Pricing an identity when you work alone

For my first two years alone I charged by the hour. The better I got, the less I earned: a logo that took me forty hours in year one took fifteen in year three, and the invoice shrank with it.

Price the outcome, not the hours

Clients do not buy hours. They buy a brand they can use for years. Pricing the project as a whole lets you talk about that value, and it lets them budget without watching a timer.

My proposals now have three options, from a focused identity to a full system with guidelines and key applications. Most clients pick the middle one, which is the one I designed the process around.

What goes into the number

• The days I expect it to take, with a margin for the unknown
• The value to the client, judged honestly from their size and reach
• The projects I will turn down to make room for it

That last line is the one most people forget. When you work alone, every yes is also a no to something else.