Forum Discussion
Freelancers -- where do you find most of your work?
I know that question is sort of like where's your favorite fishing hole. Hi, all -- I've been a freelancer for about a year and a half now, and for the first time, things are slow. I guess I'm on t...
Lisa Wesley said:
Hi Everyone me again. I forgot to ask this question. Is there a book or would any of you offer some suggestions on how you price your services? I know people don't want to give exact figures and that is fine I just need some ideas on how people are pricing their work.
Hi Lisa, that is a tough question but a big factor for me that comes into play is how much is your time worth to you? I started out charging lower rates but as my schedule became full my time became worth more to me so I increased my prices. If you have plenty of time to work on the project you can consider a lower rate but if your schedule is packed with other projects then you're going to need to charge a higher rate. Comes down to supply and demand. If the demand for your time is high and supply is low then raise your prices.
Salesmanship is also a big factor. You don't want to shoot yourself in the foot and charge too little and you don't want to lose the sale for over pricing yourself. It's good to start high and negotiate down from there. In a past life I worked in sales and learned that you need to dance to the music that the customer is playing. You may charge a different rate for every project depending on the details of the project and the client.
