Looking over my projects from last year, I’m struck by some surprises. The lengthy web design jobs I thought were solid earners turned out to be less profitable once I added in all the extra time spent on revisions.
Those small logo projects I nearly passed up really paid off. Now I’m left questioning if I’ve been prioritizing the wrong types of work all along.
The revision trap is absolutely real. I timed my projects and couldn’t believe the results.
Logos feel quick because they are. Clients know what they want, you deliver, done. Websites? Endless feedback loops where everyone has opinions.
Game changer: I switched to tracking profit per week, not total project value. That $500 logo in 3 days crushes a $2000 website dragging on for 6 weeks.
Now I only take:
It’s not just project type though - it’s client behavior.
Logo work is strong. Clients know what they want. One or two revisions, and it’s over. Web projects tend to drag on for months with too many opinions. I charge flat rates for logos now. For web projects, I break them into phases with separate payments. This method helps avoid lengthy scope creep.
Yeah small jobs pay better than the big headaches.
Same here - tracking hourly rates was a wake-up call. Those big projects looked amazing until I counted all the calls, revisions, and scope creep. The real numbers were brutal.
I switched to smaller projects with clear deliverables. Way less hassle, quicker turnaround, and happier clients. You can bang out three small jobs while one big one drags forever.
I track everything in a basic spreadsheet - project type, hours, actual profit per hour. Total eye opener. My “bread and butter” work was barely breaking even.
Big jobs always seem like more money until you actually count the hours. Quick fixes pay the bills.
Flat rates are perfect for logos - you know your pay upfront. No stress when they want just one more change.
Web projects are time vampires. Endless emails about colors, calls about button placement, waiting forever for content they swore they’d send weeks ago. All that unpaid time destroys your real hourly rate.