I was listening to a Clubhouse Q&A with Jason Fried of Basecamp this evening.
Jason is one of my mentors. He doesn’t know it—he doesn’t even know me—but I absorb as much of his ideas as I can. He’s a clear thinker with an interesting perspective on things.
One thing he mentioned was that a lot of freelancers (or consultants) throw a lot of “stuff” into their engagements to justify the price.
Why? Because deep down they are insecure about the value they are providing.
The thing is, people don’t want more stuff. They want less stuff but better quality.
They want an outcome, not more stuff.
As a consultant, what you don’t do is as important as what you do do.
More hours, words, revisions, deliverables, phone calls—none of these things add value in and of itself.
In fact, the more stuff you do, the more likely you are to do poor quality stuff!
Figure out what your clients want to receive and help them get there as efficiently as possible.
Cutting the fluff and focusing on the outcomes will make you and your clients happier.
It will make your work better, too.