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I agree with Chris about the bargain hunters. In my experience they will be more pain than they are worth. They will question every hour you work, nickel and dime you through the entire project, and in general, just be a miserable experience.
I am often lucky to find that people want my background and agree it doesn't come cheap so I don't get a lot of them. But in my experience, asking what they pay saves a lot of time. When I was younger, I didn't have the confidence to ask this, but now I do and it gets rid of the riff raff. But I am also ready to wait out the cheaper jobs to get the money that I want and I know that not everyone is in the same position.
Those people who are offering $25 and want the kitchen sink are those people bringing down the market and may also be confusing the market with India. You can find people there with a lot of experience, but their writing skills stink.
Lin Laurie
206.900.1861
www.linlaurie.com
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+linlaurie1=hotmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com <techwr-l-bounces+linlaurie1=hotmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> On Behalf Of Chris Morton
Sent: Wednesday, September 4, 2019 1:52 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Calculating your daily/hourly rate
These days I wet my finger and see which way the wind is blowing. That is, I don't quote the same rate for everyone. Much depends on how interested I am in taking on the prospects assignments. If there is too much reporting, for example, those I tend to turn down.
I base it first on the PITA factor, if I sense there may be one (and I generally try to avoid those relationships if at all possible).
Beyond that, I look at the prospect's website and try to gauge what I might be able to command for my work. Those that don't question my rate are the best clients, as they're more interested in 1) getting their assignment completed in the most professional manner, and 2) getting it done in a reasonably quick time frame. They're not trying to bargain hunt so long as they sense they''re going to get their money's worth.
These are the type of clients I can usually delight to such an extent that they give me additional work along with a glowing written recommendation.
Relationship-wise, I usually provide much more than what they had originally envisioned.
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 3:41 PM Mark Giffin <mgiffin -at- earthlink -dot- net> wrote:
> What Alan says is good advice, in my experience. But check with your
> tax people also!
>
> Mark
>
>
> On 9/4/2019 12:08 PM, Alan Houser wrote:
> > I would tend to disagree. Form an S-Corp or an LLC and pay yourself
> > a low but defensible salary. Profits are taxed at the more favorable
> > capital gains rate, and are not subject to social security/medicare tax.
> >
> > -Alan
> >
> > On 9/4/19 2:47 PM, Robert Lauriston wrote:
> >> Market. Ask freelancers who are doing similar work what they bill.
> >> Ask managers you know what they pay contractors.
> >>
> >> The "rule of thirds" makes no sense to me. If you're a
> >> self-employed freelancer, there's no difference between "salary"
> >> and "profit." You keep what you don't have to spend on expenses or taxes.
> >>
> >> There are some tax breaks that can boost your net, such as the IRS
> >> counting 58 cents a mile for work-related car travel expenses when
> >> you might actually spend less than that if you have a reliable old car.
> >>
> >> On Wed, Sep 4, 2019 at 5:08 AM Sion Lane <sion -dot- lane -at- unit4 -dot- com> wrote:
> >>> How does one go about figuring out your hourly or daily rate?
> >>> Obviously one can be derived from the other, but how do you come
> >>> up with a figure to start from?
> >
>
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