Why I Was Paid $33,500 For One Day's Work

One small tweak in my offering resulted in me earning more for a single project than I had previously earned.

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An international organisation once wanted me to host a workshop for them. I quoted them a fee of around $11k, but they said it would exceed their budget.

This was at a time when work was a little harder to come by, and I really wanted the project, so I decided to reduce my rate.

Now, you can’t just lower your rate without giving a reason. That risks looking like you’re inflating your fee to begin with. So, I asked how many people would be attending. Perhaps I could charge per attendee and slim down the scope of work on my side to fit their budget.

They told me it would be for 11 people. So I quoted a rate of $650 per person with (a minimum requirement of 10 people attending). They said ‘yes’. In short, I’d be earning $7150 (plus expenses). This certainly wasn’t what I’d typically charge. But I figured there was always a chance more people might want to attend and I had worked with the client before an…