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My boss said to never give a client a hard deadline unless you're 100% sure, and I learned the hard way.
I was so sure we could finish a website redesign in two weeks, so I promised it to a client in Denver. We hit a huge bug with the payment system and missed it by four days, which cost us the whole contract. Anyone else blown up a deal by being too confident on a timeline?
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evan_green521mo ago
Ever think about adding a buffer to your estimate... like promising two weeks but planning for three internally? That extra time could have saved your contract when the bug popped up.
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piper7791mo ago
Used to hate buffers but you're right.
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Learned that one the hard way myself a few years back. Now I always build in that buffer and tell the client a date I know we can crush. @evan_green52 nailed it - internally plan for three weeks but promise two. That extra week covers the curveballs like payment bugs or third-party delays. Take it from someone who lost a retainer over four days, that buffer is cheap insurance.
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