Changing hourly rate for each project ?

annakiyounes · ‎12-19-2019

Hello,

- Is it a bad idea to keep changing your hourly rate for each individual project ?

- Does the hourly rate on your profile influence the potential client ?

- If you charge more for a specific project don't you look greedy ?

- If you start to charge less because you are laking projects is it bad for your profile ?
- Will your work history look like a mess (less professional) ?

Open to hear all opinions, thank you !

P.S. Looking to go lower to try the market responsiveness on a new field.

acgpakistan · ‎12-19-2019

-Is it a bad idea to keep changing your hourly rate for each individual project ?

Yes according to me as I believe your hourly rate is how you worth your 60 mins, as the scales of time remain constant so I dont see a point why would you change it depending on the nature of project, client, deliverables etc However there is an exception to this; I am often reached by clients who want me to work immediately or pull off an all-nighter to meet their deadline in that case I feel a premium needs to be paid.

- Does the hourly rate on your profile influence the potential client ?

Yes for sure, your profile rates differentiate you from the rest. In any given field you will find freelancers offering $10 or $200 rates for the same nature however the difference is in the skillset a freelancer brings to the table.

- If you charge more for a specific project don't you look greedy ?

See answer to the first question.

- If you start to charge less because you are laking projects is it bad for your profile ?

Yes. I believe it gives an impression that you are not sure what your time is worth, or what skill-set you offer.

- Will your work history look like a mess (less professional) ?

Yes however if you are periodically raising your rate it makes all the sense not the other way.

annakiyounes · ‎12-19-2019

Thank you very much for getting back to me Rafeh, I am hearing all what you are saying and I do agree with most of the parts hower on the first part there is always some aspect of the project or some projects overall that require more expertise and brain power than others even within the same field. I still agree with you that the rule of thumb is to figure out what you are worth overall. What made me confused is that I am a senior motion designer but a growing junior product designer now and I can't by no means charge the same just because I am the same person and it is the same 60min. Don't you agree ?

acgpakistan · ‎12-19-2019

Someone wise once said:

"If I do a job in 30 minutues it's because I spent 10 years learning how to do that in 30 minutes. You owe me for the years not the minutes"

I also work in creative category so I can understand what you are trying to imply. Now having said that I will give you an example maybe it helps you in some-way. Lets say for a business card design clients will literally find thousands of offers starting from $5 but that is not what I offer because the value that I bring to the table is usually much more. Most of such offers do not even know the basic difference between RGB and CMYK color profiles or appropriate bleeding specifications etc but these are just the basics; when I do business card I just don't design rather I deliver a complete solution, I give them appropriate media types, grammages, special coatings/finishes and many other post-press techniques etc, even to a point that I often have to find them an approriate vendor in their country of residence as such projects cannot be handled by run-of-the-mill print shops, even do negociations and final QC on their behalf. So it implies that I charge accordingly; For the service/value I deliver, the time I have to spent and the years of experience I had that enabled me to deliver all this.

As already mentioned you have to find your sweet spot and you have to charge accordingly; according to your experience, the value you put into a project and the service quality. Now for your point that some projects "require more brain power", I will again reiterate my same argument that your hourly rate should be in-coherence with what value you offer to the client and what its worth. As there are no established means to quantify that how much brain power you used on a particular project so the only pratical way is that you value your time, some projects will require much more time to complete as you might have to brain-storm, prepare mood boards, ideate so on and so forth while for some other simple ones you will just get straight to it and get done with it in relatively much less time.

There are no hard and fast rules to any of this, its just the way I handle it.

prestonhunter · ‎12-19-2019

re: "Is it a bad idea to keep changing your hourly rate for each individual project?"

That is an interesting question. I have not thought about that before. Most of us (freelancers) post an hourly rate and use that rate consistently.

re: "Does the hourly rate on your profile influence the potential client?
Yes.

re: "If you charge more for a specific project don't you look greedy?"

There is no "greedy" on Upwork.

We are freelancers offering our services.

If a client wants to secure my services, that client will pay that rate that I require.

re: "If you start to charge less because you are lacking projects is it bad for your profile?"

Most clients won't notice. Some will notice. Some may appreciate the opportunity to hire a highly-qualified professional such as yourself at a lower rate. Some will think that you aren't the professional they are looking for because your rates are too low.

re: "Will your work history look like a mess (less professional)?"

Most clients don't have time to study your work history with such scrutiny.

As a I client, I have hired over 100 freelancers. I have rarely looked at the hourly rates in a freelancer's work history. I'm sure there are clients who pay more attention to that than I do. I'm sure there are many clients who don't look at at a freelancer's work history at all. I have hired many freelancers without looking at their work history at all. Sometimes I only look at at a freelancer's portfolio and nothing else. Sometimes I hire the first person who sends me a proposal. It depends on the type of job.

annakiyounes · ‎12-19-2019

Thank you very much Preston for your time, it is interesting to have a hiring (client) side of things as well. I do agree with you on most of the answers, I may just add that by "greedy" I didn't simply meant charge more but charge more than what is shown on your profile just because it is a bigger project/client/company. Sometimes even Upwork algorithm advise you on better rates which is very intriguing and gives more sense to my question. Any thoughts ?

prestonhunter · ‎12-19-2019

I use Upwork primarily as a freelancer... but I have hired a lot of freelancers on the platform. I'm a big fan of the platform as a client. I have been very satisfied with the results.

I have seen Upwork's rate tips... But thus far, I have just ignored that.

I think MOST clients pay less attention to some of these things than you might think

I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, a freelancer's work history has nothing to do with what a freelancer charges now. I look at a freelancer's posted hourly rate. That's it. That's what the freelancer charges.

It's like if I go to McDonald's to buy a shake. I pay what they have posted on the menu board. I don't try to remember what I paid a year ago and ask for the same price.

annakiyounes · ‎12-19-2019

Fair enough, at the end of the day you charge what you worth at the present moment regarding the project and what you are looking to bring to it as long as your work history doesn't look like a roller coaster overall. Going up makes total sense, going down sometimes when the market is cold was the big intriguing question to me.

robin_hyman · ‎12-19-2019

- Is it a bad idea to keep changing your hourly rate for each individual project ?
You charge whatever you want to charge based on the project scope. If you feel the project warrants more $$, charge accordingly. Note: if you are charging more for the project than what is listed on your profile or in previous projects, the client can review your profile and see what you have been paid.

- Does the hourly rate on your profile influence the potential client ?
Anything can influence the potential client and your hourly rate is one of the criteria a client considers before responding to your proposal. Be cognizant of "expert" vs. "intermediate" or "entry". If you subscribe to freelancer plus, pay attention to what other freelancers have already submitted.

- If you charge more for a specific project don't you look greedy ?
More than what? You're putting a price out there based on your experience. If it takes you less time than the average freelancer to complete the project, the client should pay for your expertise, not how long it takes.

- If you start to charge less because you are laking projects is it bad for your profile ?
I don't believe so. You have to do what you need to do to get work. If it means accepting a few dollars less, no problem. I've recently accepted a job at $20/hour below my profile rate. And I've been consistently getting a few more projects at my profile rate.

- Will your work history look like a mess (less professional) ?
No

Open to hear all opinions, thank you !

P.S. Looking to go lower to try the market responsiveness on a new field.

annakiyounes · ‎12-19-2019

Thank you very much Robin for getting back to me, I am hearing all your answers and they all make sense to me. I may give it more clarity by saying that the 3 first questions are related: so changing different rates than what is usually shown on your work history and the influence of what you are charging on a specific project vs the rate on your profile last but not least charging more than what is on your work history again just because the client is bigger (not proud to say this last one just pointing the fact). Thanks again !

petra_r · ‎12-19-2019

Younes A wrote:

- Is it a bad idea to keep changing your hourly rate for each individual project ?
- Does the hourly rate on your profile influence the potential client ?
- If you charge more for a specific project don't you look greedy ?
- If you start to charge less because you are laking projects is it bad for your profile ?
- Will your work history look like a mess (less professional) ?

1 - Personally I think so, yes. I don't see the point, an hour of my time is an hour of my time. Fifficult tasks just take longer so cost more.

2 - I'm sure it does. I charge new clients my profile rate, always. Ongoing contracts are kept at the old rate as long as they are open.

3 - I don't care how I look. My rate is my rate and clients can see it on my profile. If that does not suit them, they can go with someone at a different rate.

4 - Personally, I think it doesn't look great.

Younes A wrote:
P.S. Looking to go lower to try the market responsiveness on a new field.

annakiyounes · ‎12-19-2019

Thank you very much Petra, all your answers are straight to the point and make sense to me. I will take them into high consideration. Thanks again !

wlyonsatl · ‎12-19-2019

Younes,

I regularly charge different rates to different clients because different clients need different services that have different levels of complexity, just as I imagine a translator charges more for translating complex medical documents than for translating restaurant menus or a mechanic charges more for working on a Rolls Royce than she charges for working on a Ford Escort.

If you are new to freelancing, or even new to freelancing on Upwork, it will take you a little while to figure out the sweet spot between the rates you propose and your success at winning new jobs. You should not be afraid to test different price points in your proposals and keeping track of your success over at least 60 - 80 proposals submitted.

Good luck.

annakiyounes · ‎12-19-2019

Thank you very much for getting back to me Will,

100% agree on the first paragraph. Then, I need to clarify than I am by no means new to freelance nor to Upwork all my questioning came from the fact that I am shifting fields from senior motion designer to junior product designer, so this created confusion to me, one side of me feels confident on the business (freelance) side of things and want to charge higher and the new junior portfolio side is telling another story and I am thinking if I should swallow all my seniority and start from the bottom (low rate) without looking backward or should I start kind in the middle risking my odds of getting hired as a "junior".

What are your thoughts on this one Will ?

wlyonsatl · ‎12-19-2019

Younes,

If you already have a strong reputation on Upwork, that means your work in other areas would also be worth something well above minimal rates, as long as you are as competent and good value-for-money in your new specialty as you have been in your work to date.

annakiyounes · ‎12-20-2019

Makes total sense to me, that is what I am believing, now all I have to do is to drag my prospective clients into my thoughts and convictions. The idea of testing diffrent price points is still valid either way.

Thank you very much Will, you have been a great help !