Don't try to figure out how much an hour you can charge, figure how much an hour you need to earn.
If you KNOW what you need to carry you each month, you will be a little more hungry to sell. It also makes it a lot easier to stick tough and not bargain down to get a particluar job when you realize hours worked vs rent paid. And if you need to make rent, you might decide to hold a fire sale to get some money in the door. Hourly rate is fluid for me. As for pricing the job, I always try to get 50% up front, and 50% on completion of a job. This works most of the time (80%) The second half payment is almost always delayed, even when they promise it won't be. 30 day policies appear out of nowhere, scope creep, changed expectations, etc. I always get enough in that first 50% to cover my costs and salary. Then if the second half is delayed or never paid, I am still afloat (pissed, but afloat) I keep the jobs very short. Phases is the way to go. Even the initial design phase is a separate job. (Actually, the "blueprint" for a site is now the biggest segment of my consulting work) HTH Jerry Johnson >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 06/04/02 04:27PM >>> Well if you get alot of offers then your rate might be too low. If you get nothing then your rate might be too high. Of course, this is not set in stone. I recommend you learn as many languages, methodologies, databases, and platforms as you can and do the shotgun approach. On Tue, 4 Jun 2002, Wallick, Mike wrote: > Hey all. I'm about to dive into the world of freelancing and I was wondering > - Where might I get a good idea of what to charge for my services? I was > thinking that there would be separate costs for design (just how the page > looks, not what it does) and actual programming tasks (site management, news > board, forums, etc). I don't even know where to begin. Any advice would be > great. > Thanks. > > Mike Wallick > * Web Application Developer > * <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > * 651.628.5377 > * <http://www.securecomputing.com/> http://www.securecomputing.com/ > > ______________________________________________________________________ Signup for the Fusion Authority news alert and keep up with the latest news in ColdFusion and related topics. http://www.fusionauthority.com/signup.cfm FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
