[zackmorris]

Unfortunately I just got hit by 2 projects in a row that passed 3x overage. I quoted 2 weeks to finish, but they both ended up taking over 6. I'm probably not even making minimum wage for the last couple of months.

So if you are going to quote by the job, be sure to put in limits in case it goes over your time budget so you can renegotiate.

Also I would not recommend having a "friend rate". Your workload just goes up exponentially with a proportionate decrease in pay.

If anyone could play devil's advocate on the article, with solutions to warning signs, I would sure appreciate the insight! (Not that I disagree with the article, just, my track record is really tiring me out).

[tieTYT]

I think you're missing the idea (but I could be wrong, I've never consulted): You're not supposed to promise when a project will be finished, you just set your rate per days/weeks. You estimate when it will be finished, but you don't promise.

[Amadou]

Unfortunately I just got hit by 2 projects in a row that passed 3x overage. I quoted 2 weeks to finish, but they both ended up taking over 6. I'm probably not even making minimum wage for the last couple of months.

Those are fixed-bid projects, not time & materials with time increments of days or weeks.

But the real reason I am commenting is to point out that your results - 3x overage - are exactly the rule of thumb that gets cited for fix-bid: Take your expected level of effort and triple it.