Accepted a project without a clear scope of work... biggest mistake of my freelancing career

Last year I took a web design gig from a guy I met at a coffee shop. He said he wanted a "simple 5-page site" and I quoted $1,200. Three weeks in he started asking for a blog, then a members section, then a shopping cart. I ended up working 80 hours for what turned out to be $15 an hour. The lesson was ugly... I never got anything in writing about what was included. Has anyone else had a client turn a small project into a monster like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliviabutler5d ago

The shopping cart request is usually the point where you gotta put your foot down or accept you're working for free. I had a client who asked for "one more little feature" five times in a row, and each time I just caved because I thought I was close to being done. You have to get comfortable saying "that's outside the original scope, here's what the change order will look like" even when you're scared to lose the gig. Otherwise you end up with a bloated project (and a fried brain) and no extra money to show for it.

finley_smith5d ago

Biggest mistake of my freelancing career" hits hard because I think weve all been there. Did you ever get paid the full $1,200 or did the extra work just eat into that? Because honestly, 80 hours for $15 an hour is brutal, but if you only got partial payment on top of that its even worse. I'm curious if you tried to renegotiate mid-project when he asked for the shopping cart, or did you just roll with it hoping it would end?

shane_wilson5d ago

Jumping in to gently correct something - the math works out to $15 an hour only if you actually got paid $1,200 for all 80 hours. But if you only got the original $1,200 and did 80 hours, that's actually $15 an hour exactly, so it's even worse than you thought. Either way it stings, I've been there too.

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