Freelance Collective

Being a freelancer is a difficult career path. It’s one of the most rewarding and exciting choices I’ve ever made, but there is no hiding the fact that it is difficult and scary. There are so many issues that freelancers encounter – how to gain new clients, how to network, how to stay productive, but the most common issue freelancers face seems to be – how to price their services.

When you go to Walmart and there is a price tag on a pair of shoes for $10, that’s the price. Then you go to a fancy store like Guess and a pair of shoes is $1000 (does Guess sell shoes? I don’t know this is a metaphor). Anyways – no one questions the price. The price is the price. No one tries to bargain or wonders why one is so much more expensive than the other. People still buy both, and accept the price difference because of the quality, the brand, and many other factors.

But, when it comes to services, especially freelance and creative services, things seem to change. The fact that you are paying for someones time rather than a physical product seems to make people think that placing a high value on things is a problem. It makes people think that the price is negotiable, and that the task is easy. Well, that is simply not true.

When you set your prices you need to be firm, you need to stick to them, and you need to be proud of them. You are worth every penny of what you charge, and both you and your clients need to understand that. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself when deciding on what to charge a client.

Being a freelancer is a difficult career path. It’s one of the most rewarding and exciting choices I’ve ever made, but there is no hiding the fact that it is difficult and scary. There are so many issues that freelancers encounter – how to gain new clients, how to network, how to stay productive, but the most common issue freelancers face seems to be – how to price their services.

When you go to Walmart and there is a price tag on a pair of shoes for $10, that’s the price. Then you go to a fancy store like Guess and a pair of shoes is $1000 (does Guess sell shoes? I don’t know this is a metaphor). Anyways – no one questions the price. The price is the price. No one tries to bargain or wonders why one is so much more expensive than the other. People still buy both, and accept the price difference because of the quality, the brand, and many other factors.

But, when it comes to services, especially freelance and creative services, things seem to change. The fact that you are paying for someones time rather than a physical product seems to make people think that placing a high value on things is a problem. It makes people think that the price is negotiable, and that the task is easy. Well, that is simply not true.

When you set your prices you need to be firm, you need to stick to them, and you need to be proud of them. You are worth every penny of what you charge, and both you and your clients need to understand that. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself when deciding on what to charge a client.

Being a freelancer is a difficult career path. It’s one of the most rewarding and exciting choices I’ve ever made, but there is no hiding the fact that it is difficult and scary. There are so many issues that freelancers encounter – how to gain new clients, how to network, how to stay productive, but the most common issue freelancers face seems to be – how to price their services.

When you go to Walmart and there is a price tag on a pair of shoes for $10, that’s the price. Then you go to a fancy store like Guess and a pair of shoes is $1000 (does Guess sell shoes? I don’t know this is a metaphor). Anyways – no one questions the price. The price is the price. No one tries to bargain or wonders why one is so much more expensive than the other. People still buy both, and accept the price difference because of the quality, the brand, and many other factors.

But, when it comes to services, especially freelance and creative services, things seem to change. The fact that you are paying for someones time rather than a physical product seems to make people think that placing a high value on things is a problem. It makes people think that the price is negotiable, and that the task is easy. Well, that is simply not true.

When you set your prices you need to be firm, you need to stick to them, and you need to be proud of them. You are worth every penny of what you charge, and both you and your clients need to understand that. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself when deciding on what to charge a client.