If you are planning to make a living by performing freelancing services, you may find it difficult to set the right price for your work, especially at the beginning of your career. It may be quite a difficult task, but there are some important rules that you should follow, and it will surely get you on the right tracks. Let’s take a look at them.
Believe in yourself
Don’t forget about the most important fact of your work – that you are providing services that your clients are willing to pay for. They have the budget and they need what you offer. That’s why if you wonder what should be the price for your work, be realistic but also firm about it.
The price for your service depends on a few factors:
- The quality of your service.
- The financial capability of your client
- The average price for similar service on the market
- The number of clients you’ve had before
- The time that you have to complete the job
- The strength of your personal brand
- Your experience
- The quality of the product you are offering
The quality is the most important, even the smallest mistake can significantly undermine your brand on the web if the client decides that you weren’t reliable enough. That’s why the second thing you should definitely take care of is the quality of your service – always be polite, try to be as informative as possible, and, which may be very difficult in some cases, don’t let anyone catch you off-balance.
Competition? Irrelevant!
Okay, maybe not completely irrelevant, but when it comes to setting the price for your services, you should not model your price list after your competitors. They do not have much importance. Focus on providing the best service and the best product, and one day your mailbox will be bursting with offers!
How much can the potential client spend?
You have to do your research. Obviously, you cannot expect a 5-people start-up to pay you as much as a multi million dollar company would. Luckily, you have quite the room for maneuver.
You can precisely determine your target group and position your offers in such a way that you will now they will be the recipients. Even the smaller, local companies can make a great, well-paying client. You can also accept different commissions from the bigger number of clients. Make sure that you know a lot about your potential employer before you decide to cooperate – how much are they willing to pay? What do they expect from you? Are they reliable?
There are always three factors for you to consider – the price, the quality, and the time. If the client wants the best quality, it means that it will take you a lot of time, so the price must be high. Same if you are short on time. And when you have a lot of time and don’t have to fully dedicate to the task, the price can be lower.
How much would you like to earn?
This is the time for some hard decisions. Sometimes, you will have to deny a nice, interesting offer and accept the harder, more tedious one, because of the financial issues. We cannot lie to ourselves – money rule the world. And we need it to live a better life, with fewer worries and guarantee the same to our offspring. So sometimes it’s better to clench your teeth and do the harder work for the better price. If you are good at what you are doing, after some time money won’t be your main concern, and you will be able to pick these offers that you know you will truly enjoy.
Personal Experience
Stay alert of your online image. Your website should be clear and intuitive, providing all the necessary information about your services without intruding upon the visitors. Be professional, always answer in a polite manner and don’t let the rude clients annoy you. Deal with the negative opinions on the web – but never with force. Try to convince the reviewer that he or she is wrong about you. If you really failed them, fix this, even for free. And if the opinion is false, you have to make sure that the situation gets solved.
Summing Up
Freelancing is a great way to earn a living. It lets you travel around the world, set your own schedule, and be your own boss. The beginning may not be easy but you have to believe in yourself, learn, and practice. One day the prices won’t matter, they will all be high ;). And don’t forget to use work time tracking to find out how much time you spend on work-related activities!
Looking for the best price time tracking? Check out TimeCamp!