do it—they offer a lot of creative and artistic input, which is so appreciated.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

CPG Jobs promotes independent contractors versus employees. I’m the president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Bureau?

Our frontend development for our website was through a developer years ago, before WordPress modules and before its popularity. We couldn’t update the site easily and put out our marketing plans.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They've updated our WordPress site to the 21st century. Now we can make changes and do the things we want to do.

The first thing they did was make what we already had work, which was done in a couple of phases, and they did other things along the way. Later, they told me that if I wanted directories and advertising and to be able to move stuff myself, we’d need to completely rework the site. We put together a spec and they did it. The next phase is putting in e-commerce.

What is the team dynamic?

There are 3–4 people. They have people for SEO and all kinds of things.

How did you come to work with The Bureau?

David [Founder/Creative Designer, The Bureau of Small Projects] is also a producer and a director. He created a movie called Kindness Is Contagious, about how you can be kind and still get things done. With that, we began to see who he was as a person and how he ran his company, and we were ready to move forward. He allowed us to work with them intermittently, while also working out payment plans. He really knows his people and his clients and works with them in the way they need to be worked. It’s not all about him.

How much have you invested with them?

The first couple phases were $3,000–$4,000. When we reworked our website, it was about $5,600.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2014, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a site that looks incredible and that people love. They know where to go because it’s easy to navigate. David has helped with that functional side as well. He knows what's pertinent, what’s trending, what people are looking at today, the mix between business and casual websites, and what’s visually pleasing. Both our current or possible clients know who we are and what we do. From this insight, we can now change the advertising blocks and add people because we have a directory now.

How did The Bureau perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re in communication back and forth, and he won’t work on something until we’ve approved the spec he's put together. I find that appealing because we know exactly what we want done, how it’s going to get done, and when. He’s always kept the deadlines and within price.

What did you find most impressive about them?

David has been a great vendor and supplier and friend. He knows who I am, what I want, how I communicate, and how I work. It’s not just stuff coming from the head but from his heart as well. He can connect with the person or company emotionally. That’s what a website, in this case, is all about. If I don’t connect with my clients emotionally, it doesn’t matter how great my website looks, I’m not going to get anything. He knows how to do that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. How he’s growing is important. He’s taking it step by step and not overdoing anything, which allows him to stay on track with the clients he has. He doesn’t overpromise. I can’t see anything different that he could be doing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a film and television advertising company in Los Angeles, California. I’m the senior VP and senior creative director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

My division has grown out of a larger company and it’s 2 years old. When I approached David [Founder/Creative Director, The Bureau], it was to create a new website for our company. We wanted a site that was visually arresting, showed our services in a simple and elegant way, and worked over desktop and mobile.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the site in WordPress in a way that made it easy for us to update it. I know they used certain plug-ins and templates. They did some initial design and then we built the main site. Then they made some upgrades to make it more efficient.

What is the team dynamic?

David was my primary contact. He has developers and WordPress specialists that he works with. What was nice about working with The Bureau is that I had a single point of contact.

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

I had tried to find someone through Upwork and other freelancer sites, but the firms there were too low-end and focused on small businesses for what I needed. Someone referred me to Codeable, where I searched for the type of company I wanted.

What struck me about David was that he hit the sweet spot. He was local, meaning in my time zone, and he was accessible by phone. It was not purely an email relationship. On top of that, he had done some entertainment work before, which told me he could understand our company and what we’d need.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay them a monthly or quarterly maintenance fee. Our total spending has been between $7,500–$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them early this year. They completed the site, but we continue working with them for maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re not a retail site, so I can’t speak to an increase in traffic or sales. However, it has given us a good presence in relation to our competitors. We’ve gotten positive feedback from clients and people looking at the site to do business with us or come work for us.

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

The Codeable site works well as a project management and billing tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m sure there are other companies that do exactly what they do, but The Bureau is client- and service-focused. It was easy to talk to them and make changes, and it was easy to discuss our creative needs.

David helped us find real-world solutions. What keeps us going back to them is the fact that we work well together, and we like their service and their business and creative philosophy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Any problems we had were expected, and they were able to correct them. I don’t have any complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I worked as a liaison with The Bureau, so we spent a fair amount of time prior to the build discussing the website. We tried to have a very clear idea of what we wanted the site to accomplish before we started talking to them. That made the process more efficient, and David was able to move in the right direction right away.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director of coachart.org, a nonprofit that offers free art and athletic lessons for kids impacted by chronic illness. The kids sign up and tell us what they’re interested in learning; we then recruit volunteers who are willing to teach them those skills and we match them for one-on-one or group lessons.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We engage with them for any of our website’s frontend and backend needs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve had The Bureau on retainer for years now; they do all kinds of projects for us. They designed and built our website on WordPress, and they currently maintain it. They just did a custom page recently for our upcoming gala that has modern functionality and cool graphics that rise and fall as you scroll around the page. For our ongoing web needs, they’re our go-to partner for both the design side and the backend.

What is the team dynamic?

I think there’s one primary developer, but being that they’re an agency, they sometimes recommend a particular person on their team for a particular project that best fits their skill set. Over time, we’ve worked with a handful of different people. David, their founder and creative director, is our main point of contact and he’s very interesting and creative.

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

They were here before I was, but I believe it was a board member recommendation. They are extremely competent and very cost conscious and generous with their time towards us. They’re fun to work with as well and David is a really nice guy.

How much have you invested with them?

I don’t know the cost of the initial project, but our ongoing annual projects are in the four digits.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s been a long time since we’ve started working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

People tell me all the time that they love our website and think it’s really well designed—it has a fun and good energy to it. The most recent gala page they designed has gotten positive feedback its sleek and classy look and feel. I get positive feedback on their work all the time.

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

We email directly with David and they’ve always met deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re creative and clever with their work and we’re always impressed by them. I can’t imagine looking for anybody else.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve been great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of Vitality, a small medial wellness center. I am a physician specializing in integrative and functional medicine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I was originally an emergency medicine physician but wanted to start a more holistic medical practice. I approached The Bureau in order to build a website to reach that goal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Bureau developed an image for and put together my WordPress website. The goal was to have an informative, educational website for people. I focus on culinary medicine and provide recipes, so I wanted to start to get that out there.

What is the team dynamic? 

David Gaz [Founder, The Bureau of Small Projects] was my main point of contact. He recommended a photographer they work with for the photos. I also used an SEO specialist from their team.

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

They were a referred by a friend who had used them. I called David after having interviewed a few others. He was laid-back but also able to listen to what I wanted to do. I liked his website, and felt that The Bureau could represent me the best.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of their work was between $2,500 and $3,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them a few years ago, around 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I get a lot of new clients through the website. I have good traffic, and their SEO work was beneficial. I hear comments on how beautiful and easy to navigate the site is all the time.

They implemented a button through which people can schedule appointments or find more information, which has been helpful for generating inquiries.

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

We don’t use any project management tools that I know of. If I have an issue, David calls and we talk through them, or he just resolves the issue. Deadlines were met without issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

David’s communication is very strong, and I like that he coordinated with the photographer. It resulted in a site where everything fit together well. He was good at telling me about the up-to-date things that needed to be done on the website.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a psychiatrist with a private practice, Integrative Psychiatry Practice. I also have a consulting business, and I do medical education, all as a sole proprietorship.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bureau?

As a physician who does uncharacteristic things including public speaking, education, and consulting for non-profits, I needed a way to share my skill set outside of the traditional ways that physicians market themselves. For many physicians, we’re so entrenched in the direct service provision piece. It can be difficult to get our names out there and approach prospective partners, clients, and other professionals. The goal was to convey those pieces of my work in a way that was accessible nationwide and even globally. I needed help with web marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I relied on them mostly for web development. I didn’t know anything about web hosting, or how to operate WordPress, or how to generate web forms and employ Google Analytics. Their web development package included these technical pieces, as well as creative input, which I found even more helpful. This included branding, logos, and creating a product that was truly unique and customized and not what I would have found if I were to have established a do-it-yourself options website.

This week I communicated with them about additional help with social media and SEO. The team was super responsive and very clear about expectations and what services would be provided and cost.

What is the team dynamic?

There were about five team members. Most of my communication was direct with their principal and chief creative consultant, David [Founder/Creative Director]. He delegated to the best person on his team to help. I haven’t had much direct contact with the people on his team.

How did you come to work with Bureau?

I found them through a referral. They created the most remarkable and personal website for a physician that I had seen. It was captivating, compelling, and exciting. It also was selling the service, the product, and the expertise as much as individualizing the person behind it. I spent hours looking at this website.

How much have you invested with them?

It cost about $3,000 to get things up and going. I will probably spend $500 each year for upgrades, updates, and perhaps new content.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in early 2015 and completed within a month. It remains an ongoing relationship for additional help.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website has shifted the way that my work is perceived within the professional community. Historically, physicians would operate by word of mouth and they’d have an impressive CV [curriculum vitae]. Now anybody in the world can Google my name, see the work that I’m most proud of, and see if I may or may not be able to serve their business needs.

The website has also been incredibly helpful for prospective patients to find me, as well as to read up on original content that is relevant to my practice or the diagnoses and treatments that I offer.

How did Bureau perform from a project management standpoint?

Most of the communication was by either email or phone calls. It may seem low-tech relative to the industry, but I found it very helpful to be able to get on the phone with the leadership at Bureau and talk personally about my project and receive training on how to operate all the backend tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Even though they call themselves the Bureau of Small Projects, they have some huge clients and they do some super impressive e-commerce work and web marketing for giant organizations. Even as a very small business operating out of a small space, I felt just as important to them as one of their big clients. My business goals were equally important to them as they were to me.

One of the pieces I am so grateful to them for was that backend training, which was included in the basic fees. I’m not relying necessarily on a web developer to do minor content updates and formatting and different pieces. I’ve enjoyed learning how to operate the backend of WordPress and some of the different plug-ins on my own without needing to reach out or incur additional costs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They offer a subscription membership package for ongoing updates. There are three options with that package ranging from personal to business to a larger personalized business approach. While this includes regular updates and web security packages, I would have liked to see more packages that include creative time and web development. Those are only available on the larger packages and monthly plans. For the small business that just needs a couple hours quarterly or 12 hours over the course of a year, I’d like to see more options for that.