The Sad and Bitter Truth
“I’m in need of money, will work for cheap!”
How often do you see those lines? As a frequent lurker on some webmaster and freelancing forums, bumping into a post with a similar title is normal for me. More often than not, those guys who are looking for some “quick work” to do don’t really get the amount that they deserve! In contrast to my other post, there are people who, shall we say, undervalue their time. Instead of charging a fair rate per hour, they charge pennies just to attract more customers/clients.
Since some of you might not be aware of this (yet), let me give a very common example. A freelance designer with an extensive portfolio looking for work offers custom designs for $30. He promises unlimited revisions until the client is satisfied. A lot of people are lured to this because of the quality and yet the cheap price. This freelancer guy now gets 5 clients, and he earns $150. Wow, $150 sure sounds like quite a nice sum. But wait! Let’s dig deeper into the situation…
Let’s say the following things happened:
The designer had to make three major revisions for each client – a total of twenty outputs and fifteen revisions.
Each revision took him 2 hours to finish – a total of 30 hours.
All the clients were very happy, but decided not to give him some tips.
Now, does that $150 still sound like a nice amount? I don’t think so. Basically he charged $5 per hour (most probably less, depending on how long it took him to create the initial draft)! If only he charged more, then he could be hundreds of dollars richer. I am sure the clients wouldn’t mind because he’s got the skills.
Your Time Is Valuable
Even though you’re not a first-class, cream of the crop, or whatever-word-that-means-the-best professional, your time is still valuable — unless of course if you’re a good-for-nothing problem maker. Never doubt that fact! Don’t let bargainers pull you down. Don’t let nasty (potential) clients manipulate you. Always make your prices reasonable for your clients and FOR YOURSELF. Once you do this (and of course, coupled with time management), you’ll definitely be rich!
You know why some a lot of people struggle to make some serious money online? It’s because they undervalue their time and their skills. It’s okay for them to make $10 a day by writing articles for some random guy on the net. They have this manner of thinking that as long as they make money, everything would be fine. If you believe that you can do a job well, then by all means don’t degrade yourself!
Still not convinced that your time really is valuable? What if I say that instead of being with your friends and family out in the mall, you’re stuck at home doing stressful client work that takes 6-8 hours to finish, and for only $50? Do you understand now? You’re exchanging VALUABLE time to spend with friends for a measly amount of $50! You should DEFINITELY charge higher than that.
Summary
Your time is valuable, believe it or not. You can get rich by valuing your time and not giving in to very cheap offers like $5 an hour or so. If you believe that you’re really good at doing a certain task, then don’t be shy to give a pretty high quote.
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