Finally switched to project-based pricing after a nightmare in April

Honestly, I used to be all about hourly billing. Thought it was the only fair way. Then I took on a logo job for a bakery in Austin that took 22 hours because they kept changing colors. I made like $11 an hour after revisions. That one job convinced me to try flat rates, and now my income is way more stable during slow months, even if the work is smaller. Has anyone else seen a big shift in their cash flow after making this change?

3 comments

3 Comments

paulnguyen1mo ago

22 hours for a logo? That's wild man I woulda lost my mind after the 5th color change. You got way more patience than me, I would've told them to pick a dang color or start charging by the revision after the 3rd round. Flat rates saved me too, but I went to a hybrid system where I give a range based on how many revisions they get. Saves me from those nightmare clients who think "oh let's try magenta instead" is free creative time.

matthewking1mo ago

Man, by the 4th magenta I would've just said "sorry, my computer only renders in 12 shades of beige now, pick one." You're a saint for lasting that long on flat rate.

taylor.brooke1mo ago

Flat rate honestly saved my sanity with my own nightmare client last year. I read somewhere that the average logo goes through like 7 revisions before final approval, which sounds about right from personal experience. Magenta 4 is just the warmup lap before they ask for it in "more of a sunset orange but also keep the magenta version just in case." At some point you gotta wonder if they're paying by the hour or just testing how many shades of crazy you can handle. Beige definitely should have been the backup plan after round three.