First job as a freelance web designer: how much to ask?

[Metallion]

As the title says. I'm about to start on my first job as a freelance web designer but I have simply no idea of how much to ask yet. I'll be billed by the hour and since I'm not all that experienced yet, my edge should be to be a bit cheaper.

Could anyone give some suggestions on what would be a good price and tips on how to handle things in general?

[Rackstar]

Don't ask too much for your first job. They will expect too much from you. It's your first job, you need the experience.

But who are you doing it for? Is it a company that will just file it as expenses? Or just a local friend-of-the-family?

[ade234uk]

The job can be a pain in the ****.
You need to set an hourly rate, because I can gaurantee you 9/10 the customer will want change. I have done websites in the past that have taken 6 months, due to the customer changing things. If you charge a set fee, you will be out of pocket and your enthusiasm for the job will subside. When I first started out, I used to do this, and I also used to do favours, then companies will start using you for more favours.

Just like their business needs to make money so do you, so don't become a soft touch.

Also think about how you are going to market yourself. There are so many bedroom webdesigners out there, the whole market place is saturated. Having a proper office to work from with a proper business address sets up apart immediately from people doing websites on the side.

[csl5010]

My company has used freelance web designers for the website. They charged around $100 per hour... But they did things fast. But the president always wanted to find someone cheaper.

[Sealbhach]

If it helps you decide, I found this listing of hourly rates here.


http://www.actionscript.org/employme...&Submit=Search

I can't vouch for how accurate the site is though.

.

[Metallion]

Well, the guy in question here is actually an ex colleague of mine so I know that he makes about 1650 a month. So if I do this job for him 100 an hour is out of the question. I believe that it's too much for my first job too.

That website of Sealbhach gives a good overview. Right now I'm thinking about something between 7 and 10 euro per hour and working 4 hours a day or so. Do you guys think that sounds like a good deal?

[Rackstar]

It depends on your skills and quality of your product. I think for your first job a rate of $10 is ok.

[mr.propre]

It depends on your skills and quality of your product. I think for your first job a rate of $10 is ok.

+1 for America maybe, but he is from Belgium, so it's a little bit wrong to ask it here because Belgium has a lot of extra cost like health care, social security insurance, ...

There are a few places you can go to ask this question. UNIZO, the union (I guess ACLVB is here the best) and there are probably some VZW's around who help you with this kind of stuff.

Also be aware that "freelance" is seen as a zelfstandige and you need to have a TAX number, need to succeed in the course bedrijfsbeheer and in some cases an extra diploma is also required.

Sorry if you already done that, but if you ask "how much do I need to ask" i get the feeling you really don't thought this trough @ my company we sometimes have specialized people who can ask up to more then a €1000 a day.

@others, sorry for some dutch words. But some are really hard to translate

EDIT: sorry Rackstar I didn's saw you are from belgium to. Be ware thet the minimum wages in Belgium are now €1250 bruto

[Rackstar]

Haha, what a coincidence! I'm from Belgium too actually I'm a freelance programmer/scripter (yes with TAX-number etc). But I don't think he is actually... So if it's off-the-record, then 10€ should be fine. (for a first job, for a friend (not a company)) If you are trying to make a living out of it, you can raise the bar.

You don't need to complete the course "bedrijfsbeheer", if you have someone in your family who can be your "begeleider", that person should have a degree (almost everything counts) before 1986 or so. Or he/she should have a degree of "bedrijfsbeheer".

[mr.propre]

Well, I hope he doesn't do it of the record. Making websites isn't like fixing a bicycle. A lot can go wrong and if that happens, you are fully responsible.