Why I ditched custom quotes and never looked back.
A client once asked me for a logo. Simple request.
I said I’d send over a quote.
They replied, “I asked five other designers. Just send your best price.”
That was the moment I realized: I wasn’t a designer to them. I was a price tag.
So I stopped quoting.
Here’s what I do instead, and why I never negotiate my rates anymore.
In the beginning, I did what every freelancer does.
Client messages me: “How much for a website?”
Me: “Well… it depends.”
Cue the back-and-forth: budget talk, scope creep, PDF proposals that took hours.
Then the classic ghost, or worse: “We decided to go with someone cheaper.”
But instead of changing my process, I doubled down.
More personalized quotes. More options. More flexibility.
Because I thought that’s what made me professional.