I had a situation were my hourly rate was roughly three times the hourly
rate a particular company was use to paying for Flash work. They wanted
me to come down in price and by a lot whereas I felt I was already a
bargain.
It was a short four week project and feeling confident in my
capabilities I suggested something he hadn't heard before. I offered to
work for them 2 days for free. If at the end of the two days they were
unhappy with my work they could say "no thanks" and owe me nothing.
However, should they want me to stay past the two days I get my asking
rate for those two days already worked and continued for the remainder
of my stay. They were comfortable with the offer and agreed. I was
very confident in my capabilities so I felt it was a low risk offer. As
it turned out, they asked me to stay an additional two weeks past the
original four and they couldn't be happier.
If you feel you are worth the rate you are asking, you shouldn't lower
it. If for some reason you feel it's your only option I would recommend
creating your invoice at your proper rate with a discount line at the
bottom so they get use to seeing your correct hourly rate. Removing a
"first project" discount (or something of the sort) in the future is a
heck of a lot easier than trying to raise your hourly rate.
Good luck,
James
Kevin Mulvihill wrote:
$11/ hr accepting that is part of the reason why people think
they can pay developers peanuts
Here, here.
Denver is a big city comparable to L.A., where I am. And in this city, bag
boys at grocery stores are making $11/hr. Even way back in '97 when I was in
my last corporate job, it was costing us $15/hr. just to have a temp come in
and put papers in a filing cabinet. Is that how you see yourself? As
unskilled labor???
Now if the idea is just that the guy wants to check you out and make sure
you can do the work, then I might give him a few DAYS at $11/hr. and then
revert to an honest pay scale if he wants to keep you... And this assumes
that you don't have any references or much in the way of code samples to
share.
The real question then becomes 'how long is it going to take to get you up
to speed?' If the guy is thinking several months, then you would clearly be
foolish to accept that offer. If you don't respect yourself, no one else
will either... And your getting 'up to speed' could take a very long time
indeed.
Kevin
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