How to Identify Your Values to Avoid Scope Creep

How do you feel about the work you’re doing right now? If you dread Mondays because you don’t love where your business is or you feel like your clients are driving your schedule (instead of you owning your schedule), you may be experiencing scope creep.?

And even worse is if you’re working into the wee hours of the night or over the weekend--not because that’s the schedule you chose but because you need to catch up on work.

Scope creep happens when boundaries bend and break, both our personal and professional lives. It wreaks havoc on our schedules and creates frustration and dissatisfaction--for both parties.

As a service provider, I know you want to pour into clients. And you’re probably a giver in your personal life too. But scope creep equals physical and mental stress and it doesn’t feel good because it usually means we’re going against our values, what’s important to us.

So how do you know if you’re deep in scope creep? First, know where it takes place.

Inside Projects

Every project you do with a client, whether it’s a one-off project or new projects for a retainer client, should have a project plan. This project plan clearly outlines all the work you’re doing for the specific project and the budget associated with the project.

But sometimes, things change. That’s normal in business, and there’s nothing wrong with changing up a project--as long as you recognize the scope creep, are able to accommodate the change, and modify the project plan (and your pricing). You may also need to modify your timeline because changing a project midway through will shift a timeline too.?

Inside Business Relationships

You’re an action-taker who gets things done. As a service provider, you take things off your clients’ plates, which is incredibly valuable for your clients. You build trust by freeing up their time. They see what you bring to the table every day and start to think about what else you can do for them.

They call you a unicorn. The magical person who can do it all, so they start to come to you to ask questions...and sometimes those questions are outside the original role that you were hired for. But being the helpful service provider you are, you answer those questions.

And then it becomes a snowball. Your clients come to you more and more and when you add up the time you’re spending with them, it’s well beyond what you originally agreed upon. Because you lead with your heart and want to be helpful, you allow the relationship to bend your boundaries.

Inside Contracts

Contracts are supposed to protect you, your business, and your time. Let’s say you have a contract to do 10 hours a week of work with a client, on a recurring basis. (I’m hoping this is a flat fee, rather than an hourly rate but that’s a conversation for another time.)

Because you’ve shown how valuable you are (see above), your client starts asking you to take on other tasks. Over the course of a few weeks or months, you’re now working 15, 20, 30 hours a week for this client. At the same flat fee.?

The moment you agreed to a new task or deliverable, the contract you had became null and void.?

When Scope Creep Happens

“When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated.” - Brené Brown

When you allow scope creep, you let go of the values you have and often the reason you started your business in the first place. Maybe you started your business because you wanted the freedom to take your kids to sports practices and be there for their games (hand raised here). If you’re working more hours to accommodate a client who is bending your boundaries, think about who is paying the price.

You, because you’re no longer able to attend your kids’ games. But more importantly, it’s your kids who pay the price--because work has become a bigger priority than their games.

Ouch, right?

It’s about knowing what your values are, and reminding yourself of them, so you can stick to them.

Identifying Your Values

I’m sure you know what’s important to you, but taking the time to sit down and put them in writing is vital. When you serve your values, everything else will fall into place. Holding onto boundaries and avoiding scope creep will be easier.

I want you to get out a notebook or journal and ask yourself this question:

What’s most important in your life right now? Physical health, spirituality, family, routine, relationships, or work? There’s no right or wrong answer. Rank each of these 1 through 6 with the most important on the top.

It might be helpful to think about some of the people in your life that you admire the most, both from your past and your present. What do you admire about them? What qualities do they have that you want to emulate? What do all these people have in common?

Take some time with this. Do some brainstorming and journaling around it. You might come up with one answer today and next week you might find something different is a top priority for you.

That’s okay. We’re small business owners and our lives impact our businesses. Your top priorities might shift and change during different seasons of life. But knowing what those priorities and values are today will help you define and redefine them in the future.

Now that you know what’s important to you, think about what you will do to create those top three as the top priorities in your life. If family is your top priority, how will you ensure your schedule doesn’t encroach on your family time? If your physical health is a priority, what will you do to make sure you have time to work out or meal prep?

You get the idea. It’s up to you to set the boundaries you need to focus on your priorities, which again, is why you started your business in the first place.

You won’t get this perfect right from the start but you’ll continue to build on this as you get more clarity around who you want to work with and how you want to work. You need to know where you’re going to start so you can move into clarifying and communicating those values and boundaries in the future.

This article is part one of a five-part series on identifying and eradicating scope creep in your business. Read part two right here.