Freelancing tip for beginners: Always send an hourly quote if the prospect is of Nepali origin overseas.

I got a rejection on a fixed-price quote I sent to a Nepali prospect from Australia who was looking for a WordPress website with Bookings, WooCommerce, and payment integration.

He wanted to get it done at 60% cheaper than what I proposed.

That was hilarious.

Immediately, it struck me hard that sending him a fixed-price quote was the wrong idea.

Not because the number looked big on paper but because I think he missed the whole point of the proposal by focusing only on pricing and not thinking about the quality of work he might have gotten.

And as someone of origin from Nepal, he might have thought that you can find even cheaper developers here in Nepal.

But, I am never in a hurry to get the client at cheap rates. So that was no big deal.

It took me just 5 minutes to write the quote and the insight from this interaction was way more valuable.

Now, you may be wondering why an hourly rate.

Let me explain.

Once you leave Tribhuvan International Airport and reach overseas and get a job, you get accustomed to seeing money in terms of hourly rates.

Most of the jobs Nepalese do in Australia/the US/Canada/Europe/UK are on an hourly rate.

And they are used to getting paid $20-50/hr themselves.

But, their upbringing in Nepal won’t let it go out of their mind that getting paid NRs. 2500 or 5000 an hour is possible in Nepal.

So to make things look relative to their money numeration it’s best you send them an hourly rate.

I charge USD 50/hour for my consulting gigs and the quote I sent might have looked outstanding but for someone starting out getting even a $5/hr project for a month is like having an 80,000 project in Nepal.

And when you present an hourly quote with just $5 or $10 per hour that will greatly increase your chances of getting the gig.

It won’t trigger the potential client’s arms of defense.

Hope this insight is useful to those beginning a freelancing journey from Nepal as a Web Developer.

Thanks for reading.

– Bhupal

Category: technology
Tagged with: Freelancing • Nepali Client

Copy & Share

Freelancing tip: Always send an hourly quote (Overseas Nepali prospect)
https://bhupalsapkota.com/hourly/