How To- Big Projects
By
I’m working on this year’s Holiday Helper. It’s a big, big project to do but I enjoy doing it every year. I really enjoy working with other demonstrators as I’m always amazed at their creativity and it’s so much fun to share that with my customers and for my own inspiration. I’ll be sharing the full list of all the demonstrators who are
participating on this year’s Holiday Helper once it’s set.
Being this project is so very big I really had to organize myself so I wouldn’t go crazy. 14 HTML Newsletter, 12 step-by-step projects, 12 related stories to share, and marketing material to boot. Like many of your projects, this is in addition to my normal workload. 
I thought I would share my strategies on organizing a big project like this. Hopefully this can help you with your big holiday stamp camp or other event.
When working on a big project, it’s easy to look at it and think “there’s just no way I can do that”. But a big project becomes a lot more manageable if you break it down into smaller pieces – you just have to know how to divide it up.
Before you dive into breaking up your project and making a plan, you need to figure out exactly what needs to be done and when the project needs to be done by. This may be very easy if you have a clear idea of what to do and a solid deadline, but your event or project may be more flexible which is where I get into trouble. If I don’t have a solid date, it doesn’t get done.
Either during or after figuring out your full goal and deadline, break the job down into exactly what needs to be done. Break the job into small pieces. Don’t worry about the order yet, just make sure you have a list of all the tasks involved. Also make sure to put next to each tasks who needs to be involved and what Stampin’ Up! supplies will be needed to complete it. You may have to borrow or order and that’s good to know in advance.
The next step is to organize all the pieces into an order. You can do this based on several criteria including:
==> Customers needs. No matter what your preferences, to run a successful business, you need to put the stamping customers first. If your customer needs certain projects, then that’s going to be the first determinant of your schedule. Once that is decided, you can fill in the other blanks from there.
==> Chronological considerations. While certain parts of projects can be done in any order, some activities require other portions to be done before they can be finished, or sometimes even started. Once you are done organizing things by firm deadlines, they can be ordered in this way. For instance, when and how will you market your event or party? Should that come first before you get started cutting the card stock?
==> Availability of supportive demonstrators and supplies. Why do a big event on your own? Why not partner with another demonstrator or two? It’s a little bit harder to do in the planning stages but the end result will be much more rewarding and fulfilling as you get a different perspective. Break out the steps so you don’t have to do it all. Organize your timeline based on who is needed for each part. For example, if you need a certain demonstrator for several steps, it’s easier to do those steps one after the other instead of spreading them apart. And if a person is working on a part of the project that will take up all their time, they obviously can’t work on another project at the same time.
Once you have a general order set up, you’re ready to set up a more specific timeline with dates that specific parts of the project need to be done. Unlike the previous step, this one may be more difficult (and you may have to redo the last step). For your timeline, you need to take into account not only when things are due, but when people and supplies you need will be available.
Once you have your final plan, you’re ready to get started. But, don’t let you’re planning be done there. We all know that nothing goes exactly as planned. Re-evaluate your plan every so often to make sure it still lines up with your expectations and how things are going. That way there won’t be any surprises later on.
