The "Tiny Tweaks" That Are Killing Your IT Business

Last week was a big one. I finally got my FinTech document out, and the response was incredible.

Some folks in the fintech space in India reached out, interested in working together. That's the kind of validation why I put in the work.

When something is valuable, people respect it. They see the effort behind it. They’re willing to invest.

But I am not here to talk just about that. Let me give you the opposite situation. “Can you make just one small tweak?”

That’s how it always starts. A minor edit. A tiny change. A quick fix. But if you say yes once, you’ll say yes again. And again.

Suddenly, you're knee-deep in unpaid work, drowning in endless client requests that were never part of the deal.

Why Scope Creep Is Your Profit Killer

Scope creep isn’t about clients being unreasonable. It’s about your boundaries being too fuzzy. Here's how it plays out:

• A “minor bug fix” turns into a week of untangling spaghetti code because the client never mentioned their outdated API.

• A “quick content update” becomes rewriting entire features because they changed their branding mid-project.

• A “small tweak” snowballs into redesigning a module because the client’s team can’t agree on what they want.

Every unpaid hour spent on these requests chips away at your margins. Your team burns out, deadlines slip and clients grow frustrated - even though they caused the delays.

My Ways To Stop Scope Creep Before It Starts

1. Lock the Scope

What I suggest to do:

Define exactly what’s included in your contract. For example:

“This agreement includes [Dashboard Redesign], [API Integration], and 3 rounds of revisions. Additional requests require a change order.”

Clients often assume “small tweaks” are free. A bulletproof scope clause eliminates that ambiguity.

If they ask for something extra, point to the contract and say, “That’s outside our agreement. Let’s discuss a change order.”

Side tip for IT teams:

Break projects into phases (Discovery, Development, Testing) and list deliverables for each. Clients are less likely to demand extras when they see the roadmap upfront.

2. Turn “Quick Fixes” into Paid Upgrades

What I suggest to do:

Add this line to your agreements:

“Additional requests will be billed at $150/hour or as a flat-rate change order.”

When clients realize that “just one more thing” costs money, they suddenly prioritize what’s truly important.

3. Put a Hard Cap on Revisions

What I suggest to do:

Limit revisions to 2-3 rounds in your contract. After that, add:

“Additional revisions billed at $100/hour.”

Unlimited revisions train clients to treat your team like a never-ending focus group. A cap forces them to consolidate feedback and make decisions.

Side tip for developers:

Use tools like Figma. When clients hit the revision limit, share a screenshot of their 50+ comments and say, “We’ll address the top 10 in this round. The rest will be quoted separately.”

Your Action Plan

Here's a quick action plan for you

1. Redraft your contracts to list every deliverable, phase, and revision limit.

2. Train clients early: Send a friendly email explaining how change orders work.

3. Track every request: Use project management tools to log “tiny tweaks” and bill them weekly.

Final Thought: Boundaries Build Better Partnerships

Clients don’t push scope creep because they’re bad people. They do it because they can.

Set boundaries. Be clear on what’s included. Make extra work a paid option.

Because the second you value your time, your clients will too.