Projects go over budget because of the one hundred $100 decisions we make, not the two $5,000 decisions.

We focus on not letting the larger expenses get out of control and then let our guard down when it comes to all of the ‘small’ decisions.

I was the general contractor when we built our home seven years ago. In preparation for it, I talked to every contractor and builder I could meet to figure out what I was doing.

The best advice I got was from a builder who told me new builds go over budget because clients continuously choose the slightly more expensive option. Rationalizing “It’s only $100 more” repeatedly puts you tens of thousands of dollars over budget at the end of the project.

The same is true when running a business. We’re faced with countless opportunities to rationalize ‘small’ expenses over the course of a year. 

We’d never spend $10,000 haphazardly but we’ll easily burn through $10,000 over the course of one hundred small decisions throughout the year.