Everlast Project

When we want to buy something that will be everlast and cost you a fortune, you will think carefully before you decide. When I said everlast, it means more than 10-20 years. This is not just like regular shopping. This is a lifetime project. Things that you will use for a super long period.

This is the lesson that I learn when we want to buy our kitchen for our new house. The wisdom from our process to get an everlast project. I believe we could use this not only to purchase something that everlast but also for other aspects of life.

Four lessons from the everlast project: 

Know your budget.

What is the estimation budget that you are willing to spend on this product? More or less. This product may cost you a fortune. Maybe you need to save up for an extended period before you could afford it. Perhaps this is the biggest pie in your budget. 

Knowing how much you are willing to pay the price is essential. Because out there, the temptation will call you out. All the beautiful things to have, all the charming- attractive features, but you don't need it. Maybe you can upgrade or change your fund allocation, but it will cost you other things.. You cannot get anything that you want. Yes, you can if you are a billionaire. Most of us have limited finance, right?

Know your budget; it means you know your priority. What you should do, ‘take it’ or ‘leave it’? Nobody can make those decisions or force you to do it. It is your own choice.

So, know your budget!

Don't easily impress by how big the company is. 

Our first kitchen company is recommended by our developer—part of the deal when we buy the house. You can take it, or you can choose your own. They are a huge company. Who already done thousands of projects. Their showrooms were in a big building - four - five-floor full with beautiful design. The staff looked so professional with suits and ties. The price is also ok. But, somehow, during the process back and forth, Mike found something that changes our mind. 

I am not an anti-big company. I believe that a company that can grow - becoming a big company - they must be doing something great things in the past. But some of those big companies could start stopping to innovate. Neglected the input from the staff or customer. Forgot to do their greatness, and the list goes on—for example, Nokia, Kodak, Blackberry, Blockbuster. Somehow now they are gone with the wind.

So, even though the company is big, it looks professional and has a good recommendation; Start your own investigation. Read the review. 

Read The Review

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing strategies that a company could have. You cannot create this by yourself. Who can fake it? This is what other people feel about your product/service. This is all based on people's experiences—customer experience. You can claim that you are great, but if the customer review says otherwise, you lost your credibility. 

Review becoming powerful tools in marketing strategy. The great company pays attention to the review. They know that they could be better when they listen to what the customer needs and wants. A lot of big companies hired a consultant to help them upgrade the customer experience. To know the insight from their customer.

Of course, sometimes, when we read the review, we got a mixed review. Look more closely. When does it happen? Is it recently? Is it make sense? Look at the pattern. 

What do other people say about the product/service? How about the after-service? How the way they handle the critics. 

In our case, Mike found them have not really good reviews for the after-service. They also lie about the award that they claim. We check to the award website, and the winner of that year was not them. It's a big no-no for us.

Honestly, I amazed by how the way my husband does the in-depth investigation. That is his strength, not mine. 

Keep on looking

Finding the right company to do your project sometimes is not easy—so many competitions and choices that make you overwhelmed. 

Sometimes when you saw their website, it looks good. By the time you went there, that's far away from your expectation. Sometimes you already fall in love with their company but turned out it is out of your reach—way over your budget. You find a company with good quality and price, but you need to wait too long.  

Nothing that you can do, except keep on looking. No matter what, this project needs to be done. 

Does it fit with your value?

We went to several companies. As you know, every company offers almost the same product of service. What makes them different? What is the differentiation?

The price sometimes more or less. They almost used the same brand partner. How the way you choose?

Look at the value of their business—the value of the product/service they provide. Look at your own value of life. Does it match with you? That could make such a big difference. Not just by the price or how excellent the product/service itself. There's another X factor. 

People who are used to premium or luxury brand knows it well - the importance of the value behind the brand. People willing to pay way more expensive just for a brand. A brand like Louis Vitton, Hermes, Brompton, Apple, Harley Davidson, and the list goes on. 

We tend not to look at the value of the product of a commodity product. Which brand do you use for tissue, hand soap, or small other things? We tend just to buy the cheap one or what is on the discount. 

Remember, this time you will buy or do something that will last for years. So, make sure their value is not against your value.  

Value is about the significance of emotional value, work philosophy, 'the why' they do the business, the association of using that brand, and so on—nothing to do with the price. The value is matters. 

In our case, we found the last two companies have almost the same offer and quality. But one is stand out.

The other one doesn't do business like all the conventional kitchen company. As a matter of fact, their showroom was the smallest among all the other companies we went to. This one was so simple, fast, and transparent. They used something like 'lego technology' to build kitchen design. Just drag and drop the blocks on the screen. I love it because we are involved in the design process. And directly, we could see the 3D model and the price. Everything is clear and easy.

This company is definitely inline with my value of life - innovation! Dare to do something different. They saw the problem in how the way kitchen business. What is the need of the customers? They give the solutions so brilliantly. They make everything so clear since the beginning. Their name is 'Clear Kitchen.' 

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This is not a sponsored article. I write this because I'm thrilled we found this company. This is indeed our journey to build our kitchen for the new house. I start realizing there are some lessons from our experiences. That's why I'm sharing it with you. We can learn something from this story.

So, whatever project you want to do in your life. The everlast project. Something that you know you will use it for a long time. Take your time to make decisions. Don't just easily trust by the size of the company. Always do your own research. Read the review because 'word of mouth' is a powerful tool to discern. Keep on looking until you find the right one. Look at their value, does it match with you. 

Hopefully, you find the right one just like we did. 

Please share what your story is. I would love to hear it.