RE: How much to charge?

Keith,
Your point is well taken.  I guess what I was trying to say is that it is
easy to price yourself right out of business.  A business owner needs to
know what their time is worth.  You can have all the work in the world, but
at $2.50 an hour you won't be in business long.
Your strategy for acquiring clients due to value (low price and good work)
is a great way to get started. The key here, is knowing when you are
established enough to take your rates to the level they should be.  It is
easy to get a lot of work lined up when you are affordable and good at what
you do.
The key to charging for your services, is to maintain your professional
image.  Don't let the customer push you around - be confident, but don't
promise anything. Promise only _some_ of what you are capable, and perform
far beyond your promises.  Clients will rarely complain about your rates if
you go the extra mile for them, just don't tell them you are going to do
that before hand! :)

David L. Semans



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Keith D Sellars [mailto:Keith(at)webgraffix.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2000 11:25 AM
> To: David L. Semans
> Cc: hwg-graphics(at)hwg.org
> Subject: Re: How much to charge?
>
>
>
>
> "David L. Semans" wrote:
>
> >  The most important thing is to
> > charge high now.  You can always lower prices if you are too
> high.  You will
> > have lots of trouble raising your rates later.
> >
> > David L. Semans
>
> I don't know if I necessarily agree with this statement.
> Although this may not
> be the correct list to post this Q&A to, I wanted to respond
> using my personal
> experience.  In theory, you may be correct.  The only problem is
> that, for new
> businesses, often the only way to gain a solid start is by having a very
> competitive pricing structure.  This usually means simply having
> the lowest
> price for the same or better quality work.  Once you get a solid
> customer base,
> you can start gradually raising your prices to meet the industry
> norm.  If this
> is done gradually, you most often will not see any type of
> backlash effect.
> Your existing customers will feel as if they got a good deal, and
> new ones will
> then see you as a *legitimate player* in your field.
>
> Just my $.02 worth,
> Keith D Sellars
> WebGraffix
> www.webgraffix.com
>

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