The projects that look impressive in a portfolio aren't always the ones that pay well. A routine maintenance contract can fund the month, while an exciting branding assignment consumes three times the estimated hours. I don't want to choose work purely by hourly return, but I also can't pay bills with admiration. How do you balance interesting showcase pieces with boring reliable work without ending up permanently undercharging for the fun stuff?
Separating portfolio-worthy work from work that actually pays well
- freelancing
- separating
- portfolio
- worthy
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3 replies
I try to price the boring reliable work for survival and the showcase work for margin, not nostalgia. If a portfolio piece is going to take...
I try to price the boring reliable work for survival and the showcase work for margin, not nostalgia. If a portfolio piece is going to take twice the time, it needs to earn its keep somehow.
I’d question the idea that portfolio work has to be unpaid or underpaid to be “good for you.” Sometimes a boring assignment is the one that actually builds the relationship that gets the better jobs later.
That’s exactly it. A lot of freelancers confuse exciting with strategic, and those are not the same thing.
I started keeping a separate target for “visible” projects so I wouldn’t accept every pretty thing at a discount. It doesn’t solve everything, but it stops the fun work from quietly eating the rent money.