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jamestl2
10-03-2009, 11:34 PM
Hey guys,

As I stated in my intro thread, I'm just starting a new Wordpress business and I could use some advice.

I basically offer services to people that ask for them (people who aren't as fluent in CSS, XHTML, as I am). I'm trying to find the best way to set the prices.

I've charged a bit for some projects before, on a freelance site, and I was well-qualified for the work, but really the only reason I had an idea on how much people would pay is because the system was bid-based, and I could see what other people were charging, so I went a tad lower to win the contracts.

I already understand that every project will be different, and there will varying prices, but I'm just trying to discover the way to achieve a best estimate as to what I should base my prices off of.

I already had a few ideas of how to determine the prices (how much time I put in, how simple the job is, etc.) But I don't know how "rare" these skills can be considered in the web development industry, considering most of my clients will probably have no coding knowledge whatsoever, and they're mostly interested in running their own personal or business blog.

orion_joel
10-04-2009, 02:18 AM
I think time should be a important factor in pricing. Purely because most development will to some extent rely on your time, and the more time you spend the more it should be worth.

Another factor could be how reusable what you develop is. For example if you develop a plugin for someone that takes you maybe 10 hours to code and test. working at $40 an hour would be $400, however if it is something you could also offer to other users looking for something similar maybe you might only charge for 5 hours and write the rest off to developing future products.

But at the end of the day my opinion is that what you charge, for services comes down a lot to what you are willing to accept for your time. You may not want to earn less then $400 a day, which would convert to $50 an hour for 8 hour day. Maybe you only have 3 or 4 hours a day now, but you are working towards your target income.

Vangogh may be able to share a more insightful opinion from a place a little closer to the topic though.

Spider
10-04-2009, 09:29 AM
There are two ways that businesses determine what to charge for anything they sell, whether goods or services - cost or value.

Now it can be argued that if something costs, say, $100 to produce, yet is valued by the buyer as being worth $500 to them, the seller should charge $500. However, it could also be argued that 400% excess profit is wrong.

Then there is the difficulty of producing something for $100, and having a number of buyers all of whom find the product of different value to them. Do you charge different prices to each buyer depending on the value it is to them?

The "proper" way to price a product (goods or services) is to calculate the labor costs and material costs, add the cost of equipment use, add for overheads (office costs, etc.) and finally add a percentage for a reasonable profit.

Harold Mansfield
10-04-2009, 02:55 PM
Hey guys,

As I stated in my intro thread, I'm just starting a new Wordpress business and I could use some advice.

I basically offer services to people that ask for them (people who aren't as fluent in CSS, XHTML, as I am). I'm trying to find the best way to set the prices.

I've charged a bit for some projects before, on a freelance site, and I was well-qualified for the work, but really the only reason I had an idea on how much people would pay is because the system was bid-based, and I could see what other people were charging, so I went a tad lower to win the contracts.

I already understand that every project will be different, and there will varying prices, but I'm just trying to discover the way to achieve a best estimate as to what I should base my prices off of.

I already had a few ideas of how to determine the prices (how much time I put in, how simple the job is, etc.) But I don't know how "rare" these skills can be considered in the web development industry, considering most of my clients will probably have no coding knowledge whatsoever, and they're mostly interested in running their own personal or business blog.

"regular" people have no skills in coding, WP, or any other web development. So the fact that you do is a marketable skill with value.
Personally, I looked at what others in my field were charging and got right in the neighborhood, but I also came up with a few package options that are a flat fee for specific services.

I'd say do a combination of that.

vangogh
10-05-2009, 11:27 AM
James it can be confusing trying to set prices at first. I know it was for me. Ultimately you want to charge people per project, but it helps to base things on time and your hourly rate at first.

1. Don't feel like what you offer isn't 'rare' enough. You offer a service and that service has value. You have to be confident in yourself and what you charge if you want people to feel confident in you and become clients.

2. Figure out a reasonable hourly rate to base your projects on. I did some searching to find similar businesses in my are with similar experience. Some listed rates and others I called or emailed asking about a typical small project to help me figure out their rates.

3. Always keep track of your time. In the beginning you won't know how long it takes you to do a job, but if you record your time it won't take long to know.

4. When someone comes to you with a project do your best to estimate how long it will take. Multiply by your hourly rate and add a little extra since you're estimate will probably be on the optimistic side.

5. Early on you may be all over with your estimates Some high and some low. The more you estimate, the better you'll get at it. Also get to know your clients. Some will be easy to work with and others will always take more time than you think. Learn to adjust your estimates based on individual clients.

Overal pricing is something that's hard for many to work out. Just know it gets easier in time. You'll probably wing it a little in the beginning, but over time it really does get easier.

jamestl2
10-09-2009, 08:53 PM
Thanks for the tips guys :).

Sometimes I tend to think that since I code all the time, many other people will also find that these skills come easily, even if this is totally not the case.

I have looked at the competition to formulate some pricings and I started calculating my rates at a bit lower than most of the competition (although not too low) to make sure I get the job and get more freelance experience under my belt.

The jobs I've done so far really haven't take very long, no more than an hour to complete the entire task. Although judging by their tendencies, they probably expected the work to finish in a day or two, I can't say for sure.

Another aspect I'm curious about is timing the pricing. Generally speaking, do people look for quotes from freelancers such as myself first, or should I ask for client's budget estimates?

vangogh
10-09-2009, 09:14 PM
Sometimes I tend to think that since I code all the time, many other people will also find that these skills come easily, even if this is totally not the case.

It's not just you and it's not just coding. I think we all forget sometimes how much skill goes into what we do. For me it's now trivial to open up a code editor, connect to a web server, and make a few changes to a website. It's easy to forget most people would be completely lost doing the same.

Two thoughts about timing the pricing. I used to wait on mentioning it, but now I start the discussion of price right away. I will ask if there's a budget as the first part of the discussion. Be prepared for a lot of clients not to have a budget. In many cases they simply don't know how much web development work should cost.

The reason for bringing up price early is:

1. It immediately gets rid of the people who aren't interested in paying. Sadly there are too many people who will waste your time and try to get free information. When the conversation turns to price they go away.

2. It shows you're professional and know your work has value. it makes negotiating easier if something is out on the table. It's too easy to talk about everything but price and before you know it you've spent several hours on a project already with no mention of price.

That doesn't mean your first email reply is going to give a price. You do need to find out what's involved in the project so you can estimate how long it will take and how much work it will be. I'll usually toss around some general prices early on, which gives you a feel for how much the client is looking to spend, even if they didn't specifically set a budget.

As you gather more information about what they want and clues about how much they're looking to spend, you can come up with an estimate for how much the work they want will cost and how much you can do for the price they want to spend.

It all takes some practice. In the beginning do your best. You'll do well on some projects and not so well on others as far as how much you make. Pay attention and keep track of how much time you spend working on everything and learn what you can from each project. It takes a little time, but pricing does get easier after you've dealt with a few clients.

huggytree
10-11-2009, 09:22 AM
the first thing to do is figure out how much it costs YOU...add up all your expenses (yes office time should be included), pay yourself a normal wage for what it is you do.

now you know the minimum price you need to break even and make a normal wage

now to determine the profit .you can either pick a % (10%+) or call your competition and find out what they charge...call 10....take the highest & lowest and go in the middle.

if you cant get atleast 10% profit i wouldnt be in that business....i try for 30% profit for my plumbing business...but not on new homes.... its tight and i can only get 10% ... ive become the highest priced plumber at 10%....i refuse to work for less.

dont try to compete to be the lowest price...someone will always be lower...50% of people only buy the lowest and will spend hours researching to find the lowest...focus on the 50% who will pay extra for value/service......by being mid priced you can give better service and give your customer a better product...focus on being different and explaining what makes your company better......other than Walmart I feel fighting for the low price means you wont survive long.

low price shoppers may be up to 60% these days.

magicman
10-11-2009, 11:57 AM
I provide a different service, but I think this goes for anything: you should figure out what your costs are to do the service and then come up with a price that makes the customer feel they got a lot for their money. This does not mean to charge very little, but make it so that they feel that you gave them more than what they would normally get for that price.

I perform magic shows and while some go to a party and work out of one case, I bring extras, music, a backdrop curtain, a side table, giveaways, I even stay a while to do a little bit of close up magic for the adults (8-10 minutes after packing up). It doesn't cost much more to do all the little extras, but it increases the value. The prices I quote include travel (the price changes depending on the location) so there are NO added fees, and I tell them that.

Here are some things I read about pricing that can be applied to almost anything. Keep your price what it is, if you let someone talk you down, you are saying you are not worth what you usually charge. If you offer different packages, start describing the biggest one first, so that you are taking away from the one with the highest value when describing the others, making the first THE one to get. I have yet to try it but it sounds like it can work well.

vangogh
10-12-2009, 12:39 PM
In this case the cost is just time. There really isn't any material cost. Costs won't exist so much on a project by project basis as they will overall. For example it's a good idea for a web developer to get a good code editor. James may already have one or he may choose a free one. If he does buy one it might be as much as $100, which isn't a cost you'd apply to a specific project, but rather all your projects.

I do agree in general that you have to figure out what it will cost. James will first need to figure out a rate, which he has, and then figure out the time it takes to complete a project. I know that was hard for me to do (estimating time) when I first started. Once you have a few sites under your belt it becomes easier.

Evan
10-18-2009, 12:49 PM
If you know what others charge in the industry, I'd charge the customary fee. Though there are many people who do the same thing yet charges considerably different rates -- notably doctors, attorneys, accountants, architects, and other professionals. [Most have health insurance, and therefore don't care about the price of a doctor, because they make a co-payment. But what they charge to insurance for reimbursement does vary.] Why is one person more expensive than another? It's generally the standard rate, plus some for their experience in the field. If they were very high demand, they could set an even higher rate as a way of increasing revenue and deterring some people away. [This could focus some clients, but isn't advisable for a new business.] The other significant factor is the cost of living in the area you work.

One way of calculating this billable rate is taking the amount of money you'd like to make annually, divided by the number of hours you anticipate working. If you'd like to make (revenue) $50,000 a year by working 20 hours a week, you need to charge (50,000)/(50 x 20). (I assume 50 weeks so you can have a vacation). What does that came out to? $50 an hour.

Keep in mind that would be revenue, and you'll have expenses. So you'll need to adjust accordingly depending on what your overhead is, and also the cost of living.

AdamG
11-03-2009, 11:41 PM
The vexed question of pricing. I've probably seen more anguish over this than any other aspect of business.

There are a couple of issues here: one is your costs, and you absolutely have to know those. In 20 years of consulting to small businesses I've found that most don't know their real costs.

The problem with a cost plus approach is that can lead to inefficiency e.g. the more it costs the more you make, or you can price yourself out of the market. You have to know your costs and your walk away margin, but that should not necessarily e your price.

So many small businesses leave money on the table because they are afraid to charge the proper price because they're scared they might lose the sale. As one client said to me, his business didn't start to grow until he learnt to say NO.

Let me tell you about a classic mistake I made some years ago. I was asked for an indicative price to prepare some marketing material for a new venture the prospect was planning. It was a field he knew and his cashflow projections showed a surplus of $90,000 at the end of the first year.

So I did some calculations of my time at my rate and told him. At which point the prospect turned white and walked out. If I had asked him how much he was prepared to pay to get $90,000 surplus at the end of the first year (i.e. prepared his mind) I reckon he would have paid three times my estimate, and I would have got the job.

Customers don't know our costs, they only know the value to them. Finding that out might take some gentle exploration, but it is worth the effort.

vangogh
11-03-2009, 11:52 PM
So many small businesses leave money on the table because they are afraid to charge the proper price because they're scared they might lose the sale. As one client said to me, his business didn't start to grow until he learnt to say NO.

That's a great point and I'm as guilty of the mistake as anyone. Early on I would take most any job and would always give out a low price for fear of losing the job. All it did was keep me working on projects that weren't what I wanted to do, often for clients I didn't want to talk to let alone work for, and all for a wage that was way below what I deserved.

Then one day one client pushed me a little too far and I started saying no. I learned which projects to turn down and then learned to identify those projects as quickly as possible. I learned which clients were going to waste more of my time and again I learned to identify them quickly.

For awhile it was scary since I didn't have much money and was turning down work, but before long I did start getting better clients, better projects, and money more in line with the value I provide.

A lot of small business, especially services based small business comes from word or mouth, recommendations from past clients. If you're always accepting low paying jobs from problem clients guess who's mouth is spreading the word and guess what kind of client's ears are hearing that word?

Dan Furman
11-05-2009, 11:41 AM
That's a great point and I'm as guilty of the mistake as anyone. Early on I would take most any job and would always give out a low price for fear of losing the job. All it did was keep me working on projects that weren't what I wanted to do, often for clients I didn't want to talk to let alone work for, and all for a wage that was way below what I deserved.

Then one day one client pushed me a little too far and I started saying no. I learned which projects to turn down and then learned to identify those projects as quickly as possible. I learned which clients were going to waste more of my time and again I learned to identify them quickly.

For awhile it was scary since I didn't have much money and was turning down work, but before long I did start getting better clients, better projects, and money more in line with the value I provide.

A lot of small business, especially services based small business comes from word or mouth, recommendations from past clients. If you're always accepting low paying jobs from problem clients guess who's mouth is spreading the word and guess what kind of client's ears are hearing that word?

Yea, I learned this as well. I'd rather turn down the job than do it cut-rate. Much happier in business since I started doing that. And I noticed I have just as much work as before, too.

vangogh
11-05-2009, 11:53 AM
It was definitely scary saying no to people when I really needed the work, but in a short amount of time I had more work than when I was saying yes to everyone. I also had more enjoyable projects to work on and I was making more money for doing those projects.

Learning to say no and understanding you don't need or want everyone who contacts you to become a client is an important step for new service based businesses.

billbenson
11-05-2009, 01:31 PM
I price high, knowing I'll loose some business. I can also discount as appropriate that way. I really just look at the bottom line on the order to decide on discounting. If the profit is there I discount, but never on little stuff.

vangogh
11-05-2009, 08:47 PM
I price high, knowing I'll loose some business

I don't see that as losing business, but rather choosing who you'll do business with. If you can profit more at the higher price then that's the price you should go with. If you can profit more at a lower price then that's the price you should go with.

You lose some business at a lower price point too.

yoyoyoyoyo
12-11-2009, 07:12 PM
Web-related jobs... sheesh.

Where do I begin?


I think Van Gogh nailed it with dealing with problem clients. People who contact you, and spend A LOT of time wasting your time.

You have to learn who these people are, and how to direct the conversation based on your knowledge, and not the prospect's.

Why?

because of this next part, which is even as foreboding as the first instance, but not as much (InMyOpinion)


The fact that people generally DO NOT know how much your work is worth, how long it takes or how long it might not take, the level of complexity, or simplicity, etc. Or the amount of time you put in to gaining those kinds of specialized skills.

I've found clients who wanted something done for about 10 times more than something was really worth. And yes, while I think it's probably okay (in some respects) to accept higher estimates, in lieu of a client taking up several more hours of your time... I also have a problem with just raping them too.

If a client want to pay me 10 times what something is worth, they sound surprised when I try to talk them down a bit on the price. However, they regard me for being honest about my services and are more likely to work with someone in the future that they feel they can trust than someone who they can't. There have even been times where a client, whose price I talked down, has paid me extra for it (willingly) *because* I was honest with them at the outset.


Then, the client I hate... hate, hate hate hate, yes HATE!!! lol

is the kind of person who just undervalues what you do. They want to create the next amazon.com/pandora.com (or whatever), and they want it all for 13 dollars. [I exaggerate for that price, but you get the point]


They come across acting like they want to do this great thing, this great Big Important Thing, but really know nothing at all when it comes to starting a web-biz.

They think that all they need is a website.


Well, newsflash: there are millions of Gorgeous sites out there that aren't making a dime. Why is that? simple: advertising.


I had a college student tell me he was quoted for site-development at 20k

I gave him an honest estimate of his base-costs, which are simply his- and something I wouldn't charge him a dime for, and At The Very Basic, it'd cost him 1000 per year.

But the site itself? no more than anywhere from 500 to 2000 depending on how freaky he wanted to get with site-functionality and features.

And then I told him about advertising.


I probably miss out on some contracts when I tell people about some of the extra costs they might need to consider, but you know what? I think it makes more sense to have people saying GREAT things about you than people running around all over the place saying you ripped them off. And i'm finding, like someone noted earlier, if you focus on service and quality of service, you will have the same people you did great work for- coming back to you again, and again.

And that's worth more in business (residual clients, residiual anything, for that matter) than a simple one-off where you shank someone on the price or try to rip them off, etc.

---

One of my greatest horror stories online is this chick who wanted an all out flash site for 200, which Realistically, should be valued at anywhere from 700 to 800

and then she ended up being just one huge time/energy vampire. You have to know who these people are, and in your contracts, reserve the right to say something to the affect of "yeah, even though you signed on to have this work done, I can refund your monies and just walk the other way at any time"

You need to know, like Van Gogh said, whose going to eff up your sh*t; and who are going to be those people that are just dream clients. The people who know the value of your services, appreciate your work, and come back to you time and time again.


One of the most foreboding, (or shall I say?) time-consuming things to do is to walk a customer through the market... show them WHY your services are worth what they are worth, and what others are charging all around. That can take some time, heck, educating yourself on these factors can consume your own time... even more so if you have to spend time walking someone else through the process.

Then again, it's like you're going to spend 5 hours telling someone, "look, do you know what an associative array or a variable is, an operand, a function?! DO YOU?!?!... heck, maybe that's why i'm charging you X amount of dollars for this"

but I have been in situations where educating the prospect can take as much as an hour of phone time, and walking them through the market, educating them on various things before having them feel comfortable about why I settled on one price over another that i'd quote them at, or whatever price they're trying to rape me for.


You just have to actually suffer the scars of the experience, and know your market and how to explain concepts (simply, though not indepthly) to people to determine what it is they're trying to do, and what they're trying to do at your expense, and determine whether that's worth your time before you'll even know.

like real estate, for example. You might not be familiar with a market, or a neighborhood. But some research, some time investigating can make you a viable competitor in that market, or knowledgeable therein.

Time-Management: how to use one's time most effectively, is perhaps one of the greatest skills that needs to be learnt before starting an online business. In my opinion, I have come to find.

vangogh
12-11-2009, 09:18 PM
Now where do I begin? :)

Part of being in a service business is figuring out who your ideal clients are and holding on to them when you get them. It's also about learning to identify those clients that will be a drain on your business and being able to say no to them.

With web stuff we do need to help educate our clients about some things. In all fairness to them there's no reason why they should understand what we do or how much time and work goes into it. No more than we would necessarily understand what goes into their business. Sometimes clients approach me thinking their job will cost a lot and it's easy and other times clients approach me thinking something is a quick fix and it's a lot of work.

Trust factors heavily into it because sometimes we have to rely on clients trusting what we tell them.

The people who get to me most are the ones who want you to recreate Google for $100. I don't expect people to know exactly what web development costs, but they should realize it costs more to build a business from scratch than $100. The other type of person that's a pain is the feature creep person. The one who keeps asking for more while you're working on a project. That more seems small, but keeps adding up.

In both cases I find the easiest solution is to just give a price. Let the $100 guy know what his project really costs and when feature creep guy asks for more get back to him with a price about how much that new thing will cost. Seems to work well on both.

yoyoyoyoyo
12-12-2009, 03:26 PM
Trust factors heavily into it because sometimes we have to rely on clients trusting what we tell them.

Very true.

due to their lack of knowledge about your business, they need to know you're someone who isn't ripping them off. Plus I find, if you can actually teach or increase someone's insight on what it is they're getting into (without making it sound so foreboding) it causes people to be more confident in you and keep you, because you're actually helping them in a way that they're not getting helped with by so many others who just want those one-offs where they quote people at ridiculous amounts and don't achieve any additional, residual customer requests for work.


Like you say, you're not going to know every single thing about their business (in most cases). But you also don't think you're going to overvalue your services in some unethical way, just like you wouldn't appreciate someone undervaluing your services either.

I think the number one thing that gets to me with prospects is that they have been conditioned to accept the idea that "everything on the net is free": movies, games, software, music, etc.

That, when I got to thinking about it... I realized, "heck, maybe there is a reason someone assumes my specialized skills/knowledge is actually OWED to them, or should be given away for free"


And, online especially, that's something to take into account with trying to get into anything online; where people don't know the value of your services (i.e. the general public, in my opinion)

Whereas, the people who know what you're worth are typically (in my experience) webmasters themselves. Already somewhat familiar with the services you provide, but not necessarily possessing a fluent knowledge in the skills they need that you provide. These have tended to be more of the people that I find worth talking to, and working with, when it comes to starting up an online venture.


When I first started, I didn't know that. So I spent A LOT of time talking to the general public: all kinds of dreamers wanting to do epic things but didn't know the things they would need to know that would make them successful in the first place, and ended up wasting all kinds of time. But an interesting learning experience, nonetheless. So I can't say it was a completely "bad" thing, either.

You kinda' have to pay your dues along the way to figure out where you fit in, and how you go about it. And you want to be as adaptive as possible, possess an interest in what you do- especially an interest in constantly furthering your education concerning same; and after using your head, learning, you can start to use even more and more of what you have learnt to get ahead and (if transferable) move some of those other business skills you've learnt in your first business to the next, and the next, and the next.

You have to want to learn, and you have to want to fail/fall (every now and then); while using every ounce of your knowledge to succeed as much as possible, while trying not to fall or fail. You can't be afraid of failure. You just got to get out there and try something out. Be dedicated. Continue to pick yourself up, over and over and over and over again.

Because if you go into anything, especially an online biz, with the idea that you're going to create the next Google success story in the next 3 months and be an ultra billionaire, it's probably not going to happen.

Realistically, you're not going to be an idiot (if you want to make it): you're going to WORK/STUDY, have a knowledge of the various things you need to know and improve upon those understandings On A Constant Basis, you're going to need to know Marketing, and Your Market; and you're going to need to know how to structure sales in the most cost affective/efficient way possible.

For an online venture that means driving targeted traffic to your site in large numbers, (or as large as you an manage, on the budget you have available): wash, rinse, and repeat. If your product is found favourable by your audience, they will be receptive to it and buy. If they're not, they wont.

And that's really the simple part of the entire equation. The hard part is developing a constant knowledge of that market, staying ahead of the competition, and making a point of fact about why they need what you offer or why it would benefit those whom you are speaking to: To Download Your PlugIn, To Try Your Service for 30 days free and then get billed 29.95 (or whatever) after that per month, etc.


Just knocking on the right doors, learning from the appropriate experiences, and adapting to one's knowledge being continually shaped and sharpened- is really going to see you through, overall.

The question is then: can I do this thing that i'd like to do with this amount of time, with these kinds of resources, with the knowledge I possess? And whether you swim or fail seems to be indicative of "yes I can" or "no, not yet"

and if it's "no": than it's the difference between going back to the drawing board (after picking yourself up), or just straight up, giving up. And a lot of people give up, because they don't want to fail, because they don't want to fall. But those are usually, aside from learning from other people's mistakes, the best ways to learn what not to do as well as what to do in the future.

That's why I put an emphasis on the idea of wanting to fall/fail, while simultaneously, doing everything you can not to- on your path to success.

sorry for the Obama-like rant.

---

The trouble with software though is that so many people are getting it for free (whether legally or illegally)

So, in that respect: the question you have to answer, as a provider of of it is, "Why should my customer pay X dollars for this, when they can just go over to Competitor X's site and get it for half the price, or even free?"

Aside from the above, already discussed, the why and how of people feeling as if everything online should just be free like the movies they illegally download from Paramount, etc.

And that seems to be a tougher question to solve these days than anything.


The geeks, surprisingly, have found ways to give away so much. Yet their knowledge is specialized, and Potent! They possess skills that not a lot of people have, but they throw money away.

Why is that?

because a lot of them are geeks and not business personalities.


Now I have nothing against free, believe me. lol

But when you look at the other side of the coin, and you're actually trying to figure out how to make that hard-earned (nay, Very Hard Earned) knowledge work for you [especially in an area like computer science/programming], than the dichotomy appears when you try to figure out, "How can I make the most on Product X when my more well-funded, already brand-name established competitor is working on ways of giving it to millions for free?"

That seems to be the issue online, and solving the problem seems to require a knowledge of all the various niches or customers that want to get in on what you do, the way that you want them to get in on it.

---

the adult industry online is a good example.

You got a 40 year old guy who has no problem whipping out a credit card to make a 29.95 dollar a month purchase on the site who's services he's prescribed to: spending what, 360 something dollars a year?

When you got Johnny from Alabama, a 20 year old who knows about things like rapidshare/megaupload/easyshare and manages to get all of his content for free.


You know, that seems to be just an aspect of THE PLETHORA of complexities surrounding the online market and how to tackle it "appropriately", especially in a market that changes as quickly as this one. That is always being changed, that is always being revalued and redefined.

Just some things/concepts I thought i'd throw out there when figuring out what to value your Product X at :)

The Entrepreneurs Network
12-13-2009, 08:42 AM
Presuming you do not have a lot of overhead cost you should firstly get compensated for your time. Try to estimate how many hours a job will take and then you need to set an hourly rate. Because you are just starting out, you need to gauge how your skills compare to the competition and set your rate according ly. Test the waters. Look at some freelance sites and see what jobs go for and determine your hourly rate from there. Once you have established yourself in the industry you can maybe find a niche and specialize and charge more. Play around with the hourly rate and see how much work you get.

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