Should my budget define my project? Or the other way round?

We've recently been looking at doing some renovations at our home. Now, I'm no DIY "master", I'll be the first to admit, so there's a reason I find mastery in running a successful Digital Services Business instead!

So back to these renovations. I'm seeking professionals to do the work, after all that's their area of mastery. While I like to think the Budget which I arbitrarily set could somehow define the project scope, I should not have been surprised to find, more often than not it ends up the other way round. By starting from the solution we instead rightfully worked our way back to define the budget. Solution and outcome-focused.

Picking the best solution is defined by many factors unique to our own world view (preference, time, effort, values, what matters, what doesn't). It's not right or wrong, it's just different. But we should start at the solution. We do it here at BJM Digital. It’s sub-consciously what I think we all do when we’re on the other side of the fence with our buyers hat on. And that’s OK.

When we know which solution presented will deliver on the outcomes, and we feel it's the right choice based on our own world view, it is THEN that our Budget should be defined to match accordingly.

Re-designing budgetary perspectives

We’re all guilty of letting the dollar do the talking. And yes, it always will in some way,
shape or form. But the irony is that the best way to respect your budget is to remember
what you’re spending money on in the first place and more importantly – why? Purpose
and meaning are the great arbitrators. They remind you of what’s important and allow
you to make one well-considered decision after another.

I now look at home renovations through a clearer, more authentic and more realistic
lens. I’m more focused on our family’s long-term goals and on finding the solutions that
best help us reach them. Costs, then, without even trying, become just another factor
rather than some monstrous, uncompromising dictator. This journey has underlined and
given more meaning to what I do at work and created a deeper understanding of some
clients’ default position.

That’s a symbiotic realisation that I’d not budgeted for, but it is certainly advantage
when considering renovations to your home or even an online home for your business.

Let's just say, I am reassessing those renovation budgets myself here.