# Put a Triple Rate on Rush Work

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/triple-rush-fee-rule · Last updated 31 October 2026

A client asks for the work by Monday, it is Friday afternoon, and you are about to say yes at your normal rate again. Ivanka Menken uses the Fortnight Loop inside 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to turn rush work into a written rule: the trigger, at least triple the normal rate, and who can approve an exception. You quote it before you say yes, and review it at the next fortnight.

## Rush work at the normal rate

- You say yes to last-minute work before you think about the price.
- Your surcharge changes with every client and every mood.
- Weekends disappear to keep clients happy.

**THE MOMENT:** It is Friday afternoon. A good client emails: can you turn this around by Monday? You know what saying yes costs: the weekend, the work you had planned, and the next client who learns that rush is free. You say yes anyway, at the normal rate, because there is no rule to point to and asking for more feels like a fresh negotiation every time.

### RUSH WORK, AS IT STANDS

- Rate for rush work: the normal rate
- Surcharge: small, applied case by case
- Trigger for rush: not written down
- Who approves an exception: the founder, every time
- Review of rush jobs: never

## Add a small surcharge

The obvious fix was a small surcharge for rush jobs. It was applied case by case. A loyal client got it waived. A nervous week meant it was never mentioned. Within a month the founder was folding on every request again, still giving up weekends, and now with clients who had seen the surcharge disappear once and expected it to disappear again.

## No written trigger, so every request was new

Ivanka noticed there was no written trigger for rush work. What counted as rush, how much notice was normal, who could say yes: none of it was on paper. So every request became a fresh judgement call, made under pressure, on a Friday, with a client waiting. The founder was not bad at pricing. The rule simply lived in their head, where it lost every argument.

## The rule lived in the founder’s head

The diagnosis was not the size of the surcharge. It was that the pricing rule lived in the founder’s head, so it had to be renegotiated with themselves every time a client asked.
The reframe: the decision was never unclear. The cost of delay had never been named. Once the weekend, the displaced work and the precedent were counted, at least triple the normal rate stopped looking greedy and started looking accurate. A written rule makes that call once, not every Friday.

> A pricing rule in your head loses every argument with a client.

**The cost of staying stuck:** Every rush job at the normal rate costs a weekend and teaches the client that rush is free. The next request arrives sooner.

## The tool: Fortnight Loop

The Fortnight Loop is how 1:1 Mentoring turns a decision into a commitment and checks it two weeks later. For rush work, the loop names the decision, counts the cost of saying yes at the normal rate, writes the rule, and reviews every exception at the next session.

It is one rule on one page: what counts as rush, the rate, at least triple the normal rate, who can approve an exception, and how the rule is quoted before the founder says yes. Then a review date, two weeks out, with every rush request since listed against it.

It replaces a surcharge applied by mood, a weekend given up to keep the peace, and the same negotiation with yourself every Friday afternoon.

### What goes on the page

1. The trigger: what counts as rush, in plain words
2. The notice line: how much notice is normal for this work
3. The rate: at least triple the normal rate
4. The exception: who can approve one, and why
5. The quote: the rule stated before you say yes
6. The review: every rush request listed at the next fortnight

It sits inside 1:1 Mentoring, next to the monthly scorecard. Each fortnightly session starts from the commitment you wrote last time, so the rush rule is checked against what actually happened. It is coaching, not a done-for-you pricing fix, and there is no separate checkout.

## One rule, one review date

In the session, Ivanka named the decision: what to charge for rush work. She listed the options, counted the cost of waiting, the weekends and the displaced work, and asked for the smallest reversible step. The founder wrote a one-page rule: the trigger, at least triple the normal rate, and who could approve an exception. They left with one decision, one next action, to quote the rule on the next rush request, and a date to check it.

### The questions

- What counts as rush work for you?
- What did the last rush job really cost?
- What rate makes saying yes worth it?
- Who can approve an exception?
- What will you say to the next client who asks?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: Rush work at the normal rate.
2. The numbers: The weekends and work each rush job displaced.
3. The story: Why asking for more felt like a fresh negotiation.
4. The commitment: A written rule: at least triple, quoted first.

Before the next session, the founder quoted the rule on the next rush request before saying yes, and listed every rush request and exception for the review.

## A rule quoted before the yes

By month 6, rush work has a written rule, every exception has a reason, and the next pricing decision follows the same process.

**BEFORE**

- Rush work went out at the normal rate.
- The surcharge changed with the client.
- Weekends went to last-minute jobs.
- Every request was a new negotiation.

**BY MONTH 6**

- A written rush rule at least triple the normal rate.
- The rule quoted before saying yes.
- Each exception reviewed at the next fortnight.
- A repeatable process for the next pricing decision.

The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.

## Write the rule before the next Friday

Ivanka Menken built 1:1 Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who keep carrying the same decisions. Every fortnight she helps you name one decision, write the commitment and check it two weeks later.
This fits if rush requests keep landing and you keep saying yes at the normal rate. It does not fit if you want someone to set your prices for you. The decision in front of you is one rule. Write the trigger and the rate before the next rush request arrives.

> Helps founders lead with clarity and integrity by modelling vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and grounded decision-making. Creates an environment where leaders can openly explore challenges and grow without fear of judgement.
>
> R.W., founder

## Who fits, and who does not

### It fits

- You sell services and clients ask for last-minute work.
- Your surcharge comes and goes with the client.
- You give up weekends to keep clients happy.
- You will write the rule down and quote it.

### It does not fit

- You want accounting or financial advice.
- You want a done-for-you pricing fix.
- You want permission to refuse all rush work.
- You want a rate card written for you without testing it.

### Investment

**AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, 6 months.** The Fortnight Loop is part of 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.

Included:

- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- A monthly one-page scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- The Fortnight Loop for every pricing rule

Three founding places in total, shared across 1:1 Mentoring and its three focus programmes, are available at A$1,000 a month, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=triple-rush-fee-rule#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)

## Questions about Fortnight Loop

### What counts as rush work?

Rush work is anything asked for with less notice than your normal turnaround. Write that line in plain words, so the trigger is a fact, not a feeling. Ivanka Menken helps you set it inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and the rule names the rate, at least triple the normal rate, and who can approve an exception.

### What if I set the rate wrong?

Then the review tells you. The rule is checked at the next fortnight against every rush request since: who paid it, who pushed back and what each job displaced. Ivanka Menken reads that list with you inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and you adjust the trigger or the rate with evidence instead of a Friday mood.

### How do I keep it reversible?

Write it as a test for one fortnight, not a policy for ever. Quote it on the next rush request, note the answer and keep the exception rule tight. Ivanka Menken sets the review date with you inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, so changing the rule is a decision you make, not a quiet slide back.

### What happens at the review?

You list every rush request since the last session, what you quoted, what the client said and any exception you approved. Then you keep the rule, change the trigger or change the rate. Ivanka Menken runs that review inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and the next pricing decision uses the same process.


## Quote the rule before you say yes

If rush requests keep landing at your normal rate, start with 1:1 Mentoring. The Fortnight Loop is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=triple-rush-fee-rule#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)
- [The Fortnight Loop](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring#fortnight-loop)
- [Anchor the first number before the call](https://ivankamenken.com/first-call-price-anchor)
- [Reset the price when a client leaves](https://ivankamenken.com/replacement-price-rule)
- [One posting number a fortnight](https://ivankamenken.com/posting-rhythm-fortnight-loop)

- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka