61–70 of 242 posts
I charge around 75$/h for backend and devops work. I started at 42$/h two years ago. Increasing the rate at every contract. I usually only bill coding hours which is around 5h/day for me, but I realized that it is not a good strategy.
> that it is not a good strategy
?
I’m tired of holding this idea in my head would love to see it out there so we can just get to the good part (knowing what to charge).
If you need more explanation: https://unvalidated-ideas.vadosware.io/editions/012
I'm fixing some WordPress websites on the side for 60 Euro/hour for clients from earlier days. For new clients I'd look into 90 Euro/hour. Your work is much more complex though, your rate should therefore be higher, I think, especially if this is your main job. Would it make sense for you to switch to another billing model, like "per module" or does billing per hour work fine for you? edit: Based in Germany
It used to be $225/hr. But I don’t have an hourly rate anymore and I basically never will. You need to understand that as a contractor clients value more than just your time and the work you do. They value flexibility in staffing, getting an outsider’s opinion, their own time, working with a true expert, and making progress on projects which they can show off to their boss. That’s why for all my work I scope project…
The best advice I ever got about freelancing was to increase my rate for every job and keep on doing that until people refused to hire me. How else can you figure out what you're worth?
Doesn't sound like good advice. When the market drops suddenly, lots of the people on the top rates won't get any work due to demand. Could you drop them at that point? Possibly but not if your mortgage would become unaffordable. An alternative is to consider what lifestyle you think is fair for society and work it out from that. We don't all have to perpetuate the worst of capitalism that I should be paid whatever p…
The solution is to not live above your means and assuming that your current income will always be there. It's important to have a buffer, especially if you are self employed. Just not raising your rates isn't really the solution to the problem.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Assuming you're looking for contract work in general and not specifically refrigerators, he sets a good example for how specialization gets you consistent work. Basically, find a niche industry (refrigerators, greenhouses, toy cars, whatever), find an audience, think about what they could use, and acquire the skills to give it to them. I used to be an actuary before I did software, I plan on going back to my old comp…
A lot of niche industries e.g. around embedded might pay less than web development, ironically.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would that not end up hurting your reputation after a while?
Would you want a 10.000USD or the 30.000USD surgery? There is a paradoxon that people associate costs with quality. High rates never hurt anyone, given that they actually deliver on it.
I'd like to have the 0USD surgery, but maybe that's just my inner European.
You are a charity, or other worthy cause, or someone I really want to work with - 50% - 100% discount.
You are a normal client - 100%.
You are either an arsehole or have asked for something very last minute - 150%-200% depending on the mood I'm in.
The last one, colloquially known as the fuck-off rate, is probably the best bit of contracting advice I ever got from a colleague. He hated the gig we were doing, utterly despised the boss, and walked away smiling every day because he was one week closer to retirement. It's only really sustainable for your mental health in short runs.
Oh, and never charge per hour. It isn't like you can do an hour for client X and then the next one on client Y. You're not a bloody lawyer - you're a professional!
I sometimes split jobs into half-days, if the client prefers it. Although that's more like 66% for each half.
Oh, and finally, you don't customise Salesforce. You help your clients solve a problem. That may usually involve Salesforce, but most of your potential clients probably don't know what SF can do. So what you're actually selling is a way to optimise the client funnel (or whatever).
The best advice I ever got about freelancing was to increase my rate for every job and keep on doing that until people refused to hire me. How else can you figure out what you're worth?
Doesn't sound like good advice. When the market drops suddenly, lots of the people on the top rates won't get any work due to demand. Could you drop them at that point? Possibly but not if your mortgage would become unaffordable. An alternative is to consider what lifestyle you think is fair for society and work it out from that. We don't all have to perpetuate the worst of capitalism that I should be paid whatever p…
Getting the biggest mortgage that your current income supports is the problem in that scenario. Being prudent and patient doesn't have to mean missing out on the good times.
$300 an hour
Don't have much free time these days unfortunately to grow it out further.