[fred65]

Hello everyone, I've been working for a company as a graphic designer for 3 years. I just got engaged and i need extra cash. After graduating i started working full time as a G.Designer. Now i want to freelance, how much should i charge per hour or job?

[Mandy Moo]

somebody said in another thread between £5-50ph. I think £5 is too little, I charge £30ph if that helps.

[sub]

Originally Posted by fred65

Hello everyone, I've been working for a company as a graphic designer for 3 years. I just got engaged and i need extra cash. After graduating i started working full time as a G.Designer. Now i want to freelance, how much should i charge per hour or job?

Depends what your overheads are. This question comes up far too often. If you search the forum you will find a post with a system to help you work it all out.

[herkalees]

Read this Nine Factors to Consider When Determining Your Price - FreelanceSwitch - The Freelance Blog and this FreelanceSwitch Hourly Rate Calculator

[PixelHive]

Got a portfolio you can show us?

[Hunch]

I have several core clients for whom I do ongoing work. They tend to feed me stuff on a very regular basis, and I just bill them at the end of each month for hours worked, regardless of whether or not I'm half way through a particular project. It keeps their payments regular and manageable and suits them and me.

I use freshbooks.com for the time tracking and billing, and my clients all have a login that allows them to monitor how the hours are stacking up. They really like it and being able to see the hours as they update each day really seems to reassure them that they're getting a fair deal.

Clients I don't have an existing relationship with, I tend to steer towards a one-off fee based on the brief. Firstly it gives them a concrete figure that they can budget for - there are no unexpected overruns. Or, if I get the job done more quickly than I expected it's a little more profitable for me. The figure is usually based on my expectation of how many hours it's going to take, rounded up to the nearest full day (unless it's a tiny job, but I tend not to take those from new clients unless I'm convinced it'll lead to something bigger).

My standard fee is 6,000 yen p.h. for programming (about $60) and 5,000 for design (about $50). But occasionally I'll vary it depending on the client. That's not a great indicator though. The cost of living, salaries etc. are different in Japan and don't really compare, especially given the fluctuating exchange rate at the moment.

It looks like things are about to change though. My biggest client has been asking me to work for them for several months now, and they've just increased their offer to the point where the money is just too good to say no.

[website-design]

Wow i feel like doing frelance designing now all off a sudden! Is freelance work worth it? - how do you manage time?

... but im guessing you need a good client base to do freelancing ...

... unless offcourse you are doing it as a partime job ....

_________________
website designing

[dorislyf]

May be no charge! but you need to live

[R.sonist]

The same answer as what a pimp gives to his ho when she asks the same thing, How much are you worth?????

[niggle]

Now i want to freelance, how much should i charge per hour or job?

Only McDesigners get paid by the hour.

Discuss with your client what they need and how long it'll take and see how that fits with their budget. Work to that figure and don't charge more. The more efficiently you work, the better your end of the deal will be.

Oh and don't undersell yourself. If they can't afford you, you shouldn't be working with them. Your work is valuable, don't give it away for less than it's worth.

[herkalees]

Originally Posted by niggle

Only McDesigners get paid by the hour.

Nearly everyone has an hourly rate; often, there's a scale of hourly rates based on the type of work.

I presume you mean don't work on an hourly basis...

[d*d]

My hourly rate is not for my clients, it's for me to work out how much to charge depending on how long I think a job will take me - the simplest way is to pick a wage you think you deserve then decide roughly how many days a week you realistically expect to fill with client work, a simple bit of Math should give you a good estimate for a daily/ hourly rate

[niggle]

Nearly everyone has an hourly rate; often, there's a scale of hourly rates based on the type of work.

Yes, I should have clarified: I don't charge an hourly rate and I don't hire or work with anyone who does.

I work with people who are there to do the best job they can, not clockwatching halfwits whose mission is to do the bare minimum. But then I'm in the fortunate position of not having to take on jobs which are measured in minutes and pay peanuts, and even better not having to work with the sort of low-rent characters who do.

[Hunch]

You're becoming an even bigger, sadder, joke version of the moron who was here yesterday. If I didn't think you were a desperate troll that had nowhere else to go, I'd actually feel sorry for you that you believe you're impressing anyone.

Anyway, run along. Break time is nearly over and you've got double maths after lunch. You'll never pass your GSCE if you're late again.

[88mph]

does anyone know if that rate calculator factors in tax, and if there is a UK version?

[niggle]

Originally Posted by Hunch

You're becoming an even bigger, sadder, joke version of the moron who was here yesterday. If I didn't think you were a desperate troll that had nowhere else to go, I'd actually feel sorry for you that you believe you're impressing anyone.

You have an exceptionally narrow view of the design industry, don't you? And yet you feel so sure that you know it all. You think that everyone must work the same way as you do and shout down anyone who has an easier, better way that yields better returns for everyone involved.

You say that I'm sad? You're the one who can't handle new ideas without resorting to name-calling.

[Hunch]

Originally Posted by niggle

You have an exceptionally narrow view of the design industry, don't you? And yet you feel so sure that you know it all. You think that everyone must work the same way as you do and shout down anyone who has an easier, better way that yields better returns for everyone involved.

Main Entry:
hy·poc·ri·sy
Pronunciation:
\hi-ˈpä-krə-sē also hī-\
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural hy·poc·ri·sies
Etymology:
Middle English ypocrisie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrisis, from Greek hypokrisis act of playing a part on the stage, hypocrisy, from hypokrinesthai to answer, act on the stage, from hypo- + krinein to decide — more at certain
Date:
13th century

1: the false assumption of an appearance of virtue
2: insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have
3: niggle

[illvibe]

Originally Posted by niggle

I don't charge an hourly rate and I don't hire or work with anyone who does.

Originally Posted by niggle

You have an exceptionally narrow view of the design industry, don't you?

That sounds pretty silly to me.

[niggle]

That sounds pretty silly to me.

Really? Why?

I think it makes very good sense to hire people who are there to see the job to a good conclusion instead of part-timers who just want to make up a preset number of hours, take their money and get out of there.

I've hired a few freelancers in the past and without exception there have been very good reasons why they were scraping an hourly pittance instead of working full time for a decent monthly salary.

[d*d]

Originally Posted by niggle

I think it makes very good sense to hire people who are there to see the job to a good conclusion instead of part-timers who just want to make up a preset number of hours, take their money and get out of there.

Originally Posted by niggle

I've hired a few freelancers in the past and without exception there have been very good reasons why they were scraping an hourly pittance instead of working full time for a decent monthly salary.

I'm sorry your experience with freelancers has been so poor, you seem determined to use that tar brush for all other freelancers, the 'take the money and run' implication that you have for the freelance work model wouldn't be a sustainable one as you'd run out of clients - I suggest you look at how at how your agency is resourcing external help