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Big Brand and Fortune 500 experience put to work for Small Businesses, Startups and Nonprofits.The Smartest People In The World Work With The Bureau Of Small Projects.Literally rocket scientists and brain surgeons: Bill Nye, The Science Guy (CEO of the Planetary Society), Stanford University, Blackrock Neurotech (who have implanted 28 brain computer interfaces in humans Elon Musk is still doing monkeys), Switzerland (yes, the actual country), AmyriAD (who is bringing a revolutionary Alzheimers treatment to market) and many, many moreEveryone on our team is a specialist. We leverage their branding, web development and marketing experience – with Fortune 500 Companies and Iconic Brands – to help Small to Midsized Businesses, Nonprofits and Startups stand out, look better and exponentially increase revenue.
Locations
United States
609 Deep Valley Drive, Suite 200,
Los Angeles,
California
90274
(800) 674-3616
Focus Areas
Service Focus
- Web Development
- Web Designing (UI/UX)
- Digital Marketing
- E-commerce Development
Client Focus
- Medium Business
- Small Business
- Large Business
Industry Focus
- Art, Entertainment & Music
- Business Services
- Education
The Bureau Of Small Projects Executive Interview
David Gaz
CEO
Please introduce your company and give a brief about your role within the company?
I am the founder and CEO of the Bureau of Small Projects. We leverage our experience with Fortune 500 companies and Major Brands using all the little tricks that we have developed over the years; to help small businesses, start-ups and non-profits make a big impact. Everyone on our team has Fortune 500 and Big Brand experience.
What was the idea behind starting this organization?
Interesting, you should ask. I used to be a partner in a firm that built and marketed massive e-commerce websites for Fortune 500 companies and Big Brands.
As a side project, I directed the feature-length documentary, “Kindness Is Contagious”, narrated by Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of the book (and film), “Pay It Forward”, and it changed my life. While filming, my team and I worked with many non-profits, start-ups, and small businesses that were making a difference in the world; and I realized that I wanted to make a difference in the world too. Then it hit me. The way I could do this was to repurpose the sophisticated marketing tools that my company had been developing for Fortune 500 companies and major brands, to make them insane amounts of money and use them instead to help non-profits increase donations, start-ups get funding, and small businesses be more successful.
So I created The Bureau Of Small Projects as an incubator within my old company. The name was a way to differentiate our work from that of these multi-million dollar projects we had been developing. I enjoyed it so much that in the spring of 2014, I spun The Bureau Of Small Projects off into its own company so I could do this full time.
Kindness is central to our brand values and our vision.
As a side project, I directed the feature-length documentary, “Kindness Is Contagious”, narrated by Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of the book (and film), “Pay It Forward”, and it changed my life. While filming, my team and I worked with many non-profits, start-ups, and small businesses that were making a difference in the world; and I realized that I wanted to make a difference in the world too. Then it hit me. The way I could do this was to repurpose the sophisticated marketing tools that my company had been developing for Fortune 500 companies and major brands, to make them insane amounts of money and use them instead to help non-profits increase donations, start-ups get funding, and small businesses be more successful.
So I created The Bureau Of Small Projects as an incubator within my old company. The name was a way to differentiate our work from that of these multi-million dollar projects we had been developing. I enjoyed it so much that in the spring of 2014, I spun The Bureau Of Small Projects off into its own company so I could do this full time.
Kindness is central to our brand values and our vision.
What are your company’s business model–in house team or third party vendors/ outsourcing?
Everything is done in house. As our clients come to us because they like the way our website looks, it was critical that we have design-oriented engineers. This, I found, was surprisingly tricky to find. I think because most engineers/developers see the world like the raining symbols in Matrix and not through the eyes of a designer. So, I realized early on to get the level of quality our clients expect that I would need to build and train this team myself.
How is your business model beneficial from a value addition perspective to the clients compared to other companies' models?
We seem to fill a very interesting niche. In my experience, there are lots of organizations that build templated inexpensive websites. There are also lots of agencies that build expensive, highly customized websites. But the middle ground so far is wide open. We fell into this by accident, but I don’t see many firms that build gorgeous custom websites at a middle price point. It seems to be either expensive or cheap.
What industries do you generally cater to? Are your customers repetitive? If yes, what ratio of clients has been repetitive to you?
We don’t cater to a specific industry. I like to explain it like this. Our customers come to us because they are looking for something different. But we do cater to a certain “type” of clients. I always lead with our origin-story because kindness is at the core of our brand values. We only work with clients that share these values. That said we do have a certain expertise in the AI/Machine Learning sector. A few years back, we did marketing for a company that was bought by Cisco. All of the founders became gazillionaires and started referring their friends to us. As a result, we have developed a certain expertise in a highly specialized niche. Out clients tend to be very repetitive and stick with us for a long time. We are a branding agency that does web development and marketing, so we serve the entire digital lifecycle. I’m also very proud to stay that CoachArt, our very first client, is still with us.
Mention the parameters which are most important for you in developing an web design.
Conversion and Performance. People come to us because our websites look great, but they stay with us because they perform. The strategy is at the heart of everything we do.
What key aspects do you keep in mind while developing a web design in order to enhance its usability?
Very good question. The #1 most important thing is to have a strong value proposition. To clearly communicate what your organization does differently and – more importantly – Better than your competition. I think this is where 90% of websites fall short.
The next most important thing is to have a big beautiful image or illustration at the top of the homepage. We build hundreds of websites a year and what this means is we have a lot of data about what works and what doesn’t. And what this data shows is that people process imagery way faster than they process text. So it is critical that you get their attention first and then once you have their attention, they will read whatever you put in front of them as long as it’s useful and relevant.
Next would be the hierarchy of information. Make sure that everything is constructed in a way that tells the visitor how to read the information. Headlines big, subheadings smaller, body text smaller. A big mistake we often see is people try to cram everything above the fold. Or they highlight everything. Some text in caps, some in italics, some text in red, some bold, etc.; what this creates is texture, and the result is that if Everything is important, people see Nothing.
The next most important thing is to have a big beautiful image or illustration at the top of the homepage. We build hundreds of websites a year and what this means is we have a lot of data about what works and what doesn’t. And what this data shows is that people process imagery way faster than they process text. So it is critical that you get their attention first and then once you have their attention, they will read whatever you put in front of them as long as it’s useful and relevant.
Next would be the hierarchy of information. Make sure that everything is constructed in a way that tells the visitor how to read the information. Headlines big, subheadings smaller, body text smaller. A big mistake we often see is people try to cram everything above the fold. Or they highlight everything. Some text in caps, some in italics, some text in red, some bold, etc.; what this creates is texture, and the result is that if Everything is important, people see Nothing.
What are the key parameters to be considered before selecting the right framework for web design?
The most important parameter would be the use of the website. A magazine needs a different framework than e-commerce which needs a different framework than an SAAS application. Budget is also a factor, but I think the mistake people make is that they put budget ahead of purpose and fail. Doing a cheap website on the wrong framework is basically throwing your money away. But that said when in doubt, go with WordPress. It is insanely versatile.
Which framework do you suggest your clients to go for when they approach you with an idea?
The framework that is best suited for that idea. A magazine needs a different framework than e-commerce which needs a different framework than an SAAS application. Why? Doing a cheap website on the wrong framework is basically throwing your money away.
What are your recommendations when it comes to developing a web design? Which framework do you suggest on working with?
Again, choose the framework that best suits the idea. For pure design, we use photoshop. Tools that let you build fast, interactive mock-ups, and have a selection of menus, buttons, etc., to choose from, are great for novices who don’t understand web design. But by giving you a selection of premade buttons and layouts to choose from, they steer you in a templated direction, where if you start with a blank canvas, you let the idea guide you rather than the tools.
What are the key factors that you consider before deciding the cost of a website design?
• What framework best suits the need
• Content
• What the client can afford
• Content
• What the client can afford
What kind of payment structure do you follow to bill your clients? Is it Pay per Feature, Fixed Cost, Pay per Milestone (could be in phases, months, versions etc.)
All 3. Pay by deliverable. We charge for strategy, design, page count, and coding. Fixed cost, the only time the costs change is if the scope changes, then we spread this out in milestones for when the payments are due.
Do you take in projects which meet your basic budget requirement? If yes, what is the minimum requirement? If no, on what minimum budget you have worked for?
The budget is not a factor. We work with a lot of start-ups and no profits. If our clients have a limited budget, we try to find a Quality solution that works with their budget. But we would rather turn away a project if they do not have the budget to build what they are asking us for. Better to let another firm to the shoddy work.
What is the price range (min and max) of the projects that you catered to in 2018?
The price range of the projects that we catered in 2018 ranged from $5,000 to $150,000.
The Bureau Of Small Projects Clients & Portfolios
Key Clients
- Stanford University
- The Planetary Society
- The Upright Citizens Brigade
The Bureau Of Small Projects Reviews
11 Reviews
- All Services
- Web Development
- Web Designing (UI/UX)
- Digital Marketing
- E-commerce Development
- Relevance
- Most Recent
- Rating: high to low
- Rating: low to high
Laura Lucia, Founder and CEO at The HXS Group
Posted on Dec 12, 2019
Outstanding experience
Review Summary
I have worked with TBOSP since June 2019. I honestly can’t say enough about how positive my experience has been with them. I have founded several companies and over those processes, I have worked with several providers, from big firms to freelancers.
Working with TBOSP, however, was a different kind of experience. You can expect to have the personalized experience that you have with smaller firms, but the results and level of services/products that you have with the bigger firms. The difference? They will charge you a fraction of what those big firms will invoice you.
Over these months, I have worked with several members of the company, and without exception, they went the extra mile every time. They focus on making your business successful, not just on delivering whatever you contracted them for. They are business minded, and small businesses owners themselves so they understand your situation and needs from day one.
On the other hand, their previous experience at big firms become evident when you see what they are capable to do. I contracted them for several services, being one the building of a website. The results were beyond everything that I expected. You can visit the website to see it by yourself here: www.thehxsgroup.com.
I definitely recommend them for businesses that are serious about succeeding.
Working with TBOSP, however, was a different kind of experience. You can expect to have the personalized experience that you have with smaller firms, but the results and level of services/products that you have with the bigger firms. The difference? They will charge you a fraction of what those big firms will invoice you.
Over these months, I have worked with several members of the company, and without exception, they went the extra mile every time. They focus on making your business successful, not just on delivering whatever you contracted them for. They are business minded, and small businesses owners themselves so they understand your situation and needs from day one.
On the other hand, their previous experience at big firms become evident when you see what they are capable to do. I contracted them for several services, being one the building of a website. The results were beyond everything that I expected. You can visit the website to see it by yourself here: www.thehxsgroup.com.
I definitely recommend them for businesses that are serious about succeeding.
What service was provided as part of the project?
Web Development, Web Designing (UI/UX), Digital Marketing
Helen Colley
Posted on Dec 11, 2019
Superb web design
Review Summary
We are Sahara Atlas Tours, a small company offering high-class private guided tours of Morocco, and we feel really lucky to have found David and his team at the Bureau of Small Projects at the moment when we needed to expand our business. The new website they have designed for us is bringing in so much work we can hardly keep up! We are now appearing high up in Google searches, and we are looking for a new member of staff to cope with all the new enquiries, we are also looking to buy another vehicle ourselves and employ more freelance driver-guides. We have also been contacted by new partners (overseas travel agencies and luxury hotels in Morocco) because the website has impressed them with its professional and high-class vision. From the very beginning when we were choosing a web designer, David was asking us questions that really helped us to understand what our business needed, and at the same time it was clear that BOSP would offer us a lot of support throughout the project - they were very patient with our lack of knowledge about web design, and we learned an enormous amount. The price for the work included 3 training sessions, and David advised us about work that we could do ourselves, with the training, that would save costs. Above all, we loved the fact that David and the whole team there seemed really keen to empower us to control and manage the website ourselves once it was up and running. Communications could not have been better - often by messaging, but also through Zoom calls where David or one of the other team members could take control of our screen and actually walk us through processes. We have now subscribed to their monthly update service whereby they ensure that any regular software update conflicts are dealt with and SEO is carried out. We recommend BOSP very highly indeed.
What service was provided as part of the project?
Web Designing (UI/UX)
What is it about the company that you appreciate the most?
The Bureau of Small Projects has superb expertise, is highly professional, and is also very supportive of small businesses. They ask all the right questions to really understand your business and your vision for it. They also offer great value for money, and has transformed our business.
What was it about the company that you didn't like which they should do better?
We can't think of anything they could improve.
Alexandra Willis, Operations Manager at Skin PS Brands
Posted on Sep 25, 2019
Can't recommend enough
Review Summary
We can’t say enough good things about David and the whole Bureau of Small Projects team. From our preliminary calls to our finishing touches, they made sure every detail was exactly to our liking and did not rest until our site was absolutely perfect. They were incredibly enthusiastic throughout the entire process and incredibly patient with our timelines and busy schedules and worked with us to best suit our needs. They completely transformed the overall look and feel of our website and provided other great insights that we never even considered to enhance our overall site and experience. If you are looking for anything from a small website refresh to a total brand overhaul, I can’t recommend them enough.
What service was provided as part of the project?
Web Development, Web Designing (UI/UX), E-commerce Development
Gent Stone, Co-Founder at Sacred Wisdom Circle Institute
Posted on May 20, 2019
Excellent Website Design - They Get Us!
Review Summary
David and his team at The Bureau of Small Projects really took the time to get us. As a small non-profit we were a unique project and David really took the time to understand who we are and what we do and then created a beautiful website for us.
What service was provided as part of the project?
Web Development, Web Designing (UI/UX)
What is it about the company that you appreciate the most?
David and his team really care and they took the time to get to know us and our needs.
What was it about the company that you didn't like which they should do better?
As not everyone can do everything, having a network of people with other skills to pull from would be helpful.
Jon Thorp, Founder/CEO at Naxio
Posted on May 17, 2019
Complete Branding Development
Review Summary
The team at The Bureau of Small Projects is an amazing group of individuals. Not only are they awesome at what they do (which seems to be just about everything), but they are a blast to work with. Their creativity is boundless and their enthusiasm is contagious!
We used this great bunch to do a complete branding rework: company naming, logo design, web development, and they even helped fine tune the value proposition! Talk about bang for your buck! We would use these guys again in a heartbeat and highly recommend them.
We used this great bunch to do a complete branding rework: company naming, logo design, web development, and they even helped fine tune the value proposition! Talk about bang for your buck! We would use these guys again in a heartbeat and highly recommend them.
What service was provided as part of the project?
Web Designing (UI/UX), Web Development
What is it about the company that you appreciate the most?
Creativity, cohesion, these guys think outside the box.
Lindsay Mitnick, Self Employed at
Posted on May 15, 2019
Clairemont Rentals Website Overhaul
Review Summary
Our experience with the Bureau of Small Projects was amazing. They listened to what we wanted and delivered a shiny beautiful website that is extremely easy for our customers to navigate and use. I cant believe we didn’t get this done sooner!
What service was provided as part of the project?
Web Development
Michael Carrillo, Co-Founder/President, CPGjobs in the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry at CPGjobs
Posted on May 14, 2019
Bureau of Small Projects Client Review
Review Summary
My company got connected with David Gaz and his company The Bureau of Small Projects about 4 years ago. We needed updating on our current platform. That was the beginning of a wonderful business partnership. David and his team took the necessary time to get to know my business needs, but even more importantly they got to know me. My personality, my quirks and my vision for the company. At the time I had very limited funds and could not do everything that was needed. David and I worked on a band aid approach to get things working and we outlined the steps necessary for a complete rebranding of the site. That is what you see today. David and his people care about you and your vision and will work with the funds you have to make your next steps as painless and productive as possible. We have now expanded using David's services for ongoing site maintenance, SEO and now marketing services. I am happy to refer The Bureau Of Small Projects, David and his team to anyone that can use his services.
Michael Carrillo
Co-Founder/President
CPGjobs
Michael Carrillo
Co-Founder/President
CPGjobs
What service was provided as part of the project?
Web Development
Jonathan Terry, DO, ABIHM, IFMCP, Staff Psychiatrist & Medical Director at Traditions Behavioral Health
Posted on May 14, 2019
Outstanding website design and maintenance for our medical staffing group
Review Summary
Widely receiving positive feedback, the new site is easy to use, engaging, and helpful to the user, including embedded videos and interesting graphics. The team was able to meet the tight deadline for the launch and communicated well throughout the project.
What service was provided as part of the project?
Digital Marketing, Web Development
Hans Peter Bech, Author at TBK Consult
Posted on May 14, 2019
Excellent service
Review Summary
I have been working with The Bureau for some years now and enjoy the quality and responsiveness they provide.
What service was provided as part of the project?
Web Designing (UI/UX)
What is it about the company that you appreciate the most?
Very practical people
Greg Harrell-Edge, Executive Director at CoachArt
Posted on May 13, 2019
Hard-working fun geniuses!
Review Summary
David and the team at Bureau of Small Projects are incredibly good at their jobs and a delight to work with -- highly recommend!
What service was provided as part of the project?
Web Designing (UI/UX), Web Development
Colin Hough, Marketing Manager at Quady Winery
Posted on May 13, 2019
Long History with this Great Business
Review Summary
We've been working with BoSP for years and have had a wonderful experience throughout. They're knowledgeable, attentive and professional. Our contact there treats us like family and always ensures our requests are taken care of!
What service was provided as part of the project?
Web Designing (UI/UX), Web Development