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Two Choices For Rates And Cheap Isn't One Of Them
Work for free or for full price. Never for cheap.
Starting off
It happens when you start off doing design work. You are never sure about the price you should set so you lowball your services. Clients jump on the price and we all like having clients because to us clients equal paychecks which equal happiness. However, it doesn't work like this.
In one way or another clients cause stress. Maybe it's due to deadlines or them not listening, but nobody has a 100% track record of stress free clients. When you work for cheap you will find yourself questioning why you are even bothering putting this much effort into a job and the answer to that is because the client paid you.
It doesn't matter to them what they paid. They paid what you charged them and they expect you to bust your ass and be there every second for them whether they are paying $500 or $50,000. Honestly how can you blame them?
If you charge too much though they will walk away. You might even feel guilty charging the rate you want for doing the thing that you love, but very few people are in the position that you are in. You bust your ass for a reason and not everyone can do the excellent work that you do so be proud of it and charge a rate you can be proud of. Most companies have no problem paying for quality work and yet most designers have a problem charging for it.
Free
If you do a job for free you can control the expectations of the client. You can tell them what the boundaries are and what they should expect of you. When they aren't paying anything they don't want to overstep those boundaries to piss you off. They are thankful for any work that they can get out of you.
This is why charging for free is a better option than charging cheap because people who pay money have the same expectations no matter what they are paying. If that is going to be the case shouldn't you be rewarded appropriately for the time you are taking?
I understand there is always a bit of hesitancy to charging a specific rate, but to be honest if you think you aren't charging enough then you aren't. If clients are more than happy to pay for your services then you probably aren't charging enough. When a client doesn't question the price you know something is wrong because although people don't mind paying for quality, they always want to pay a little bit less.
I use to freelance for the equivalent of $6 an hour. I never thought it was that much per hour, but when I sat down and calculated the amount of hours I was putting into a job and the rate I was charging I discovered that I could make more bartending while working less hours.
If you are worried about the competition under-pricing you then you need to show what makes you different. I hate always using Apple as an example, but they certainly don't concern themselves with being more costly than their competition. They control the profit margins in their industry and you can as well.
You can love it or hate it
When you charge a rate that you feel is underpaying you, you become a pain in the ass to the client and yourself. You begin to despise design because it feels like cheap labor. Your creativity suffers along with your work performance. Instead of focusing on the job at hand all you do is worry about the guy down the street making more money than you.
Charge the amount that takes the focus of your work off of money and onto the actual work. Yes it can be hard to finally get to that rate, but if you don't try to get there you won't be in the game for very long. You will burnout and move on to another career only dreaming again about doing design in your free time.
If the client's budget is low be realistic about what you can offer. I had to do the website for a friend once who said he would pay me $200 for it. I agreed, but told him I could only do 2-3 hours of work on it, after that I would have to charge more. Once I explained why he understood and he got 3 hours of hard work out of me and I got $200 out of him.
Did I wish I had more time to do a better job? You are damn right I did, but I wasn't foolish enough to make the project a charity case. I was happier knowing I gave it my all for the time I was paid for instead of busting my ass for pennies.
You choose whether you love or hate the career path you selected. Don't let money be one of the deciding factors.
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18 Comments
Ok, I think you've given great advice here. But I have a question. My hourly rate is better than I can earn in an unskilled job locally, but it's quite a lot less than the local design studios. Of course, I would expect a freelancer to be a little cheaper because we have fewer overheads.
My problem is lack of experience. I've been doing web work for 3 years, and did a short stint for a local web company (I won't call them a studio because they were a bit shite to be honest) but my designs are average if I'm honest. I put in a full quota of effort on all my work, and I always strive to do my best. My front end code is great, but I'm very average when it comes to back end (I collect snippets and paste them together, or I hack a CMS till it does what I say - I don't write proper code from scratch).
So I'm left not knowing exactly what I should charge. I charge enough to pay my rent and bills if I get consistent work, and part of me says that's enough. But then there are lots of people out there charging a lot more and quite often their work isn't really better than mine. On the one hand I can survive on what I charge, and on the other I'm never left with any money left over at the end of the month...
I know it's like asking how long is a piece of string, but what is web work worth? I feel like upping my rates might be like asking my clients to fund my learning/ practise.
Then you have to learn to adjust. Either you start to learn that you are offering a premium service or if you wish to really go head-to-head with offshore work and feel they are taking work from you then look at how you can cut some corner. Maybe you start off with a premium/free theme and tweak it so it fits your client's project.
Maybe you use one of the PSD->XHTML/CSS services. Maybe you just need to do a better job of marketing yourself. It's a jungle out there.
@aardvark: Maybe it's time to find a partner that can handle the backend services so you can focus on the rest. Not every client as heavy backend needs I'm sure so if you found a developer that you could simply contract when needed he can do the work quicker and better. The time you save could also mean you take on more clients or up your rate so that you can spend more time on the actual design.
Business is hard, but if you are a freelancer understand you are a business all by yourself.
One thing I find odd is that no one ever talks about rates or posts them in public. When I wrote a blog post a few months back about whether you should charge hourly or by the project, I actually had other freelancers try to tell me that I couldn't charge those rates, that no one would pay that much for front-end development. I find that funny considering someone's paying all my bills...and it ain't mom and dad or a sugar daddy ;)
I agree totally with this! I actually LOVE giving my work away for free. Usually the work that I will do pro-bono will be for some organization that I think is doing something worthwhile in the community or the world at-large. I've even had conversations with paying clients before about how I charge a little more for commercial work so that I can support the work that I do for free.
Sometimes the free work even generates leads into well paying jobs!
Thanks for the great article!
Great article, and something I've known for a long time, but for a different reason:
When you undercharge, you attract clients who want the absolute most for their money - and they will demand much, much more than clients who are willing to pay more. In every endeavour I've been in, the people who want quality are willing to pay more - and they know the value of your time.
When you lowball, you only attract clients who aren't willing pay any extra, but expect you to make everything perfect for them, regardless of how much extra time it will take you. You end up doing 200% more work for 50% of what you should make, and you end up hating your self.
Karl, you're so right.
If you give work away for free, you have to make it clear that you are in control, and that the "boss" is really your portfolio. "Sorry, can't do that - this is really a portfolio piece." The price the client pays is control. That is simply wonderful. Some of my most enjoyable work was free work. I got to make all the decisions and asked the questions I wanted to ask. Of course my goal was to give the client what they really really needed. And that is what I did. And those websites were always the best design, best fit, happiest development process, and happiest client.
Once you've done that few times, you will never want to work cheap again.
Now, convert that same attitude to your business. The only way to do it is to charge a lot, so you can tell the client he's wrong and to shut up more or less. If the client is paying you "that much" it would make him look even more stupid to then tell you how to do your job, when he's chosen you and paid you as the expert.
Designers who work cheap are looking for hurt. Client who pay cheap are looking to do the hurting. They make and utterly dysfunctional couple.
Very thoughtful piece. You bring up an idea that most discussions on pricing don't address at all: Pricing isn't about cold calculations or economics. Ever.
It's hugely emotional, pscyhological, arbitrary.It's all wrapped up in what we think of ourselves, notions of what's 'right' what's 'fair', what imaginary competitors charge, what clients will think of us. Which is mostly baloney, of course.
The usual thought is,'When I get some better work in the portfolio, once I'm more confident with x, once I'm sure I can deliver world-class stuff, I'll be able to charge more.'
I wonder if it doesn't work the other way around, though. What if you declared, tomorrow, that you were a $200/hour designer? How would that change how you worked, how hard you worked, the quality of your work? What you thought of yourself.
I think the more we charge, the better our work. In that order.
@Waltk very interesting thoughts indeed. You're right about the need to consider the psychology of pricing.
Also the idea that when my work is better, I will charge more. Perhaps we need to become the designer we want to be right now. Very thought provoking, thanks!
Great advice! I agree with the comments from bradleydavis and Karl. Giving away free work is valuable for getting your name out there; plus that person owes you one.
Undervaluing your work will definitely get you less than ideal clients. I know this from past experience. Thanks for the outstanding post!
Slow clap. Very well said, sir.
You know, designer's and creatives hate the hard questions. Like this one:
Why the Hell would a Designer Work for Free anyway? Common answer: "No one knows me."
SO Okay, now you will start working for free...because no one knows you. What? There is a difference in investing in your business /skill and just handing out free work. I have been doing design for 10 years. And I can't wait for the day until I am out of it (as a day job, will still work for myself). Now before I get labeled an angry designer and written off, let me state the reasons why.
1- I live in the "real world". People don't work for free. It's even against the damn law. Claim those free work losses on your taxes...and you will be in IRS shit-storm in no time. If you going to be the "Free Work Guy", don't keep it a secret. See how far it get's you.
2- My love for design has been battered with unrealistic deadlines, creative control under individuals where it doesn't belong, and most of all clients that constantly aim to get work on the cheap like the services we offer are just some weekend hobby. As anyone that has worked around the internet industry, everything was due yesterday. Something will have to give- your wrist, your sanity, or your life.
3- Many times, it IS NOT ABOUT YOUR SKILL. Many jobs are won only based on how much you are willing to cut your own throat. That's the reality, and I'm ot afraid to say it- and neither should you.
3- Where is all the mentorship and apprentice programs for young designers? Oh yeah...the old guard doesn't give a shit about the newbies, and tend to look down on them with disdain. They are too high and mighty (used to be just like us...sigh). Many are loathe to put much effort into the next gen, because creatives are inherently selfish, and directly contribute to the creatives- young and old- getting taken advantage of.
4- Wishful thinking- Dudes and dudettes, design is business, not your hobby of the heart that you can hopefully eat from. If it's business, treat it as such and tell the piranha's to f- off. If it's your heart, why worry about rates...just get "something" and save the rest for the pro's.
5- Business school. There should be a huge market for designers of business school grads and entrepreneurs that need design for media kits, sales decks, etc. But there isn't . Turns out that many, many people on the business side haven't a clue as too what the value of a logo and creative materials are to their company. Not a one clue. Amazing, right? Suffice it to say, that's where young designers should be able. So with that gaping hole, the general american attitude of art in general (plan to be poor/starving artist), and the unwillingness of larger companies to work with young talent, leaves a minefield for creatives to navigate to try to establish themselves and command decent salaries. Then they get advice on how to work for free...what a pile of shit we have to deal with.
Until someone comes up with a post that actually states prices (fix a toilet- 200 bucks...so scary), then we have made no progress as an industry.
I dislike Cheap clients... They are everywhere like the plague! Had a guy offer me $100 to redesign his e-commerce website! I'll stop bitching...
I would also add bartering! I'm working with a guy in exchange for some high quality outdoor gear! Shoes, Clothing, Hiking/Camping stuff. I have a buddy who did some work for an $1200 Nikkor lens. I think you need to be careful with bartering but sometimes it works out for both parties.
This topic was the subject of a talk I gave at the reboot conference in Copenhagen called "Working for Free":
Completely agree - this has been my policy for the last year+. There's no downside and plenty of up.
In response to @aardvark, who's reluctant to charge his clients for learning-time, I get that. But remember we work in a constantly developing industry, where constant learning and change is required in order to be considered an expert. I have clients ask me for things I don't know how to do all the time, and my estimates include the time it will take for me to figure out how to deliver what they need. I'm totally up front about this and tell them when I haven't done something before; so far 100% of the time they've appreciated the honesty and my willingness to figure it out for them.
I'm also strict about referring away clients who ask for stuff I'm not interested in learning. For instance I don't have any desire to get learn the in's and out's of e-commerce, so I refer away all clients who will *ever* want e-comm to someone I know can take care of their needs long-term. Specializing in just one aspect of web development, in my case customizing WordPress, really helps with the learning curve.
Best of luck to you!
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I totally agree. Same applies for doing work for friends and family. Relationships are at stake when it's a business transaction, even a heavily discounted one.
What do you think about doing "cheap" work to compete with off-shore designers/developers? The rates they charge are very cheap by some standards, but especially when starting out, designers have to compete with that.