How to price yourself when you become "the IT guy"

This is the article that would have saved me years of undercharging. Let's talk about money honestly, because almost nobody in this field does.

The mistake almost everyone makes

Pricing yourself like an employee — a fair-feeling hourly wage for the work. It feels reasonable. It's almost always wrong, because it ignores everything that isn't billable time.

Your old employer covered sick days, holidays, training time, admin time, licenses, insurance, the slow weeks. All invisible to you, bundled into a salary someone else budgeted. Become the IT department for 5-25 person companies, and every one of those costs is now yours — unbillable. Price at a "fair" hourly rate and you will not earn what you think, because half your time is unbillable and all your own costs come out of the billable half.

How to actually calculate your number

Start from what you need to earn in a year, not what feels fair per hour. Add your business costs on top. Be honest about how many hours you can actually bill — for most people doing this well, that's roughly half of total working hours once admin, sales, travel, and the small unbillable stuff are accounted for. Divide what you need by what you can bill. The number is usually higher than expected. Often uncomfortably so.

Stop selling hours where you can

Hourly billing puts you and the client on opposite sides of the table — every hour is a cost to them and income to you, which quietly makes them want you slower to explain and faster to leave. A monthly retainer covering ongoing support plus a bucket of project hours aligns you instead. You're not selling hours anymore. You're selling "I'm the reason you don't have to think about this."

Get comfortable being uncomfortable

I priced myself too low for years because I was still thinking like an employee grateful for the work, not a business being paid for a scarce, trusted skill. Every underpriced job doesn't just cost you money — it trains that client to expect that price forever, and drags down what the whole market can charge.

Handle scope creep out loud, every time

"That's outside what we agreed on — happy to help, here's what it costs, or here's how it fits into next month's hours." Say it plainly, even for small things. Skip this and scope creep quietly eats 20% of your time for free.

Send the invoice like you mean it

Predictable schedule, clear about what it's for, no apologizing. I've watched technically excellent people undermine themselves by sounding sheepish about their own bill. If you did the work and communicated clearly, the invoice isn't an imposition — it's just the other half of the deal.

One honest caveat

None of this means charge as much as possible. Charge a number that's sustainable for you and fair for them, based on real math, not a feeling. A business run on numbers that don't actually work eventually breaks — usually at the worst time.

Next: a real 3am story about what troubleshooting actually means when there's no one else to call.