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One subject that provides freelancers a lot of anxiety is how to price their services. We want to make a good living, but are afraid of driving the market away by charging too much. So, What's the right amount?
Simply put, it's the area between charging too much and charging too little. Believe it or not, the bigger problem that freelancers face is that they charge too little. So, I'll talk about that first.
There are few reasons freelancers charge too little. If you're coming from a salary position where you did similar work, you might figure out your hourly rate there and charge private clients a similar amount. But that's way, way, way too low. First of all, you're not going to bill 40 hours a week. Another, You now have to cover expenses that your employer used to pay. One rule of thumb puts a typical freelance rate at two and a half times the hourly rate that freelancer would get with an employer. That's not always right, but the point is that your rates will be much higher per hour.
A second reason you might charge too little is that you can't believe someone would pay that much. But if you had never been on the buying side of the equation, you probably don't have a sense of how expensive good labor is. Talking to people in your professional network can help you figure out what the real market rates are. Or maybe you can believe someone would pay that much, but can't believe they would pay it to you. Assuming you have the skills that just basic insecurity talking. It's hard to get a sense of ones own value. Again, talk with colleagues and other professionals to determine what your realistic value is.
Some government bodies keep track of pay scales for various professions, and that gives you another data point.in the U.S., that's done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can search for details on your profession in their Occupational Outlook Handbook at bls.gov/ooh.
The problem with charging too little isn't just financial. If you undercharge, prospective clients will see the low figure and suspect that you're just not very good. And established clients who have gotten used to your low rate will get spoiled wasting your time just because they can afford it. Higher rates make them value your time more leading to better work relationships and more fulfilling work. Now let's talk about charging too much. Basically, People buying your services have to justify the cost to themselves. It then comes down to a cost- benefit analysis for the buyer. The values are all pretty subjective, and they are not always easy for the buyer to measure in dollars, but they do perform such an analysis even if it's only in the back of their mind.\
If your rate is substantially higher than the cost of doing things internally or with another freelancer or not doing them at all, then you're out of a job. If you've gone through this whole process, you now have a reasonable understanding of what the market will bear. But there's one other factor; you have to make enough money to keep your business healthy. As with many other parts of freelancing, setting rates requires an understanding of your own value. It involves research and a certain amount of difficult soul-searching, but it can lead you to being able to charge your true value confidently and successfully.
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Get a thorough introduction to Microsoft's hosted collaboration and productivity suite. Author David Rivers tours the subscription service, showing how to administer user accounts; share Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files with SharePoint; and manage mail, contacts, and calendars with the Outlook web app. The course also explains how to set up Office desktop apps to work with Office 365 and connect with colleagues using the Lync communication server.
Topics include:
- Choosing the right plan
- Defining and adding users
- Setting up a SharePoint team site
- Viewing and editing your web site
- Sending and receiving email
- Importing contacts into the Outlook web app
- Managing tasks
- Sending instant messages
- Conducting audio calls and online meetings
Up and Running with Office 365
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Play with the camera controls found in the "Creative Zone" of an EOS Digital SLR. Here, you can really dictate the outcome of your photos and get the effects you want. Your shots will appear below where you can review, get feedback and compare the settings you used.
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The 20 factors used to evaluate right to control and the validity of independent contractor
classifications include:
- Level of instruction. If the company directs when, where, and how work is done, this control indicates a possible employment relationship.
- Amount of training. Requesting workers to undergo company-provided training suggests an employment relationship since the company is directing the methods by which work is accomplished.
- Degree of business integration. Workers whose services are integrated into business operations or significantly affect business success are likely to be considered employees.
- Extent of personal services. Companies that insist on a particular person performing the work assert a degree of control that suggests an employment relationship. In contrast, independent contractors typically are free to assign work to anyone.
- Control of assistants. If a company hires, supervises, and pays a worker's assistants, this control indicates a possible employment relationship. If the worker retains control over hiring, supervising, and paying helpers, this arrangement suggests an independent contractor relationship.
- Continuity of relationship. A continuous relationship between a company and a worker indicates a possible employment relationship. However, an independent contractor arrangement can involve an ongoing relationship for multiple, sequential projects.
- Flexibility of schedule. People whose hours or days of work are dictated by a company are apt to qualify as its employees.
- Demands for full-time work. Full-time work gives a company control over most of a person's time, which supports a finding of an employment relationship.
- Need for on-site services. Requiring someone to work on company premises—particularly if the work can be performed elsewhere—indicates a possible employment relationship.
- Sequence of work. If a company requires work to be performed in specific order or sequence, this control suggests an employment relationship.
- Requirements for reports. If a worker regularly must provide written or oral reports on the status of a project, this arrangement indicates a possible employment relationship.
- Method of payment. Hourly, weekly, or monthly pay schedules are characteristic of employment relationships, unless the payments simply are a convenient way of distributing a lump-sum fee. Payment on commission or project completion is more characteristic of independent contractor relationships.
- Payment of business or travel expenses. Independent contractors typically bear the cost of travel or business expenses, and most contractors set their fees high enough to cover these costs. Direct reimbursement of travel and other business costs by a company suggests an employment relationship.
- Provision of tools and materials. Workers who perform most of their work using company-provided equipment, tools, and materials are more likely to be considered employees. Work largely done using independently obtained supplies or tools supports an independent contractor finding.
- Investment in facilities. Independent contractors typically invest in and maintain their own work facilities. In contrast, most employees rely on their employer to provide work facilities.
- Realization of profit or loss. Workers who receive predetermined earnings and have little chance to realize significant profit or loss through their work generally are employees.
- Work for multiple companies. People who simultaneously provide services for several unrelated companies are likely to qualify as independent contractors. Availability to public. If a worker regularly makes services available to the general public, this supports an independent contractor determination.
- Control over discharge. A company's unilateral right to discharge a worker suggests an employment relationship. In contrast, a company's ability to terminate independent contractor relationships generally depends on contract terms.
- Right of termination. Most employees unilaterally can terminate their work for a company without liability. Independent contractors cannot terminate services without liability, except as allowed under their contracts.
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The I.R.S., that's the U.S. government's tax authority says that a freelancer is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done or how it will be done. In other words, the client could say, render my building and deliver the results as a Layered Photoshop File, and you'd still be considered a freelancer. But if the client says, "You must use 3D Studio MAX and do the work in our office between 9 AM and noon," then the I.R.S. is likely to consider you an employee rather than an independent contractor which would lead to differences in such things as tax withholding, benefits and so on. Such distinctions vary from country to country. In the U.S., the I.R.S. released some specifics that set forth 20 factors to separate employees from independent contractors. But on a day-to-day level, you'll be more affected by the practical differences. The big one is, if something needs doing, you're the one to do it, and there's nobody else to blame if it doesn't get done. You're now in charge of among other things, marketing, sales, accounting, project management, IT, and legal matters. You also have to keep yourself busy, and motivated. And if you expand by hiring other people, you have to become your own human resources department. If you think that's all daunting, well, you're right. Finally, we come to the personal differences between freelancing and employment. That is, how your mentality and lifestyle will change. For example, you're likely to find your work life creeping into your personal life and vice-versa. So it becomes much harder to judge whether you're being productive. And that can lead to some unexpected anxieties.
Freelance
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Need a texture? Here is a list of sites that I use often, and can suggest to you as a sumptuous texture resource. If you have any additional references, please add to the list by adding a comment.
Texture Library Resources
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