Matrix – my tasks were: maintaining and updating the content of their websites; managing social media platforms and launching advertising campaigns.
Matrix Case Study: When Scope Creep Leads to a Pricing Reality Check
This is another entry in our series of cautionary tales, and its core lesson is clear: never underprice yourself, even at the very beginning of a project. This article is about continuous marketing work for a private school, where the gap between the initial price and the final scope proved insurmountable.
From a PHP Kludge to Full-Scale Marketing
The initial task was simple: update training information on the school’s website. The site, however, was a custom-built, messy PHP “kludge” whose structure was difficult for even a senior developer to navigate—and I was still very much a beginner.
The scope quickly escalated. The school asked my wife and me to take on serious, continuous marketing: renovating another private school’s site, daily Facebook posting, ad management, cleaning up their YouTube channel, and managing Instagram. It became clear that the existing PHP site needed a complete, custom redevelopment to achieve the required results.
The Reality Check: The Pivot to Teamwork
This is where the challenge intensified. The expanded scope was too much for me alone, and my wife, who could only handle simple Facebook posts alongside her household duties, also had limited capacity (which is why we brought in an external designer just for Facebook). We needed 2–3 specialists (frontend, scrum, backend/DevOps, design, marketing) to develop the new website while maintaining the old one.
The client accepted the need for extra team members, but I was forced to increase the fees to pay everyone fairly. I switched the pricing structure from an hourly rate to a monthly retainer to ensure every team member’s expertise was properly valued.
The Main Lesson: Don’t Undervalue Your Potential
In the end, the client rejected the necessary price increase. Despite achieving visible results within our limited budget beforehand, the work had to stop.
The simple truth is: we must not undervalue ourselves, even as we start our careers. A beginner’s knowledge is backed by serious investment in learning, energy, and sometimes money. By harnessing that initial enthusiasm, a beginner can quickly achieve great things. The value of our work must always be determined on a professional basis.
