Business Changes and Evolution

Hey everyone! I hope you had a wonderful May, a great start to June and are hopefully enjoying some fabulous Spring weather. Our deck was finally finished yesterday and we were able to do our first family dinner and game night outside (it's a bit of a thing at our house). But alas, it's back to work today and about time to tell you what I have been so excited about for months now. With MDA in operation nearly a year and a half now, it has become apparent that I cannot operate the business in the same way I did when I started and continue to support my designers in the way I would like to fulfill my vision. I believe in running my business openly and honestly, so I wanted to share the upcoming changes with you here and the reasoning behind those decisions.

New Packages:

As you know, I have been offering packages to my designers that allow you to purchase a bulk of hours at a lower price than the standard hourly rate. I have had an amazing response with the packages from you all and find that the majority of the time, that is just what my designers have been looking for. After working with business coach, I have decided to build upon the packages to make them more purposeful and structured.

If you heard me on the A Well Designed Business podcast with LuAnn Nigara, you probably heard me state that I want you to feel as comfortable working with me as if I were there working in your office. I have found my current structure impedes that goal a bit since at times I feel that I miss the opportunity to develop better ongoing and more personal business relationships. Each of you has a different point of view, and I want to be sure to represent that in the work I do for you. I am constantly telling my husband how blessed I am to have such amazing people to work with and so the goal is to create a better rhythm and that is what I believe the new packages will do. Here is what they look like:

5 Hour Package -$150

10 Hour Package-$300

15 Hour Package -$450

Each package is monthly subscription to services with a 3 month commitment, with the 5 hour and 10 hour options being what most closely represent how my designers are using their time. Having allocated monthly hours for each designer will allow me to better schedule time for projects and the time I need to dedicate to each designer. If you have a five hour package, it doesn't mean that you are limited to five hours that month, but that it is the budgeted time I will be allotting for. I know design projects can be unpredictable and more time may be needed from month to month. Hourly rates will still be available for those designers who aren't at a point to commit to a monthly package, but the projects for those designers who have purchased packages will take priority.

Improved Communication:

In the past all project communication has been done through email. The benefit of the emails was that all project details were typically in one email chain. The downside was that if projects were ongoing, had multiple changes or several moving parts, details could get lost within the email chain or I had to spend tons of extra time reviewing and re-reviewing each email to make sure I wasn't missing something. The solution? Eventually each designer will be set up with a Trello board that will host project details and communication needed to complete it successfully. Trello is free service that is accessible via desktop or phone application which means you can add project information while you re on the go or perhaps even while on site! I have been working through Trello with all of my newest designers and it has been amazing.

Each designer will have their own board and each project will have what is called a list that will store all project information. Don't worry guys, I WILL NOT throw you to the wolves. While all new clients are on-boarded with the process, it will be rolled out more slowly with my existing designers to make sure the process is as smooth as possible. When I set you up with a new board, it will also include new project templates and to make each new project more efficient from start to finish.

I am so excited for these changes, and I hope that you can see how wonderful they will be to. MDA has grown so much in the last nearly year and a half, and I could not think of better people to take this journey with. You all are amazing!