Hot take: flat rate saved my bacon on a web dev project last month

I was helping a buddy in Portland redo his bakery site, quoted him $1200 flat because I thought it would be easy. Then he kept adding features like a custom cake builder and a delivery map, and I spent close to 45 hours on it. At my normal $50 an hour, that would've been $2250, so I basically worked for free. But here's the thing - he was so happy with the result that he referred me to two other local shops, and I landed a $3000 contract from one of them. So maybe flat rate ain't always bad if the client is connected. Has anyone else had a flat fee job open doors like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

finley_smith12d ago

Eating stale bread for a week" sounds like a diet plan I'd charge extra for.

evan_grant7012d ago

Flat rate is basically gambling but with CSS instead of poker chips. You rolled the dice on that one and somehow walked away with a full house instead of a broke hand. The referral payoff is real but man, that 45 hour grind for $1200 must've felt like eating stale bread for a week. Sounds like you turned a loss into a win though, which is better than most of us manage.