That’s exactly what they meant.
I think it was 3-4 libs & me to be the foil.
you should agree to go and then stir up the bees nest
In person rates are always higher in expensive locales, and cities with a City Tax rate for “high wage earners”.
Way too many tax issues for the self employed to make business in NYC, Chicago, Boston or most anyplace in CA worth it to do business there.
And your rates look very legit compared to what my clients charged ...