Hourly billing runs rampant in many professions. The justification is often rooted in the idea that those doing the work don’t know what all will be necessary. In order to make ends meet, so called experts charge by the hour.
But, if an expert doesn’t know what it will take, how in the world is their customer supposed to know?
If you’re an expert and you fathom uncertainty in what you do, put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Do you think your customer can better estimate your time to determine your cost? How do you think your customer formulates the ROI of your involvement?