I was a little surprised last week by all the attention surrounding Chris Brogan’s day rate. A little of it reminded me of when I started my business and a few (former) friends decided I was really sitting around eating bonbons and cashing trust fund checks. Mostly it reminded me that too many people don’t know how to value their work.
My day rate may not be $22,000, but I do not allow organizations to pick my brain by the hour. My hourly strategy rate is primarily used to establish a retainer or a project fee–both of which build in start-up, research, concepting, and so forth. Not to mention intelligence, know-how, and expertise.
Why would anyone walk into a room and discount that?
Photo by Esparta (Flickr).
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I know what you mean by the “sitting around and eating bonbons” perception. I have an ex-client (we fired each other) who had that idea about me (on the days I wasn’t working for him). As I said, he’s now an ex-client .
It’s amazing how often we discount what we’re worth and allow others’ opinions to influence our rates. (Sometimes it’s the influence of “I love what I do for a living so much, I’d do it for free” syndrome, combined with the “Do what you love and the money will follow” attitude). If you’re going to be a professional, act like one. Getting paid like one is part of the deal.
One of the earliest things I learned when I started working for myself was 1) don’t discount your rates , 2) don’t negotiate them and 3) don’t apologize for them. (Although sometimes I do introduce my rates at the end of a conversation by stating “and yes, I charge an exorbitant rate of xx.xx per hour” and smiling.) If the client can’t afford me, they can’t. No harm, no foul, no arguments later on (unless they run up a big bill and won’t pay it, but that’s another story).
Several years ago, one speaker at our Association of Independent Consultants meetings discussed doing a calculation what your time is worth to you (which helps you set rates and evaluate when to outsource certain activities). My website has a version of it at http://www.accounting-wizard.com/calculateworth.htm. Try it out–the results often surprise people!
Lawrence
@lawrence, I love your line that “If you’re going to be a professional, act like one. Getting paid like one is part of the deal.” So true. And thanks for the heads up about your rate|value calculator. That’s a really useful tool.