Set up time

Today I was thinking about why the product I manage development of (3-4 hour online training) has a higher cost per hour than the product that is about 20-40 hours online.

Duh!

How could I not have explained this to people properly before?

The example in my head is when you order a self-created book online. Or, any book for that matter. If you order one, it is fairly expensive. Just like clothing, stationary, cars, etc. However, as you order more and more in bulk, the price becomes lower per item because once the machine (whatever type of assembly machine it is) is set up, it is fairly easy to make copies. The work is in the set up and then it just keeps replicating using the existing set up.

People often undermine the amount of effort it is for us to set up a project. They forget that once a larger project is set up, it is easy to keep the machine going. With the product I create, we are constantly doing new set ups and so the level of effort is almost as much as a product that is 5-6 times bigger than our own.

Interesting thoughts. I think I’m going to share this information with more people with this analogy…except in a clearer format.

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