Myth: "Keep rates low and make it up on volume."

Myth: "Keep rates low and make it up on volume."

Volume at a low rate just fills your week with high-touch work that leaves no time to find better-paying clients. The math traps you. Restructure for margin per project, not project count.

The Margin Audit checklist:

— List your last 5 projects with revenue and real hours each.
— Calculate effective hourly per project; rank them.
— Identify the bottom two: low pay, high touch. Raise or retire them.
— Reinvest the freed hours into outreach for top-tier work.
— Re-run this audit monthly.

Fewer, better projects beat a packed calendar of cheap ones. Save this audit. Standardize the monthly review and let volume go.