Advisory · How We Scope
How we scope.
Most consulting processes are a black box until the invoice arrives. Ours is not.
Our buyers have been burned before. They read past marketing. So do we. This is what happens between the first conversation and the final deliverable.
The six steps
First call to 30-day follow-up.
- 1
Discovery call
30 to 45 minutes. Free.
You describe the situation. We ask a lot of questions. We are trying to figure out three things: is there a real problem, is it something we can help with, and are we the right team for it. If we are not, we tell you who is.
On the call: you, and anyone you want to bring. Viet, usually solo. Nat joins if the engagement is likely to be branded content.
You leave with a clear answer on whether it makes sense to keep talking.
- 2
Scoping conversation
60 to 90 minutes. Free.
If the discovery call went well, we go deeper. We whiteboard the engagement: what you actually want, what a good outcome looks like, what could get in the way, what a rough budget range is.
This is where the shape of the work gets defined. Fees come up in this conversation, not before. If your budget and our scope are not going to meet, we say so and end the meeting early.
On the call: you, whoever on your side will live with the outcome, and whoever from our side is likely to lead delivery.
You leave with a shared understanding of the engagement, enough context for us to write a real proposal, and no commitment either way.
- 3
Proposal
Two to four pages. Delivered within a week.
We write the engagement up. Fixed fee, named deliverables, concrete timeline, our assumptions, and what we need from you to hit the timeline.
You get a short document, not a fifty-slide deck. Every fee is a number, not a range. Every deliverable is named. Every assumption is listed so you can push back before you sign.
If we cannot fixed-fee it, we tell you why and propose an alternative structure.
- 4
SOW and deposit
One week from proposal signed.
You sign the SOW. We invoice 50%. Work starts within a week.
Why 50%: it aligns us on delivery and it is how independent operators manage cash flow. The balance is invoiced on final delivery.
- 5
Delivery
Four to eight weeks.
We work. You get a written update every week and a standing weekly touchpoint if you want one. At the halfway point, we do a formal check-in: what is working, what is not, what needs to change.
What we do not do: vanish for six weeks and come back with a deck. Send a junior person to run the weeklies while a partner cashes the check. Charge for scope changes we did not flag in writing first.
- 6
Final delivery and 30-day follow-up
The work does not matter unless someone uses it.
We deliver the final artifact. We invoice the balance. Thirty days later we get back on a call to see what has landed, what has not, and whether there is a next thing.
The 30-day call is not a sales meeting. It is the follow-up we wish every consulting engagement we have been on had done.
What you will never see from us
Six things.
- A junior person you did not meet running your engagement.
- A scope-change email that arrives after the work is done.
- A “final report” that is a slide deck with no artifacts.
- A pitch to expand the engagement in the first week.
- An offshore team you were never told about.
- A retainer we are trying to convert you to before the work is finished.
Terms and mechanics
The boring parts, in plain language.
Fees
Every engagement is fixed fee, agreed in writing before work starts. We share fees during the scoping conversation, not on this website. If your budget and our scope are not going to meet, we say so early.
Payments
50% on SOW. 50% on final delivery. Net 15 on both.
IP
Work product is yours. We keep a non-exclusive right to reference the engagement in general terms in our marketing. No client names or details without your written permission. Everything else is under NDA if you want it to be.
Termination
Either side can terminate for cause with written notice. We refund unearned fees. We do not sue over scope disputes.
Sales tax
We collect Washington sales tax where applicable. Multi-state engagements are handled per our CPA’s guidance and disclosed in the SOW.