Hi Ali, I set a single rate in stone. If I am talking on the telephone to a client, or writing them an email that is an assessment of a series of site mods they are requesting (billed 2 hrs of that this morning) or setting up a server or ... *whatever*. My time is worht X and that is what I charge for it.
Your clients must be aware of this, and I keep shorthand notes of what I do with my time and submit them with my weekly invoices. I have gotten completely away from ANY sort of fixed-fee project and now do only hourly billing with project costs being ballpark-only (and then I try hard to come in under the ballpark I gave them). To do this successfully you have to have the trust of your client. They have to be confident you aren't padding the bill, and that if a job goes over initial estimates there is a good reason for this; not that you needed a new transmission on your car. As you build up time with a client and treat them more than fairly, this worry will disappear, but it makes for some edgy first jobs. Still, in the long run you wind up with a best-case for yourself where you are not working for free (underbid a job) or overcharging (it took less time than you thought). Thats the other side of this. If you estimate $1000 for something and it bills out to $50 because you had a brainstorm, then bill them $50 and take the mountain of good karma (and repeat business, and referrals) that comes from that. Hogs get fat. Pigs get slaughtered. I would not lowball people to get them in the door, and then jack up the rate. Thats perceived negatively no matter what you do, I think. Instead, price yourself competitively perhaps only a little below market, and stick to it throughout the relationship, perhaps with small annual increases. If you want a rate increase start the *next* customers out at the increased rate, which is now better justified by your extant stable of happy customers and body of work. > Bryan said > but they also don't want you so busy you can't do their work. Amen to that. what you wind up doing is slicing time for everyone and pleasing no one. Still, you have constant income and what you can then start doing is subcontracting. For example I farm out all design to a talented firm, and all basic CMS/HTML work (lots of customers with CMS systems with no time to manage them. Go figure.) to someone else. The next step, which I haven't done yet, is to bring in a CF coder. the trouble with expanding your staff is your clients want *you* to do the work if the relationship is right, and you're stepping away from them. Another challenge. > Experience has taught me that I don't want the clients that aren't > willing to pay my rate. My rate is fair given my experience. If you take on > those folks that start your business relationship by complainig about your > rate....guess how much more complaining and nickel and diming strats to happen oh man is that ever true. I've got a guy right now that I *know* I should stay away from but I'm pot-committed in terms of the time I have spent on him already. Again you have to be firm, and ready to walk away if you must. Just some thoughts, -- --mattRobertson-- Janitor, MSB Web Systems mysecretbase.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Logware (www.logware.us): a new and convenient web-based time tracking application. Start tracking and documenting hours spent on a project or with a client with Logware today. Try it for free with a 15 day trial account. http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=67 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:227831 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
