Dear Dakota | How to Handle Scope Creep as an Hourly Designer?
Dear Dakota,
How do I handle hourly clients who keep adding to their projects? The additional requests are hard to keep track of and I feel like I’m never able to complete a project because there are so many little things that are always open. HELP!
If you’ve ever had a client start with one room, then slowly add "just a few more things"—a light fixture here, a paint color there—until you feel like you're stuck in an endless cycle of selections, this post is for you.
Scope creep can derail your process, push your workload over capacity, and train clients to expect on-demand access to your expertise. So how do you manage additional requests while maintaining a clear process, ensuring profitability, and keeping your projects on track?
Inside this post, I’m sharing:
How to set scope boundaries from the start—even as an hourly designer
The red flag moment when a new request should become a new project
Why "just saying yes" leads to burnout and client dissatisfaction
How top designers structure their process to keep projects moving
If managing client expectations feels like a constant struggle, don’t miss this one.
Join The DTS Files for my advice and insights.
