Rant: Used to say yes to every rush project, now I just quote double

Back when I started freelancing 3 years ago, I'd take any deadline a client threw at me, even if it meant pulling two all-nighters in a row. Last month, a repeat client asked for a full website redesign in 4 days, and instead of killing myself, I just told them my rush rate is 2.5x normal. They actually paid it. Has anyone else found that charging more is the only way to stop the burnout spiral?

3 comments

3 Comments

sanchez.julia5d ago

All this talk about burnout from freelancing sounds a little dramatic to me. People in trades and manual labor have been working long hours for decades without making a whole movement out of it. Maybe just set a firm schedule and stick to it instead of acting like every rush job is a crisis.

garcia.wren5d ago

Double the price and half the stress, right? I once quoted someone $500 for a logo and they came back with "what if we made it $800 and you add two more revisions?" and I was like okay you win but my tired eyes definitely don't. Now I just throw out a number that makes me wince a little and somehow they always say yes. Maybe I should have been charging that much from the start before I burned out my coffee maker and my sanity.

kai_ramirez385d ago

@sanchez.julia doesn't get how mental exhaustion from creative work is its own kind of burnout.