---
id: "action-build-buffers"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ 5. Can I sustain my fractional career?"]
tags: ["pricing-strategy", "boundary-setting"]
related: ["concept-capacity-buffering"]
action: "Include deliberate margins in your pricing and time estimates to absorb unexpected project complexity."
outcome: "Protection against burnout and uncompensated scope creep."
speakers: ["Joy Batra", "Dorie Clark"]
sources: ["ecosystem"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-ecosystem"
originDay: 11
articleStem: "hbr-foci-63-fractional-work-questions"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/04/5-questions-leaders-should-ask-before-turning-to-fractional-work"
sourceTitle: "5 Questions Leaders Should Ask Before Turning to Fractional Work"
---
# Build Buffers into Price and Availability

**Action:** Because fractional work at startups often involves *unexpected complexity and scope creep*, proactively build a buffer into **both** your quoted **price** **and** your stated **availability**. When scope inevitably expands, *explicitly decide* whether to **decline** the additional work or **negotiate a separate fee**.

**Expected outcome:** Protection against burnout and uncompensated scope creep.

This is the concrete step for Question 5 of [[framework-fractional-evaluation]]; it enacts [[concept-capacity-buffering]]. Remember that each client sees only a fraction of your total load, so *you* must advocate for these boundaries.