A Recovering Scope Creeper

I’m a recovering scope creeper.

A client would ask for one thing. I’d find five things broken. I’d fix all five and bill for one.

It felt generous. It was actually a failure: of scoping, of pricing, and of respect for my own time. Worse, the client never learned what the other four fixes were worth, because they never saw a number next to them.

The fix wasn’t discipline. It was a list. Everything I find goes on the list, priced. The client picks. Some pick all five.

Generosity that hides its price isn’t generosity. It’s underpricing with better branding.