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I tried charging by the hour vs. a flat project fee for a simple website job
Last month I had two clients who both needed a basic 5-page site. For the first, I charged my usual $75 an hour and it ended up taking 12 hours, so $900 total. For the second, I quoted a flat fee of $1200 for the same work. I finished the flat-fee site in just under 8 hours because I wasn't watching the clock and could batch tasks, like doing all the image edits at once. The flat fee made me $400 more for less time, and the client loved knowing the exact cost upfront. I realized hourly billing makes me work slower and creates stress about tracking every minute. The flat fee changed my focus from time spent to just getting the job done right. Has anyone else made this switch and seen their income go up?
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the_andrew5mo ago
Doubt it's that deep, @jessica_miller.
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the_phoenix5mo ago
Hourly billing makes you overthink every minute. It's a trap.
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jessica_miller5mo ago
Yeah, the part about watching the clock slowing you down is too real. I bill hourly and I swear I spend half that time just feeling guilty for taking a sip of water.
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