Hot take: I stopped charging by the hour and my income went up 30% in three months.

I was always stressed about tracking every minute for clients, and it felt like I was being punished for working fast. Last quarter, I switched to fixed project pricing for everything, even small website updates. I base my quote on the value to the client, not the time it takes me. For a recent branding project, I quoted $2,500 flat instead of my old $75 hourly rate. I finished it in half the time I estimated, so my effective hourly rate was way higher. Has anyone else made this switch and had a client push back hard on a project price?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavinhunt3mo ago

How do you handle it when they ask for a breakdown?

kevin_hernandez833mo ago

Give them a flat rate. Avoids the whole mess. They just want to know the bottom line anyway.

victorcoleman1mo ago

@GavinHunt just tell them a flat rate covers all the labor and materials involved, no need to get into the nitty gritty. If they push, I say "the numbers just work out this way" and move on. Most people drop it once you sound confident. If they keep asking, offer to write it on a napkin but keep it vague like "parts and time.