We all made fun of my friend when he first started his business because he was the youngest lawyer we’d ever known and, and came to work each morning braces- faced and ready to take over the world. But, this guy scoffed at the heckling and began making his mark at the ripe age of 23. He never seemed to worry about what to charge because he knew he was good. In fact, he knew he was better than his competition.
It costs money to talk to this guy. And people, even seemingly broke people fork it up willingly because they know that he is going to help them and treat them right. He has taught me that there is no such thing as free time, when you’re running a start-up. If you’ve got some free time it should only be spent on yourself and your loved ones. When clients dip into that time – make them pay.
Now, whether you charge $100, $500 or $1000 is up to you, but you need to consider the ebbs and flows of work when setting your price. If your goal is to make 60,000 in your first year, then you need to factor in how much you need to make per day. If you are only actively doing “work” (that pays) two days a week, then you need to increase your hourly wage.
Free consultations and pro-bono work have their place in my heart and business, and they should in yours as well. And, if you set your standard rates as high as they can be you can afford to eat and chat with clients for free. Remember: people pay for quality.
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Good thought! It is pretty hard for young entrepreneurs to set an hourly rate and stick with it. I know when I set a rate for a web development project and the client quickly agrees to the price I think, “damn, I could have charged more” yet I kept thinking to myself before delivering the quote that I was going to be charging too much. Developing and setting your rate is something that comes with experience I suppose.
I know exactly how you feel. And, i don’t think we can charge a strict fee. we have to consider the client. But, we can make sure that we are always getting paid what we’re worth. We can set standards for how much we need.