I'm now experimenting with marketing myself as a one-man studio for startups and small businesses [0].
One question that I cannot figure out my opinion about is pricing. I've worked with 2 approaches:
- fixed price. I estimate the cost of every project; I send out invoice at the end of the project (or as negotiated).
- hourly rate. I agree with the rate with a client; I work on tasks as they come along; I send out invoice every month.
Recently, I've been seeing designers (and teams) offering a "monthly subscription": Off Menu, Endless, Draftss, Rithmm, etc. The terms are more or less similar: you can make unlimited design requests, completed one at a time, for ~$5000/month.
I can easily see the incentive for the designer – but what about the client? Would you, as a client, use such service? Why or why not? Did any of you actually use it? What was your experience? I will appreciate your opinion.
Thanks!
[0] https://uxdesign.vlad.studio/
I'm sure there are people for whom that makes sense. But personally, if I needed that much work done on a regular basis, I'd probably prefer to hire someone over contracting it out.