A client in Austin told me to stop billing by the hour

We were having coffee and he said, 'Your value is in the finished site, not the time it takes.' I switched to flat project fees after that and my income jumped 30% in six months. Anyone else find a better way to price their work?

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3 Comments

dakotawood6mo ago

My first flat fee was for a local bakery website. I quoted what I thought was a crazy high number, like three times my hourly rate. They said yes without blinking. I felt like a con artist for a week, until I realized I was just finally getting paid for knowing where to put the button, not how long it took me to draw it.

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the_tara6mo ago

That feeling is so real. Getting paid for the value you bring, not just the hours, is a game changer.

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emery_lopez5mo ago

My first flat fee was for a real estate agent's site back in 2015. I quoted $4,500 when my hourly rate would have been like $1,200. She wrote the check right there at the meeting and I almost choked on my coffee. It took me about three weeks to get over feeling guilty, but then I noticed I was making way more money and she was getting better results too. That little bakery story you told is exactly right - we're getting paid for knowing stuff, not for sitting at a desk.

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