I’ve been keeping a closer eye on my earnings lately and it’s tricky figuring out which projects are truly profitable. Some offer a good rate but require endless revisions.
Right now, I’m only focusing on hourly pay, but that doesn’t capture the full picture considering the hassle with more challenging clients.
The hourly rate trap gets everyone. I switched to looking at projects in chunks.
I track “real profit per week” for each project type:
This shows which work puts money in my pocket fastest. A $2000 project taking 3 weeks beats a $3000 one dragging for 2 months.
I keep notes on client patterns too. Some always want calls at weird hours. Others send work back with vague feedback. That kills efficiency on future projects.
After tracking this for a year, I realized my best projects weren’t the flashy ones. They were boring, straightforward gigs that wrapped up without drama.
I track every minute I spend on projects - not just the official hours. Emails, calls, those quick fixes after delivery? All of it goes in a spreadsheet.
Then I divide what they paid by my actual hours. You’d be amazed how those “high-paying” gigs turn into garbage once you see the real hourly rate.
I also track which clients constantly expand scope or pay late. That $100/hour client who takes two months to pay? Way worse than the $80/hour one who pays in a week.
After six months of this, I fired two clients. They looked great on paper but were killing me with endless changes and delays.
Track your total project cost against what you get paid. Include materials, gas, your time, and subcontractor fees. Whatever’s left over is your profit. The jobs with the biggest leftover cash are your winners.
Also watch how much headache each client brings. A good-paying job that has you coming back three times for touch-ups isn’t actually profitable.
I keep a simple notebook in my truck and write down every expense plus job time. Makes it super easy to see which work actually makes money.
I just use a simple notebook. Write down what I charged versus how many days it took from start to finish.
Biggest lesson: track everything. Phone calls, driving for materials, waiting on client approvals. All that stuff eats into your profit.
Once you track the full timeline, you’ll quickly see which jobs drag on forever and which ones wrap up clean.
I just go with whatever pays best for the least headaches.
Look at your earnings against the time put in. If it felt like a struggle, it may not be worth it.