Friday, August 20, 2010

Setting the Right Price - 1. Know Your Worth

For over 15 years I have always dreaded one part of website and graphic design, and that was setting the price for a client.

Not only is creating an estimate terribly labor intensive (because design has so many components), but mostly because it moved me away from creativity and brought me into the world of stodgy Dollars and Sense. How do I set the right price for me, so I can pay rent and live comfortably, and for my client, so that they can, first hire me with a deposit, and second, pay me when I am done?

Setting the Right Price is never easy (unless you're a one price kind of guy/girl, then you can skip this blog) but with a little work and knowledge, both you and your client can be happy with the price you set and they pay.

What's the Big Deal?

If you are like me, no two websites (or graphic design projects) are the same. Some are big, others are small. The big websites pay out big, but the headaches can compound; restrictive creative control and tight deadlines. The small websites pay out little, but I might get greater creative control and work at a more reasonable pace, less stressful pace.

Whether the website project is big or small, the Proposal/Estimate takes the same kind of preparatione. Now for the Steps:

1. Know What You Are Worth

This Knowledge of your Value is crucial to helping you start pricing your web design and it is the hardest. If you are like me you know you are worth a million bucks, but you haven't found the right person to pay a million bucks for your work. So what am I really worth? Am I only worth the sum of my bills?

Make a decision: I am worth $25 per hour (or $50 or $100) and stick to it. Tough words? Yes, but it beats the feeling that you've undersold your time and given away much more than you wanted. I hear designers constantly complaining about how they lost money on a project or felt like the client stole something from them. That is untrue if you gave them a price and they paid (gun pointing would be the exception).

You set the standard, You set the price, You do the work. The client pays for results and if they can't afford your results then make the tough choice to live without them or lower your price.

On a Personal Note: Most every job that I have done in the first 8 years of my design experience was undervalued. Hey, I needed the work, I needed the experience and I needed a break. So I took whatever, for whatever. But once I put some experience under my belt and had a portfolio I was able to leverage my experience to increase my value and get the price I want.

Next Blog: Setting the Right Price - 2. Count the Cost

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