JoCarole : Hello and welcome to our January 2010 Chat Event! I want to thank everyone for taking the time to attend because I know you all have a very busy schedule. It is my pleasure to introduce Dave Churchville of ClientSpot http://www.myclientspot.com.

JoCarole : Dave will be discussing how to manage client projects as well as solutions and challenges for related issues that we all face as VAs.

JoCarole : Dave will demonstrate how ClientSpot project management software can be used by Virtual Assistants in their own businesses and also for their clients. Basic project management concepts will be reviewed as well as techniques and pricing models.

JoCarole : Dave explains “I’ve found that many small service businesses don’t spend much time thinking about managing projects because they’re too busy just working on them. But as they start to grow without basic systems in place to track progress, accurately estimate work, and communicate effectively, the business can really struggle to be consistently profitable and reliable.

JoCarole : After the chat be sure to visit the ClientSpot B2B Partner kiosk right here at VAF - you'll find some great information there, plus some interesting discussions http://www.virtualassistantforums.co...ps/clientspot/

JoCarole : Thank you again for attending and now please join me in welcoming Dave Churchville!

Dave Churchville : So today I'm going to talk about project management, and why you should care about it.

Dave Churchville : But before I start, I'd love to know a little about the audience to tune the chat a little.

Dave Churchville : Can you quickly type your name, and whether you're a Solo, Multi-VA, or primarily a subcontractor?

TimeForLife : Rikki - solo seeking to expand to multi

jlanham : Jennifer, Solo VA (Happy ClientSpot User!)

JVOTS : Sheila James - Solo

Business-Bytes : Jules - solo but sub, too

JoCarole : JoCarole - Solo

PamH53 : Pam - solo

Virtually Your Office! : JoAnn, Virtually Your Office-Solo

dawntrenee : Dawn Solo but looking into client spot for large client work

Administrative Partners : Tamika - Solo/Contractor

mpsassistu : My Personal Secretary, Multi-VA

kristyle : Kristyle - Solo

Donna : Donna - Virtual Management Concepts LLC

catnip : Crystal Atnip Flirtatous Designs Solo

Office Key : Tina - Solo (but on hiatus)

At Your Virtual Door : Pam At Your Virtual Door solo for now...

AJ326 : Angela @ Your Humble Assistant - solo

Excel Virtual Services : Ivette from Excel Virtual Services solo for now, too..

Dave Churchville : OK, great. That gives me a good sense.

Dave Churchville : OK, so first of all let's define Project management.

Dave Churchville : * I'll give you two definitions...

Dave Churchville : 1) Project Management: A system for delivering results within a specific time and budget

Dave Churchville : 2) A system for managing the risk of project failure

Dave Churchville : * Notice both definitions use the word "System"

Dave Churchville : I don't mean technology per se - a "system" here just means you have a repeatable way to do something and get consistent results

Dave Churchville : So a system for project management doesn't mean the project will always succeed, but...

Dave Churchville : Having a system means you'll be able to identify problems earlier, and be able to communicate them to clients

Dave Churchville : In fact, sometimes the best outcome for a project is to KILL IT EARLY...

Dave Churchville : Q: Any of you had a project you wish you had pulled the plug on early?

TimeForLife : Yes, definitely.

At Your Virtual Door : Absolutely

Dave Churchville : So one of the things you're lookiing for in a project management approach is to be able to make better decisions about whether a project is going to be profitable. More on that a little later.

Dave Churchville : Let's talk about some basic project management (PM) concepts.

Dave Churchville : So there are 4 "horsemen" of a project

Dave Churchville : 1. Scope (what will be delivered)

Dave Churchville : 2. Time (when it will be delivered/how long it will take)

Dave Churchville : 3. Quality (how good it will be)

Dave Churchville : 4. Resources/Cost (people, money, tools, materials to apply)

Dave Churchville : * The core problem in project management: You can't control all 4 of these, pick any 3.

Dave Churchville : And to make it a bit worse, USUALLY you can't negotiate 3) Quality. Most people want that :-)

At Your Virtual Door : 2. Time hard to control even if you've performed the same tasks over and over again

Dave Churchville : Yes, time is hard to control for projects that aren't just boilerplate.

catnip : I offer desktop publishing and web some clients do seem to forego quality

catnip : over cost anyway

Dave Churchville : Some examples...

Dave Churchville : Some projects/clients have a fixed deadline, like a product launch, or an event.

Dave Churchville : So here Time is fixed. For many projects, there's also a budget that's relatively fixed.

Dave Churchville : Scope is often the only flexible part of a project...sort of.

Dave Churchville : Meaning that many clients (I'll include us in that), have a strong idea about what's needed in a project...but if the deadline matters more, there are usually things that can be put off until later.

Dave Churchville : So reducing scope can mean doing fewer things, or it can mean doing smaller versions of everything.

Dave Churchville : * Example: A newsletter that's supposed to have 5 articles might have to launch with just 4, or with a lower quality blurb.

Dave Churchville : As a general rule the client should make this call (given plenty of advance warning).

Dave Churchville : TIP: Organize projects to be *scope reducible* in advance - makes it easier to be flexible when crunch time comes.

Dave Churchville : * If deadlines aren't as fixed (e.g a new website launch could have a few weeks of time range)...

Dave Churchville : often scope is more fixed. And cost as well.

Dave Churchville : Q: Do you give clients project estimates, even for hourly work? (e.g. this should take about 5 hours, but could be longer depending)

Business-Bytes : Yes

At Your Virtual Door : Yes

jlanham : Yes

TimeForLife : Yes

Dave Churchville : * From a client perspective, knowing the cost of a project is key to making good decisions (i.e. should I do project A or B with the money I have?)

dawntrenee : agreed

Dave Churchville : * And from a service provider perspective, it's equally important to know what it costs you to deliver on a project.

Dave Churchville : More on that...

Dave Churchville : 1) If you bill hourly (or via retainer), it seems simple - work an hour, bill an hour. Every project should be the same in theory.

Dave Churchville : But...there's also hidden *opportunity costs*. Is this a project that is likely to go well? If not, will you be paid in full? Will you need subcontractors to fulfill part of the project?

Dave Churchville : For those of you who use subs - it's really easy to lose money on even an hourly billed project.

Dave Churchville : (shout out if this has happened to you) -Not surprisingly, your subs will want to be paid, whether or not the client is disputing something with you, and the full invoice won't be paid.

Dave Churchville : 2) If you bill by the project (e.g. setting up a social media profile = $200), it's even more important to know your numbers cold.

TimeForLife : agreed

Dave Churchville : Because those are fixed scope/fixed price projects, if something goes wrong, you'll spend lots of extra time, and guess what your average hourly rate will look like?

Dave Churchville : So I'd recommend if you bill that way, make sure you set client expectations clearly on what's in and what's out of scope, as well as how much it will cost to add to the scope later.

Dave Churchville : (FYI - I think flat fee billing is actually a good thing, just tricky to get right)

Dave Churchville : * So if you're not too depressed after all of that...here's a tip

Dave Churchville : TIP: Fixed price/fixed scope projects can be the most profitable, but also the most risky – you really need to understand the project well to make it profitable. Track the first few types of these to understand average time spent, and how much you need to charge to be profitable (don’t forget subcontractor costs).

Dave Churchville : * Switching gears a little, I'd like to talk a little about setting client expectations as an aspect of project management

Dave Churchville : Think for a moment about what your clients really want....

Dave Churchville : Does Joe Client really want a monthly newsletter? Or does he want engaged customers and prospects who will buy more stuff from him?

Dave Churchville : Does Carol Customer want to spend time managing multiple vendors to get her website done? Or have more time for business building and a little peace of mind?

Dave Churchville : * So as service providers, the question is "How can we help our clients achieve their REAL goals"

Dave Churchville : OK, so as it relates to project management, I've dealt with lots of vendors who seem to always present problems without analysis or receommendations...

Dave Churchville : e.g. The domain name you wanted isn't available, what do you want to do?

Dave Churchville : * Reasonable, professional, but how nice would it be to hear instead...

At Your Virtual Door : Helping our clients achieve their REAL goals suggest that they know what those are

At Your Virtual Door : Often they are not quite sure what they truly want to accomplish

Dave Churchville : "The domain name you wanted wasn't available, but here are 3 pretty good alternatives, and I've contacted the domain owner to see if they're willing to sell it to you"

At Your Virtual Door : Customer service...

Dave Churchville : @Virtual Door - yes, it can be tough to get at what clients really need - but in my experience, not knowing that leads to most disputes and issues

jlanham : Problem is, how much time did you spend getting the alternatives and contacting the domain owner...better to find out if the client wants you to do that.

jlanham : "The domain name you wanted wasn't available. Would you like me to find some alternatives and contact the domain owner to see if they're willing to sell it?"

Dave Churchville : @jlanham - agreed - stay with me for minute longer :-)

AJ326 : ask for alternatives up front

At Your Virtual Door : If there is a true partnership with the client - the expectation is

Dave Churchville : My examples are just hypotheticals - of course you need to figure out what makes sense in your business, and with your clients. But again, this is an often overlooked aspect of project management.

At Your Virtual Door : collaborate and provide solutions even when the initial deliverable is not an option

Donna : I often work with hands on clients and I always incorporate work they are responsible for in my project plans

Dave Churchville : * A couple of ideas for setting expectations up front...

Dave Churchville : 1. For a new client or a new type of project - how about a small slice of the deliverable for client review? E.g. an early milestone like...first paragraph of an article, OR concept sketch of the logo, OR, examples of what the social media profiles will look like, etc.

At Your Virtual Door : Yes, puts client at ease - allows for changes earlh on prior to excessive time spent

Dave Churchville : 2. Asking for/listening to feedback. Surprisingly effective: "How you you rate this work from 1 - 10?" followed by "What would it take to make it a 10 for you?" can really help set a foundation early and give the client a means of communcating without worry about hurting your feelings. Well, some clients don't have a problem with that last part ;-)

Dave Churchville : * OK, circling back to Systems (repeatable process for getting consistent results, including early project termination)

Dave Churchville : 1) For VA businesses, this might include pre-qualifying clients, focusing on a specific type of work, or certain industries that are proven to be profitable for you (less headaches, better pay, enjoyable work, etc.)

Dave Churchville : 2) Probably should include tracking/reporting on how long projects are taking, and what it's costing you to deliver the service (especially if using subcontractors, etc.)

Dave Churchville : 3) And should support growing your business (to the degree you want to)

Dave Churchville : Q: How would you rate your existing systems (doesn't have to mean technology) for managing your business from 1 - 10 (1 = what systems?, 10 = great systems in place)?

At Your Virtual Door : 5 - and working toward 10

TimeForLife : I'd say about 5 as well. 10 is the goal.

jlanham : 7

Business-Bytes : 4

At Your Virtual Door : Thanks Dave for the suggestions on how to keep the client engaged throughout the project life

Dave Churchville : YOUR TURN: Opening it up to questions from the group...

At Your Virtual Door : when working with teams or subs wouldn't the best course of action to avoid excessive time spent on projects - frequently manage the time being recorded

Dave Churchville : when working with teams or subs it can be really helpful to have budgets/estimates for the sub work (at the task level if necessary), and to manage against those getting exceeded. Over time you'll know how long a type of project/task *should* take and be able to estimate better.

At Your Virtual Door : Hence the initiation of project based pricing as opposed to hourly

Dave Churchville : @VirtualDoor, yes - I'd recommend that everyone start with hourly pricing until you've got a good feel for what certain types of projects entail and cost you to deliver, then setting prices (with a healthy margin) based on that.

Donna : What tips can you offer for using ClientSpot to keep projects on track?

Business-Bytes : Great question, Donna! I was wondering the same thing...

Dave Churchville : @Donna - so ClientSpot, of course, is project management/time tracking software thats pretty good at helping you understand project estimates and then seeing what the actual logged time is. It's more useful in a team setting, but even as a Solo, you can use it to track the time you spend against what you *expected*. This really helps with estimating/setting client expectations, as well as eventually project-based pricing.

Donna : I have been using it for a few months and special tips/tricks/shortcuts that you can share??

Dave Churchville : @Donna - OK - Here's a couple of my favorite :-)

Dave Churchville : We recently added email integration, which helps clients and other team members get engaged more easily. Basically, clients can reply to a comment notification email directly, and it will be integrated into the project (as long as they are setup in the system).

Donna : Does it matter which email provider?

Dave Churchville : @Donna - no, works with whatever you've got (uses special ClientSpot addresses for replies)

Donna : Yes, so my clients would not need to log in to respond, they will like that!

Business-Bytes : Really cool!

Donna : Can time be entered without being linked to a task?

Dave Churchville : @Donna - no, but you can make a "catch all" task under a project like "General" to log miscellaneous things.

Donna : ok thanks

Business-Bytes : What's your other favorite, Dave?

Dave Churchville : OK, one more tip: for those of you looking to move into fixed-price projects, ClientSpot can track a budget (in hours) for the project, and/or individual tasks in the project. The project and task views can then use that information to show when you're getting close or going over budget. This is integrated into the Task Timer also.

Dave Churchville : What's nice about that is that you'll know pretty quickly which types of projects are most profitable, and which are trouble.

Tess : Are all of these features available in the 30-day trial version of ClientSpot?

Dave Churchville : @Tess - yes, the 30-day trial is full featured, thanks for asking :-)

JoCarole : We really appreciate your time tonight Dave, it's been a very informative chat. Everyone, be sure to check out ClientSpot if you haven't already, they're at http://www.myclientspot.com AND you can discuss issues, features, etc. with Dave personally right here at VAF in their kiosk http://www.virtualassistantforums.co...ps/clientspot/

Dave Churchville : Thanks for having me. Feel free to stop by the kiosk with any questions or comments or visit us at http://www.myclientspot.com

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