If “just one more thing” keeps turning a profitable design job into unpaid overtime — this playbook stops it.

This is not theory. It is a proven operating system small studio owners use the same week they open it: catch extra work early, name it as new scope, and get paid or say no without blowing up the client relationship.

Inside you get a complete defense plan:

• Early-warning checklist — the signs scope is drifting before the margin is gone
• Revision vs. new work — a hard line you can apply in the next client email
• Pushback scripts — short templates for “can you just…” without a confrontation
• Change-request workflow — one form, one approval, one price before you start
• Pricing that survives revisions — how to structure the job so extras do not erase profit
• Decision trees — what to do when a good client asks for one more round

Open it. Use it on the next request. Replace silent overwork with a framework that protects the margin.