Why Entrepreneurs are Betting BIG on UX in 2017
As a entrepreneur, playing multiple roles in a bustling business is a right of passage. But what about those roles that are out of reach and would take you months (or years) to truly master? Time is usually not a friend to the entrepreneur; even the most ambitious know that learning how to code or finding product market/fit are not overnight adventures. You can take a weekend bootcamp on how to effectively use Facebook ads or build a perfect pitch deck, but those are small steps that often lead you right back to having to find a more efficient solution.
One place where we are starting to see an uptick in on-demand is the rapid deployment of workforces within small-medium sized companies to meet this growing need among entrepreneurs. We are not talking about secretaries or delivery drivers. We are talking about highly trained and skilled professionals who enjoy the challenge of rapidly absorbing projects and providing just the right amount of time and bandwidth to evolve your concept.
Wouldn’t This Be Called an Agency?
Well, you could call it an agency; however, with most agencies, a small boot-strapped start-up will fall outside the lines of affordability. In addition, an agency may maneuver the needle to tip in their favor to upsell and, in some cases, run up the meter regarding revisions, scope creep, and other services. Let’s be clear, this is not an attack against agencies but a new way to approach client satisfaction where deadlines do not choke-hold quality. I have seen many projects suffer client-side because of the “leapfrogging” of workflows due to a made-up deadline. I am sure this issue could be removed if the right questions were asked and if the value of the service were taken seriously and not viewed as a novelty.
We Love Efficiency, but Mastering It Takes Guts
When I started 5ivehat in 2014, knowing where to start was the only job I had. Dealing with multiple moving parts and not knowing the formula could have caused momentum to suffer. After too many meetings and won/lost deals, our team had grown tired of the whole “pitch ’n pray” in the pursuit of logo acquisitions for our portfolio. We had to take a step back and accept the fact that most formulas we tried had not worked for our small agency. Some formulas are made specifically with the 5–6 figure MRR agency in mind, which means time becomes more of an ally than an enemy.
We are UX and only UX
Efficiency is in our DNA. We aim to give the client and ultimately their users an immersive experience that reduces friction. It is the reason that in early 2015, we switched from a full-service agency to a UX-only agency. UX seems to be a fairly new, more ubiquitous term that has in actuality been around for 30 years, as cited in 1986 by Brenda K. Laurel in “Interface as Mimesis” (from Norman & Draper’s User Centered Systems Design, 1986). UX has finally re-emerged as the nouveau factor to determine whether or not your product will be designed correctly.
We even started free UX Masterclasses for entrepreneurs that identify the many benefits of implementing UX and Design Thinking early. Consider the actions of successful entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos who funded customer experience over advertising 100:0 in the first year and continues to invest heavily in optimizing the website user experience.
It is in response to this need that we are 100% focused on advocating better usability and accountability when releasing a product into the world.
Our New Formula: The On-Demand UX Workforce
Earlier, I discussed the issue of time and its constraints on ambitious entrepreneurs. There is a clear need for on-demand services in highly cognitive and skilled areas to support the instant gratification model. Our new initiative called The UX Foundry arms entrepreneurs and businesses with an arsenal of skills to mitigate the discovery process. We can quickly launch a skilled professional to focus on the tasks that we have determined as the baseline of getting the data needed to make decisions on proceeding or pivoting.
A Short-Term Commitment with Long-Term Positive Results
Until you have the revenue and profit margins to grow an in-house workforce, a rapid solution is essential. You could hire a freelancer but, unless this is someone you have worked with previously, your project could suffer the same fate as hiring an agency. Expenses could be less, but scope, revisions, and expectations increase your costs exponentially. Hiring an on-demand UX expert with a fixed cost and fixed time commitment outlines upfront what the business will receive.
Avoiding Sticker Shock
Imagine that you have found a great agency to work with — awesome attitude, great culture, and clear alignment with your goals. However, when the proposal is delivered, you get an avalanche of an estimate. This is what we call sticker shock. You were expecting cost to be large but not this large. An on-demand workforce cost is explained upfront, which avoids the awkward discussion with an agency about postponing the work or having to slim down your business requirements.
We are Anti-Upsell
There are many positives with having an agency in your corner when you need expert advice and results. However, expect that monthly call to introduce you to new features and possibly an increase in your monthly service retainer. The UX Foundry avoids the bottleneck discussion of selling and gives you two plans: a 2-week or 4-week sprint that is prepaid and not increased unless you request more time after your previous plan time has expired.
The Joyful Pain of Overages and Hidden Fees
Scope creep with projects is the ultimate downside. Hearing that a feature request requires several hours of discovery adds on more overhead. This translates into additional fees that will put your project into the red very quickly. Agencies can be very skilled at giving you an entire breakdown of your total cost and how server, bug, and maintenance cost is something a business owner must know. Everything has a price, and to run your online presence optimally can put your budget into the thousands of dollars.
Why Go with an On-Demand Workforce?
Being risk averse is not an entrepreneur’s best quality. The thrill and rush we all receive when launching something new is unexplainable. However, lowering your risk of shipping a bad feature/product is very appealing. Hiring an individual with laser focus and a well-aligned template puts you in the best position to win. So, what’s next? If your product or business is in need of an on-demand UX workforce, reach out to us at https://www.theuxfoundry.com.
About the author: Randy Ellis is a 15+ design professional from Chicago, IL. Owner of 5ivehat Digital UX Agency and The UX Foundry in beautiful River North, he is also a public speaker and User Experience Instructor at General Assembly.
