I used to think a client's 'quick question' was always free

A client I've worked with for two years told me last week, 'Piper, you're letting scope creep eat your profit.' She pointed out that my 15 minute 'free' calls were adding up to almost 10 unpaid hours a month. I mean, idk, I just never added it up before. So I changed my policy: any call over 5 minutes gets logged and billed in 15 minute blocks. It's only been a week, but I already feel less resentful about my time. Has anyone else set a hard line on what counts as billable advice?

2 comments

2 Comments

king.lisa2mo ago

Yeah but five minutes is still too short.

wren8062mo ago

Okay but too short for what exactly? Like, is this about a timer, a meeting, a video limit? The whole five minutes thing is so vague without knowing what we're even measuring.