Ahoy, me hearties!

Excuse my lousy pirate speak. I haven’t been practicing lately. Anyway, welcome to the second article in this series. Before reading this, you should check out the previous article here . So yeah, it’s time to talk about the moolah. After all, that’s why we’re doing freelancing in the end, isn’t it? Yes, yes, some of you will claim to be doing it solely for learning. That’s good for you, mate. I’ll get you some cookies in a bit. Meanwhile, let’s get back to business here. Earning money doesn’t come easy to most freelancers in the beginning. I know it wasn’t for me. “How much do you earn?” That was one question I dreaded beyond anything as a beginner. This was my face after the question usually:

Yep. I couldn’t even pay my internet bills from my freelance earnings during the first couple of months. I know there must be many like me who dread that question. So this chapter is about how much you should charge from your clients. It will answer some of the most frequently asked questions on the topic. Let’s go!

Chapter 2: How much should I charge?

In the beginning, we work for literally anything, but after you start getting more projects, it’s good to negotiate. When I started freelancing, not negotiating was the biggest mistake I made. I settled down for anything the clients offered, but after a while, things started getting difficult for me. For instance, I didn’t evaluate the time it would take me to finish a project. It took me a long time, but I had to settle for for a very low price. I never charged for revisions and clients usually demanded lots of revisions. After facing more problems like this, I decided to create a system to evaluate how much I should charge for a project. I’m going to share it with you now.

Decide your hourly rates.

Hourly rates depend on many things. One mistake many freelancers make is not adding operating costs to their hourly rate. Like if you have an office, you should calculate the hourly rent you pay for it. Even if you work from home, you should calculate your hourly cost by taking into account various operating overheads, like Internet charges, Electricity cost,Taxes, etc. The major portion of our hourly rates will be the actual cost. If you are confident enough about how much you should charge, then go with it. The best thing you can do is go check what other freelancers with the same skills charge. You will always get a minimum hourly rate and maximum hourly rate for a particular skill. You need to calculate the average from that, and start by charging that amount. You can always increase it in the future. In case you have a skill which is offered by no one else out there, you are the king of the hill. You can charge anything reasonable, because you will be setting the maximum hourly rate here.

Know your client

Even today, this is the first thing I do when I get a request. See, you need to bring out your inner Sherlock Holmes here. Search your clients on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and anywhere else you can. Search! Search!! Search!!!

You should know every possible thing about you client. Does he work alone or is he part of a business organization? Is it a big business or a small business? Where is the client from? What’s the average hourly rate of your skill in their country? These are just some of the things you should consider before evaluating the quotation of the project. Always try to ask this question.

“What’s your budget for this project?”

There is always a slight chance that you are undercharging the client, even if they are willing to pay more. Of course, they will not tell you their max budget, but you can always negotiate if what they quote doesn’t work for you. Negotiating is a skill that you will learn and polish with time, but only by taking risks. You may or may not get the gig every time, but you will gain experience, which is even more important.

Time Estimation

Time estimation is one of the most important things you should do before each project. You will be losing money with each passing day if you don’t take this task seriously. The time you’ll take to finish a project is totally dependent on your skill level and experience. But here’s a tip: always have an “emergency period”. Say, you can complete a project in 15 days, tell your client that you can do the job in 18–20 days. That will benefit you in two ways. First, you will have extra time in case you come across a problem that takes up more time that you estimated. Second, if you don’t encounter any such problem, which is more likely the case, you will deliver the project a few days earlier than the client is expecting, and this will impress your client.

After-sales Services

Believe me, whatever you are offering, the clients will come back to knock your door again and again for revisions.

You should always discuss with your clients whether you will provide free revisions or after-work support. If you choose to provide it, then how many revisions, and if not, then how much will you charge to provide such services. Many new freelancers forget to discuss this while negotiating and end up stuck in an endless loop of revisions and re-revisions.

Do not expect toooooooooo much!

Well, this is going to sting a little, but it’s truth. Do not charge too high. It can (and possibly will) make your clients run away.

Always remember why people hire freelancers in the first place. It’s because they are cheaper as compared to hiring new employees. So always try to charge a reasonable price. That way, you and your client will both be happy. I remember once I tried to charge too much from from one of my regular client. He didn’t think twice before moving on to a different developer. This is a dog-eat-dog world, and it’s certainly not any easier for a freelancer to survive. If you want to go big, customer delight should be your first priority. Only then will you have a regular source of earning and your client will keep returning to you.

Freelancing is like owning a small business. Sometimes, you will profit and sometimes, you will not. The important thing to realize here is that with each project, you will learn something new and make new connections with people out there. That’s what really matters in the long run.

I would love to know about some of your own methods and tips to charge clients. Tell me about them. In the next post, I will be talking about important tools for a freelancer.

Alright! Smooth sailin’ matey!