In a recent article, long-time tech freelancer Jake Jorgovan suggests that there may be no hard and fast rules; with pricing being more of an art than a science. Do you price yourself too high that you scare away potential suitors, or do you risk making yourself appear too cheap to be credible? Worse still do you end up undertaking a piece of mundane work that sucks the very soul from you and pays you ‘peanuts’?
Advocating quality over quantity, Jorgovan offers some seemingly unconventional advice that you may wish to consider:
- Forget hourly rates. Although this is an ‘industry norm’ and ensures that any overruns compensate the freelancer effectively; pricing per project may allow you to work on multiple tasks and could enable you to complete twice as much work in the same amount of time – and at the same quality – as you are concentrating on productivity and efficiency instead of ‘clocking in the hours’.
- Don’t charge based on your competition. Although the rate that your competition charges may give a new freelancer an incite into pay potential, they may all be under-charging. The last thing you want to do is join a rat race of ‘undersellers’ grinding out repetitive work for low rates.
- Tailor your fees to your clients. Acknowledging that this may be ‘easier said than done’. Jorgovan suggests 3 questions that should determine the rates you’ll charge:
- Do you like your potential client?
- How much do you expect your client is willing to pay?
- How much value are you providing your client?
We suggest there are a few further questions that determine your fee:
- How far from home is the work situated (travel and subsistence considerations)?
- How long is the work scheduled to last for?
- Is there a notice period (for both parties)?
- Is there REAL potential for further work?
We also believe there are two cardinal rules that should NEVER be broken:
- Never involve yourself in a project or task that you doubt will be successful.
- Never accept a commission for work that you won’t enjoy.
Still not sure on what fees you could charge. Get in touch through our contacts page for some free, friendly and impartial advice.
Original article in full here.