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benedictrm
Community Member

Knowing Client Budget when job is set up as Hourly?

Hi Y'all

 

Upwork is encouraging more work into Hourly with the hour'o'meter which is great in many ways.

 

The problem I find is that where a Job is on the boards with an hourly pricing range like $10-40 ph, that gives absolutely no sense of what the client is really looking to spend. For all I know they expect that I will Mix & Master their 48-Stem Prog Metal song in 1 hour for $10 (they do at another place). Especially seeing most people neglect to share a) their song b) how many stems there are to be mixed.

 

Seeing jobs require very limited credits to apply for, it is not practical to fire off proposals in the hope the buyer understands that this is going to take ~8-10 hours at an absolute bare minimum of $150 on the assumption that a) I want to mix this track and b) this track is even mixable.

 

Is there a way to better understand what the client's expectations are in these situations before blowing credits mindlessly?

Thanks
😉

ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Thanks

 

Yes, indeed I am a Mix Engineer (mix and master music) and Composer (write music).

The problem with the "just ask the customer" approach is that it requires very limited Connects to be allocated to applying for jobs that may not reflect a sensible choice for allocation of said Connects (not to mention time) when the only way to even ask requires wasting said limited Connects to ask if this is even relevant, let alone a sensible use of a very limited resource.

 

From another space where it is easier to just fire something off in-hope they are a valid prospect, most of that time is indeed wasted seeing most don't even share the song let alone who they are, their hopes etc.

 

Maybe that is the only sensible answer: If they can't be professional enough to make a reasonable presentation of their job, there is nothing to apply for.

🙂

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5 REPLIES 5
AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Benedict, 


I had to check your profile to understand what you are referring to here. I had an inkling that you were in the music industry, but not sure if I was correct. I'm excited to meet an audio engineer here! Hi!

 

As for your question, I understand how it isn't easy to understand some clients' needs, especially if they don't provide enough information in the job post. Sometimes, clients set a placeholder budget because they don't know how much their project costs. It's recommended that you help the client understand how much the project costs and why you are charging such an amount. It also helps add clarifying questions in your proposal to demonstrate that you are knowledgeable in the field. Once a client responds, you can share more insight into the budget. Ultimately the decision will fall on you and how you wish to move forward with your freelance business.

I hope this helps!


~ Avery
Upwork

Thanks

 

Yes, indeed I am a Mix Engineer (mix and master music) and Composer (write music).

The problem with the "just ask the customer" approach is that it requires very limited Connects to be allocated to applying for jobs that may not reflect a sensible choice for allocation of said Connects (not to mention time) when the only way to even ask requires wasting said limited Connects to ask if this is even relevant, let alone a sensible use of a very limited resource.

 

From another space where it is easier to just fire something off in-hope they are a valid prospect, most of that time is indeed wasted seeing most don't even share the song let alone who they are, their hopes etc.

 

Maybe that is the only sensible answer: If they can't be professional enough to make a reasonable presentation of their job, there is nothing to apply for.

🙂

Benedict, I'm trying to give you a practical tip.

Look at the stats of the client. How much they have paid others in average and most recently. If that looks great, even a poor job description might be worth a proposal.

Is it a new client with no stats? The only way to know what is out there is to go for it (unless you have some country filters as I definitely have).

If the stats don't look good, but the job is very well defined, it might also turn out OK.

Smart guys figure out how to read between the lines of just about every job post out here. Don't worry, you'll pick it up quickly enough. Might cost a few bucks to buy the Connects, though. 😬


Benedict R wrote:

The problem with the "just ask the customer" approach is that it requires very limited Connects to be allocated to applying for jobs that may not reflect a sensible choice for allocation of said Connects (not to mention time) when the only way to even ask requires wasting said limited Connects to ask if this is even relevant, let alone a sensible use of a very limited resource.


You make it sound like connects are some precious and rare resource.

They are not. There are unlimited connects available for purchase..

kinector
Community Member

Haha Petra, I love this statement! It's an absolute fact.

Any freelancer is free to buy as many Connects as he/she likes!

Now, your only challenge is to turn that into a profitable business. 😉

Some manage, some don't. Call it natural selection. 😀

Some turn a whopping 30% sales charge into a great business for themselves. (I'm not kidding here! Also, their sales partners are pretty happy guys!)

And then again, some complain about 5% platform charges.

It all depends on what business you do and who needs who and how much.
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