My mentor told me to always charge for a color consultation and I thought it was a bad idea until a client in Portland tried to get me to match a five year old magazine photo for free.

That one hour I now charge upfront saves me from the 'just a quick question' folks who actually want a full custom formula and has anyone else found a good way to explain this fee without sounding rude?

2 comments

2 Comments

lopez.mason19d ago

Yeah, that's the key. I frame it as buying my focused time and expertise, not just a color. I say the fee covers me doing the deep looking, testing, and note-taking to get it right, which I can't do in a free five minute chat. It turns tire-kickers into serious clients.

stellaj6319d ago

Learn from my mistake, I used to give away that time like free samples at the grocery store. I once spent forty-five minutes on the phone with a nice man who just wanted his living room to feel like a 'sunset in Santa Fe,' and then he hired his nephew instead. Now I just say the fee lets me put my full attention on their project, phone away, swatches out. It saves my sanity.