I get the same DM about once a week:
"I have this small thing I want automated. It's probably an hour of work. Do you do small jobs?"
The honest answer used to be: no, because the overhead of doing a small job is the same as a big one — scoping, invoicing, communication — and the hourly rate gets silly.
So I made a $9 starter tier. Here's what you get:
What's in the $9 starter
I'll write a single Python automation script for your specific use case. Examples I've shipped:
- A script that watches a Google Drive folder and renames new files based on a pattern
- A script that scrapes a public website daily and emails you a CSV of new listings
- A script that converts messy Excel files into a normalized database format
- A script that watches your inbox and forwards specific emails to a Slack channel
- A script that backs up your Notion databases to JSON every night
These are 100–200 lines of Python. Production-quality (typed, error handling, README). Tested before delivery.
What's NOT in the $9 starter
- Multi-step workflows (that's the $49 Pro tier)
- Database integrations or auth flows (Pro)
- Anything that takes more than a day of work (Custom Build, $99)
- Ongoing maintenance (we can talk about retainer separately)
How it works
- Buy the $9 starter here: https://gobvan.gumroad.com/l/fuwqot
- You'll get a short form (3 questions) about your use case
- I reply within 24 hours with a quick clarification or a "this needs Pro, refund or upgrade?"
- I deliver the script + README in 3–5 business days
- Two rounds of revisions included
If your thing turns out to be bigger than a starter, I refund or upgrade you to Pro ($49) at no charge.
Why $9
Two reasons. One: there's a class of automation tasks that are genuinely small and shouldn't require a $500 engagement to ship. Two: I learn what people actually want automated, which informs what I write about and what I build.
It's not a loss leader — my hourly rate on $9 starter jobs works out to $30-50/hour once you factor in everything. The price is just closer to "what this is worth" than enterprise consulting rates.
Top comments (0)