Re:The Psychological Trap of Freelancing
by photoguy112 on Monday February 11, 2019 @08:47AM
(#19134411)
For most freelancers "consistent demand" is the hard part. I found it easier to price a service once you can estimate the type of value it will provide. For development work this is probably hard to do, but with experience and enough poking around you can learn the type of value your work provides. It helps if you can get down to the core details such as how much the product is currently earning, and how much your work will contribute. At that point it becomes much easier to sell yourself because when presented with a $ cost and a $$ profit, it becomes really clear that it practically doesn't matter what you charge because the returns are on-going whereas your work is one time. If I made a business $2 mil additional revenue, all of a sudden a 5% investment doesn't seem as hard to swallow. Coincidentally, charging a high rate leaves less of a gap, especially once you figure out your typical gaps and when they happen and budget appropriately.
Clients will often salami slice work to pay %10-20 on your quote. It is all about leverage (batna). Development work is different than say, security consulting or other design and analysis work, as it's all in the findings.
I recommend building a "Matthew Effect," where you have consistent demand independent of price or rate so that you can determine the value of a project objectively. It matters less that your rate is down than being vulnerable to a gap in demand. That gap returns you to wage slavery.