Hello ,
A quick reminder before we get into today’s note: the live Microfirm Method Masterclass is tomorrow.
Now for something you can use today.
A Principal inside the Microfirm Accelerator is building an embedded offer. She wants to keep her design skills sharp by doing meaningful work with a client. She also wants room for advisory engagements and short diagnostic projects.
Her question was: How do I set boundaries on meetings and design hours when I’m embedded in a client’s business?
It’s tempting to decide that an embedded offer includes two meetings a week and 20 hours of work a month, put those numbers on a sales page, and call the boundaries handled.
But those numbers mean very little until you know how the client works.
Two meetings with one decision-maker may be plenty. Two meetings with six stakeholders, three rounds of approvals, and urgent requests arriving in Slack may be nowhere near enough. The hours alone won’t tell you whether the engagement is workable.
So before you price or promise an embedded engagement, use the sales conversation to find out these five things:
1. Where does the work get stuck?
Ask: “Walk me through the last project like this. Where did it slow down?” Listen for missing decisions, unclear ownership, and work that gets sent back for repeated revisions.
2. Who can make a decision?
Ask: “Who will review my work, and who has final approval?” If five people can request changes but no one can approve the result, your proposal needs to account for that.
3. What does ‘embedded’ mean to them?
Ask: “When you imagine me working with your team, what would you expect to happen in a typical week?” One client means participation in a weekly working session. Another means being available throughout the day. You need to hear their definition before you agree to yours.
4. What work requires a meeting?
Ask: “Which decisions need us in a room together, and which can happen through written feedback?” This helps you design a meeting rhythm that supports the work without filling your calendar.
5. What happens when priorities change?
Ask: “If something urgent comes up, what would you expect me to pause?” Embedded work almost always shifts. The boundary is knowing what gets traded off when a new request comes in.
Then take what you learned and write the working relationship into the proposal. For example:
“This engagement includes one weekly working session with the project lead, one stakeholder review every two weeks, and written feedback through [channel]. Additional meetings or new priorities will be evaluated against the agreed deliverables. If they require more capacity, we’ll adjust the timeline or scope together before work begins.”
That paragraph does more for you than a vague promise of “up to 20 hours per month.” It tells the client how they’ll work with you and what happens when the work changes.
And yes, price matters. If a client needs you close to the work, coordinating with their team and carrying responsibility for an important result, the fee should reflect that level of involvement. A premium price gives you room to deliver well. Clear terms help protect the capacity you’re selling.
You probably won’t get every detail right on your first embedded engagement. That engagement will show you what to refine. But you can start with a consultative sales process, make a thoughtful proposal, and learn without handing over unlimited access to your time.
That’s the kind of offer architecture we work through inside the Microfirm Accelerator: the result, the price, the sales process, and the delivery model that makes the engagement viable.
If you want to see how those pieces fit into a Microfirm, join me live tomorrow.
Emely
PS. If you are already registered, amazing! I cannot wait to meet you. I hold Q/A at the end of every masterclass for questions like the one above. Got lots of emails in your inbox? I see you. Don't worry, we'll send you a couple of text reminders before the class.
