Working out your hourly/day rate

Hi guys, just wondering how much people charge per hour/day & how they worked it out.

I've been sending out CV's all morning & someone's come back & asked my day rate. I've worked it out based on my current salary but it seems a bit low, but then i don't want to bump it up & ask for too much.:confused:
 
Charge as much as your worth and add a little on top to cover idiot clients :)
if you see no value in your work your clients most certainly wont.
 
Hey Tom, I wouldn't worry about what other people are charging, it makes little or no difference to the value you put on your own work.

for instance..... Wolff Ollins designed the London 2012 logo and charged £400,000 for it, because they feel thats the worth of their skills and they got paid that, If I asked my graphic designer cousin to price such a logo up, he'll came in at £100

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The point I'm trying to make is your value is subjective, if you think your skill set and quality of output is worth £10 p/h £30ph or £100 then charge at that rate, if your clients agree they will pay. If you don't know what to charge, then that speaks volumes about your confidence as a designer and also speaks volumes to your potential clients. Price your skill set up and the value you bring to the table and stick to your guns!
 
This is one of those things that takes a bit of time to get right, as there is so much to consider, chances are it will take a few projects to get the balance right between the work you do and the price you give.

There is no exact science to calculating your rate, its unique to you rather than being based on what others are doing. As sunburn has shown in their example above. Some will charge as much as they can get away with based on the client, while others will have a fixed rate for anyone no matter if they are a one man band or a huge international company.
 
Working freelance (ie. for an agency who outsource some work to you and will need to mark it up when they charge their client) can vary but shouldn't be much above £25-30 unless you have some exceptional bespoke and sought after skills.

Working self employed for your own private clients, well that's a different matter. Essentially you're an agency without the huge overheads (or strength in depth). Take advantage the fact that you don't have these overheads but can still give a good job and find a price that remunerates your skills well but costs less than local agencies - maybe £20-50 depending on ability and geography. Don't be greedy but don't sell yourself and your industry too short. If people were to go charging £10 per hour for quality work, that would become the 'norm' to some people and more realistic prices would seem too high.

Balance it carefully.
 
How much money do you want earn? (Lets say £50k a year).

How little do you want to work a year? (Lets say 2 hours a week).

So thats £50k divided by 2hours x 48weeks (2 weeks holiday remember).

Your houry rate pre tax is £520.83


Same formula just adjust the numbers to suit.
 
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