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Yesterday I had this crazy idea: People pay me $15, I make them a web design

designfor15bucks.com

131–140 of 188 posts

Re: Yesterday I had this crazy idea: People pay me $15, I make them a web design

#131
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like he's in Brazil from his paypal page. Not sure about the cost of living there, but that's probably a decent wage for a lot of people there.

This is actually a decent wage in Brazil. When I lived there (15 years ago) minimum wage was equivalent to $100 a month.

But it's completely different if the person works in the IT industry. I do live in Brazil (Sao Paulo), and I can't hire a GOOD web designer for my company paying less than $3.000 USD/month (R$ 5K). Here, an experienced designer can easily ask $5K USD/month for working fulltime.

Re: Yesterday I had this crazy idea: People pay me $15, I make them a web design

#132
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who says he's spending two hours or less? If he spends 1-2 hours on a design, that's $7.50-$15 per hour. Any longer and he wouldn't be making enough to be worth his time, even in the Philippines or India. For a true portfolio, you'd want better designs than 1-2 hour quickies

If he's trying to build up a portfolio of work, he'd normally be doing it for free, why would he be trying to make market rates? You're assuming that this is someone building a living from this.

No, it's not done for free. It's an investment of time designed to earn a return. The value of that time is supposed to be included in the price charged to the client. 'Doing it for free' is about giving value, not the inability to get paid.

Re: Yesterday I had this crazy idea: People pay me $15, I make them a web design

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd rather do something I enjoy for slightly less money than get an office job or flip burgers.

You must have very cheap rent. If you don't ask for money for what you do, then you are saying that what you do is worthless. You probably don't actually believe that, and the only reason to sell your work for less than the most basic labor is because you don't know how to get paid properly. But customers see your pricing and conclude that designers do not need to be paid even the normal minimum for other kinds of wo…

Hm, how did "for slightly less money" morph into "you don't ask for money for what you do"?

Re: Yesterday I had this crazy idea: People pay me $15, I make them a web design

#134
Thats why i quit making colorful pictures for "blind" people with small pockets long time ago. Time (effort spend) to return (money) equation is terrible. Its shameful that todays perception on web design is PSD layered file. Web design is a process of communication of an idea/marketing concept to a consumer. Web design is UX thinking. Than: Web design is UI doing. Than: Web design is a illustration.

I don't see how the Client will perceive this low price PSD oriented service with less expectations. The price is so low that its not serious, it's a joke.

Advice:

Make some sassy layouts, put them online in portfolio section. Than put up your price per hour. Give a client full service, feedback, comments on their ideas, professional advice etc.

But: Value in web design is not in pictures. It is in successful conceptualization of your professional view on clients problems.

Years ago i stop offering cool pictures, and start learning more about technology in front-end (html.css.js), UX, marketing, communication with customer and now i perceive the web design process as a whole of many valuable parts.

If you are in desperate position, do some freelancing or get a routine job and invest in your self in your spare time:))

Re: Yesterday I had this crazy idea: People pay me $15, I make them a web design

#135
post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You must have very cheap rent. If you don't ask for money for what you do, then you are saying that what you do is worthless. You probably don't actually believe that, and the only reason to sell your work for less than the most basic labor is because you don't know how to get paid properly. But customers see your pricing and conclude that designers do not need to be paid even the normal minimum for other kinds of wo…

Hm, how did "for slightly less money" morph into "you don't ask for money for what you do"?

reminds me of 7 minute abs... I'll release a new website called designfor14bucks.com and take all your customers!

Re: Yesterday I had this crazy idea: People pay me $15, I make them a web design

#138
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, definitely. If you offer it, I'll take you up on it once he's open for design applications again.

Cool! I'll setup a page for the service now. Edit: http://staydecent.ca/markup

Awesome, I bookmarked the page for future needs.

Re: Yesterday I had this crazy idea: People pay me $15, I make them a web design

#139

Somebody delivering the same service, but including HTML/CSS, could easily charge $150 and have more customers than they could possibly handle.

Somebody could offer it sans HTML/CSS, charge $150 and still stay busy IMO. My basic mate's rates fee for that sort of job is $1000-1500 for a PSD.

That said, $15-20 is comfortably in that "If it doesn't work out, who cares" bracket. The problem will be that for many people, time is far more crucial than the cost. If I need a turnaround of 3-4 days, and the queue is 7+ days, it won't matter if it's $15 or 15 cents.

Re: Yesterday I had this crazy idea: People pay me $15, I make them a web design

#140

Not a bad idea if you can make the numbers work. One variation would be to charge $15 per iteration. The first one might take you 2 hours, but each additional iteration might only take 15 minutes, in which case it becomes more economical.

Then you're possibly incentivized to do subpar work the first time around to ensure a second round. On the other hand, if you push that too far it will make for a bad reputation. Also, if there is enough new work coming in then it's probably better to spend the time with new clients (with the aim in mind to up-sell later).
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