I hate hourly pricing. Why? Because on the client side, it’s way too open-ended and for you, it doesn’t factor in the years of experience you’ve built up prior to the current project you’re pricing. It also puts the value in simply showing up, not in producing real results with your time.

Butt in seat??

Clients don’t pay you to simply show up and sit in front of your computer for the day. They don’t even pay you for the years you’ve spent in the industry. You can have 20 years experience and be worth $5 to a client.

The only thing that clients pay for is the application of your knowledge to their problem. If that’s confusing, let me say it again another way. The only thing that clients pay for is a solution to their problem.

They don’t care if it takes you 20 hours or 100 hours as long as the problem is solved. They don’t even care so much how much you charge as long as they see a return on their investment that is greater than your cost.

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As my friend Megan recently said:

I’ve never paid out more or been simultaneously more dissatisfied with the output of other contractors (some, not all) than right now, in this entitled, inflated landscape. You know what undercuts our industry more than low rates and spec work? High rates and a bad experience. Inflated cost and a failure to deliver on time / respond promptly / be kind / kick ass.

All of those people she was working with simply expected that showing up was worth something. It’s not, so don’t settle for showing up.

photo credit: clement127 cc