ZBrushCentral

What do you charge for freelance work?

Community
#1

So, I graduated college with a degree in digital arts, moved to California and was lucky to find a job but not really in my desired field. So I took it in hopes of getting time to build a portfolio by either doing personal stuff or freelance work. Sent out a few emails and such a few month back and starting to get some bites. Nothing fancy, just some 3d logos, simple animations and recently some video editing inquiries.

I can do all this stuff and have the equipment to do so, but I never really considered what to charge for services and it never came up in school. So I did some some research and I came upon several articles from a few years ago suggesting anywhere from $40 to $60 an hour starting out based on skill, equipment/software costs and so forth. This seems high to me, but I really don’t know.

What I want to do is to try to get a freelance business going on the side to supplement my income from my regular job and eventually either go totally freelance or at least get noticed by a bigger company. Again, these aren’t fine art’s type projects but it is work that not everyone can do. And I don’t want to get rich from doing it, at least not right away. I have to prove myself and get a solid foundation so I don’t want to scare customers away or sound cheap.

Anyone in SoCal area or the Inland Empire have any suggestions or advice?

Thanks a lot!

Patrick

#2

I have one bit of advice that will help you forever in the design industry:

Double ALL of your estimates. This applies to estimated time, pricing, and effort that will go into any project.

Not to screw someone over, just to make sure you don’t screw yourself over. Then, if you finish “early”, you’re a hero. Especially if the client doesn’t end up having to pay as much as you quoted. Use relativity to your advantage.

I used to freelance in illustration and graphic design. Most of my clients couldn’t pay out $60/hour, but it was in a different industry and location. Here in Kentucky, I still pulled $20/hour, which is nothing to complain about when you’re just trying to eat! With 3d in Cali, there’s a lot of competition, but you can at least feel comfortable charging more.

#3

This is a question best worked out with a tax consultant/financial adviser.
It’s not about ‘when does my client turn white looking at my proposal’.
It’s not even about a specific trade.
It is about “How much do I want to earn, what are my costs, and when do I want to retire.”. Really… skill, technology, market, and tools are last. Those are necessary to try and earn that rate and sell that rate you have calculated. If you cannot make that rate with a client, then find another client for a short while, and if you cannot find anyone then consider your activity a hobby and run and earn that money with something else. And hurry making that rate, as if you don’t you will retire with an heart attack at 85 while greeting people at a local supermarket while living in a trailer on the paring lot… Life is short… count till 75 and it’s over. What’s in your bank account when you hit 60-65 is important. Soon after you are physically not able to earn and what then?. Who wants to consider the Smith and Wesson retirement tool kit because they are to old to work, have no dough to afford med’s and so on. Just imagine yourself homeless with 80 because your meager funds ran out and the care center shoves you into a public shelter… Doesn’t happen??? Just check out the dark side of not making/charging enough and what the future holds…
Best of luck :wink:
Lemo

#4

It depends on how much I’ll enjoy the job. If it looks like it’ll be fun then I’ll do it for a little. But if it’s gonna be dull and cause me to drool into my keyboard then I’ll charge lots in the hope that I can scare away the client.

But if you’re stuck for cash then you can’t afford to be too selective. If I’m hungry and I’m broke then I’ll be happy to work for Satan for a dollar.

So the answer is:

Depends…

#5

Just remember that you are freelancing. This means that you are billing for some hours of the day and not for others. You charge for about 60% of your time and the other $40% you are doing paper work, etc. that you don’t charge for. So you have to charge lets say $65 an hour that way you are making around maybe $39 an hour in reality - enough to live, pay for insurance, etc.

If you charge too cheap you may have a lot of work, but never get anywhere. You’ll just be too busy working for nothing. It’s also hard to raise your prices after. If you charge too much then you may not have any work. You’ll have to test the waters and see. If you are good at what you do then don’t be afraid to charge for it.