How We Work

A project by any other name…

To many business owners and managers, consulting projects appear to be intangible or insubstantial…but I believe a consulting assignment is still a Project…and should be planned and managed like any other business development or construction project.

This means that any substantive consulting project should have:

• Written Objectives,
• A Plan,
• A Budget,
• A Schedule,
• Hard Deliverables, and
• Status and progress reporting.

Because of this philosophy, many of my consulting projects follow a pattern:

Step #1: Project Evaluation and Proposal

• Define Objectives, Schedule, Budget, Client Manager
• Deliver Proposal including project cost, deliverables, review approach
• Obtain Proposal Approval

Step #2: Project Initiation

• Perform research, interviews, data gathering as required
• Prepare project outline or contents
• Prepare initial deliverables
• Client review and approval of initial deliverables

Step #3: Project Development

• Revise previous deliverables
• Prepare next deliverables and submit for Review and Approval

Step #4 Final Step: Project Completion

• Delivery and Approval of Final revised deliverables

Of course, simple consulting assignments may follow an abbreviated approach while complex projects will involve many more steps. But simple or complex, I believe that you should expect a professional, structured approach to your consulting project.

Pricing, Billing, and Terms

1. On most projects, I will provide a Fixed Price Proposal, before beginning work.
2. “Out of scope” work, requested and approved by the client, is usually billed at a standard hourly rate unless other arrangements are made.
3. Occasionally, when a project cannot be well defined prior to starting, I will provide an hourly rate.
4. I do not charge for regional travel time; I do charge for meetings and include such charges in my proposals; I do charge for major, client-approved expenses.
5. Most projects are billed as follows:
   1. 1/3 at project initiation
   2. 1/3 upon delivery of first deliverables
   3. 1/3 upon delivery of final deliverables
   4. Larger projects may be billed monthly.
6. Invoices are payable upon submission.
7. The specific pricing and billing terms for a project will always be defined in the Proposal.

Interested? Call for a FREE consultation and Proposal…

336 552-0548 or
Mike@MLeonardCo.com