In case you are having Frame Rate withdrawals, let me relieve your anxiety by telling you that I was on vacation all last week. So, no, I haven’t forgotten about my little corner of the web. To kick off my return to blogging after a little hiatus I would like to speak to all the freelancers out there (and aspiring freelancers). Recently I received a call from a company in New York interested in hiring me for brief shoot and edit for a client here in Birmingham. After letting them know I was available I discovered that the rate being offered was quite a bit lower from my usual 1/2 day rate. And that’s what brought me to the crossroad that all freelancers and entrepreneurs face at one time or another. So what do you do when you are offered a job at less your normal rate?
The knee-jerk reaction is to take it. After all, work is work, right? Well, yes and no. Sometimes it is good to take a job at a lower rate if it means gaining a long-term client and some repeat work. After some time you can increase your rates to your standard. But then you have to examine the work itself. Is it something you would be proud to include in your portfolio or demo reel? Repeat work is one thing; sacrificing artistic integrity is something else. Also, will the type of work under consideration cheapen the marketplace? For example, my goal as the owner of a video production company is to help clients realize that they can have incredible production values with a reasonable investment. When someone else comes into the market and offers low-end, quick turnaround videos that were slapped together in an afternoon, it lowers the standard for all who work in the industry and cheapens the quality.
If you are just starting out as a freelancer, then by all means, take the job. When you are first starting out you must do what you can to get your name out into the business community. When I first started I was doing everything from dance recitals to weddings to church services; even legal depositions. Now I am able to be a little more selective in the jobs I take and I can feel comfortable turning down work that falls below my day rates, because I now know what I am worth in the marketplace. I know that by taking a low-paying job, I’m really hurting my profit margin. So as you venture into the world of freelancing and work on building your career, you have to know what your worth. Then, from that number you can offer your clients an accurate budget. Arriving at a price will ultimately be the result of trial and error. In the past I have completely underestimated how much time I would spend on a particular project. But I learned from those experiences and they only helped me in future projects.
Here’s a good rule of thirds: 1/3 of your budget should be for you; 1/3 for overhead expenses; and 1/3 should go back into your company. That one I learned from my dad, an excellent CPA at Till, Hester, Eyer, & Brown.
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