The 2-hour deadline that became 7 hours of free work — and still landed theThe 2-hour deadline that became 7 hours of free work — and still landed the
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Zubair Hussain
• 5h
The 2-hour deadline that became 7 hours of free work — and still landed the client.
Client gave me 2 hours. Wanted a premium website — full security setup, content management, the works.
7 designs rejected before mine got approved. I mean 7. At that point you stop taking it personally and start taking notes on what they actually want.
Finally got one through. But before I could even start development, they wanted a working prototype. So I built it. Figma design + live prototype, same sitting, tight deadline that already passed two hours ago.
Ended up spending 7 hours on work they budgeted 2 for.
Did I get paid extra? No.
Would I do it again? Probably.
Here's the thing nobody talks about: sometimes the work that goes over scope is the work that builds the reputation. That client saw the Figma, saw the live prototype, saw the attention to detail — and came back for the full build. Security layer, CMS, deployment, everything.
You don't always get paid for the extra hours. But you get paid for what those hours prove about you.
🔗 Figma Design 🌐 Live Prototype
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