I started working on my diploma and needed a way to document and store ideas... and I remembered Notion felt like a good place for that (vs a "to do list". Evernote is ok, but it didn't have the same kind of flexibility I wanted). The more I used it the more I was feeling like I wanted to move all my work tasks over there, and didn't want to use Asana anymore.

I think Notion has a somewhat extended "time to value" – the time it takes to realize how valuable the the app is or can be. Until you hit that moment, it can be a bit "yeaaah, this is ok, but what's the big deal?"

Once I made the commitment and started moving all projects over to it, I fell in love.

I felt the same way initially... but it behaves a lot like Dropbox paper. I literally wrote that article in Notion, with pasted images and videos, and then just exported as markdown to publish. It's insanely easy for basic writing stuff, but can also do ridiculous heavy lifting too.

I tried it about a year ago and never stuck with it; I think that's probably their biggest barrier - the time to learn how to make it easy to use, because it does require some learning in terms of what's possible.

I've freelanced for over 6 years as a designer, developer and strategist. My best quarter is probably about ~$40k. I've had highs and lows from month to month, but definitely steady growth every year.

I tend to send something in between. I typically send a nicely designed 8-10 page proposal with the overview of the project, the process, project breakdown/scope, and terms. I don't go into any detail about myself or my background – it's very "aspirational" and "return on investment" focused. Everything about the document is written in very approachable language, and focused on answering the question of "why should I care?"

In all honesty, the less detailed I am, the higher the budgets i've been able to acquire ($12-$15k for web design + strategy projects). At the point that i'm doing the proposal, it's merely a formality, and I already know that I likely have the gig.

I make it a really great document to read; nothing unnecessary, just a focus on what our collaboration will/could look like. I find a 1 pager estimate doesn't quite capture that bigger vision, and doesn't get me those higher budgets.