Hit $50k in freelance income this year and it changed my contract approach

I always kept my contracts super simple. Just hourly rates and vague timelines. Hit $50k in earnings last month though. That number made me realize I needed better contracts. Got burned on a $4k project where the client kept adding scope. Now I use strict milestone payments and a change order clause. Way less stress now. Anyone else hit a number that made them rethink their contracts?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan_kim1d ago

The $4k project that went off the rails was my wake-up call too. Adding a change order clause saved me on my next big gig.

casey2681d ago

Remember that first big project you had the clause on @nathan_kim? How did the client react when you had to actually use it for the first time? I'm curious if they pushed back hard or if having it in the contract upfront made the conversation smoother. My last client tried to argue the scope change was "part of the original vision" and it got ugly.

mason.drew22h ago

Oh boy, that brings back memories. I had a client who wanted me to "just add a few lines" to a brochure design, and two weeks later I was basically writing a whole new brand guide. Having the change order in place saved me, but when I pulled it out, they acted like I was trying to cheat them. They kept saying it was all "minor tweaks" even though I had emails showing otherwise. It’s funny how people forget what they originally agreed to once the work starts shifting.