When starting a business, bucket loads of capital and time are luxuries you don’t have.
Take some lessons from the project management triangle to help you better understand the effects of your decisions in getting the business off the ground. It’s mind-bogglingly simple and effective.
Option 1: Saving on cost
If you want to save on cost, you might be compromising quality by getting things on the cheap. Time is also difficult to control. If your project loses time, you might end up spending more money which will then increase your cost for producing an inferior offering.
Option 2: Focusing on quality
You want a premium offering. Emphasis on quality at every turn will increase costs, and will naturally take time. These aren’t bad things at all, it just means you need to be prepared for the wait before cash flow stabilises, and you will need working capital.
Option 3: Emphasis on time
The quicker you get your offering to market, the quicker you can begin making money and iterating. Trouble is, to get things done quickly and to a high standard you’ll need more of the resources of time and money.
Bonus Option 4: No compromise
If you’re going to focus on all three sides of the triangle, cost, quality and time, there’s a fourth element that’s going to come into play called scope. Do you have the capacity to take on a project of this scale and degree of complexity?