4 Ways Of Charging For Your Services & The Pros and Cons They Come With

My name is Justyna Kedra and I am the founder of WERULE. I have been working with various clients for years now and below are my tips on how to charge for different projects. I’ve done everything from investment pitch decks, wine labels, partnership decks, event/promo flyers, posters, marketing assets and literally everything else in between. Please keep reading, but if you only take one thing away here, please let it be this: DO NOT UNDERCHARGE! If you’re not sure about how much to charge either google it or get an advisor to help you figure out your offering.

In business, there are a million ways to charge for your services. It can be a hard topic to get advice on because it usually varies depending on the client, the size of their company and the scope of the project. Plus, according to the gender gap numbers, women often undercharge and overdeliver. We think it’s time to change that. In this blog post we I be discussing some ways you can get paid for your services.

When it comes to charging for your services, there are a few different methods you can choose from, each with its own advantages and considerations. Here's a breakdown of some popular options:

Choosing the best method depends on several factors, such as the nature of your service, your target clientele, and your own comfort level. Here are some additional things to consider:

• Value-based pricing: Instead of focusing solely on time or project scope, consider the value you deliver to the client. This can help justify your pricing and attract clients looking for specific results.

• Competition: Research what similar service providers charge to ensure your pricing is competitive while reflecting your expertise.

• Overhead Costs: Factor in your business expenses when setting your rates to ensure profitability.

Ultimately, the best way to choose is to experiment and see what works best for you and your clients. You can always adjust your pricing model over time as your business evolves.

1) The Hourly Rate

This is a straightforward approach where you set a fixed price per hour of work you complete. It's transparent and easy to calculate, especially for unpredictable projects. However, it can disincentivize efficiency and clients might feel nickeled and dimed. Tracking hours can also be tedious.

The Pros: It’s very easy to calculate. You put in a certain amount of hours and charge the client per the hours worked upon a previously discussed hourly rate. This is also great because it helps you to organize your work and figure out how much time each task and/or project will take

The Cons: Usually, as we become more skilled with the service we are providing we become more efficient and it takes less time to produce the results. You have to be careful how you charge and always remember that with each improvement, certificate earned, new technique learned you have to raise your prices. You don’t want to get charged half of the money for a task that would usually take you double the time… all just you became better!

This is also just a good way to start freelancing or providing services to others. This is not the ideal way for longterm success, but it’s a great place to start.

My Tip: Google it! Not sure what to charge? Google has some answers for you somewhere out there. Just remember that humans working in other countries have different rates based on their currencies etc. Just because it says that a flyer should cost $20 USD doesn’t mean this is how much you should charge. If your work is worth $300 USD… please charge that! No more undercharging please.

2) Project Based Pricing

Here, you charge a fixed price for the entire project, regardless of the time it takes. This is good for well-defined projects with a clear scope of work. It incentivizes efficiency and provides predictability for clients. However, underestimating the time needed can lead to lost profits, and unexpected changes might require renegotiation.

The Pros: You know exactly what you are going to be making from a project. I usually charge $10K USD per pitch deck and know that if I am efficient, do a good job and deliver my best, I’ll be getting paid $10K USD in no time.

The Cons: Sometimes you underestimate how long a project would take. When I was at Parsons they engraved it in our brains that creative projects usually take 2x the time you think it will take. Don’t tell a client something will take a day if you know it will take 2 weeks. Humans who come to you clearly don’t have your skill, so they can’t know how long it takes.

Also, if you misjudge how much time a project will take and what you are making your project rate will end up not being “worth it“. Again, charge your worth and don’t be afraid to ask for more money or communicate with the client if they’re dragging the project out into eternity.

My Tip: Always overestimate the time (but not dramatically). If you deliver in less time you will have a very happy client, but if you actually need more time then your client will give you a little more time VS double the time making it look unprofessional. Make sure you google the rate, but be conscious of which website you’re taking the information from. Again, some freelancers live overseas and it looks like they’re not charging a lot when in reality their cost of living is a percentage of yours.

3) The Retainer

This involves a client paying you a set monthly fee in exchange for a pre-determined amount of work or time commitment. It provides recurring income and fosters a long-term relationship with the client. However, it requires good time management to ensure you deliver the agreed-upon value within the retainer amount.

The Pros: This one is personally my favorite, but it comes with a lot of tricky things (will tell you in a second). The good thing about it is it’s basically income you know you are getting per month. You can have 3 clients who each give you 3k and you do work for them on ongoing basis. What I love about this as well is that you have a few streams of income that will give you the flexibility to work remotely whenever works best for you as well as get rid of those less than perfect clients without impacting your finances that much.

The Cons: You have to have a good contract in place or work with people who you know are from your network and have the budget to pay you. Some clients also expect you to be more proactive in reaching out for projects, so sometimes this might feel like a part time job.

You also want to make sure to communicate with your clients often in order to keep on top of everything and keep their satisfaction level high.

My tip: This works better with bigger clients. For example, I worked with a small business that all of the sudden didn’t need me for a few months and it came as a surprise while a huge corporate company would pay me $1K USD just to do a few quick flyers and the invoices kept on just going out.

3) Mixed Pricing

This is a flexible approach where you combine different methods. For example, you might charge a project-based fee for the core deliverables and then offer an hourly rate for any additional services. This allows you to cater to specific client needs and potential project variations.

The Pros: This is great for working with clients who you know that want to do base work of XYZ, then you can also offer them a flexible hourly pricing (on top of the hourly rate). For example: If you’re already charging someone $5K per month for base work you have been doing for months and all of the sudden they need you to take on additional work. Just ask them to pay you either per project or per hour. Totally acceptable. Always remember not to let you clients take advantage of you.

The Cons: I personally think that here being organized and tracking your work and tasks will come in handy. When a client asks you to do something additional and you know you have been putting in a lot of work, this might be good to prove to them that you already have been going above and beyond and what they are asking for is going to be charged as an additional project.

My Tip: NEVER overextend yourself unless it’s a one time small project. Humans who work at companies have budgets for projects and if you don’t ask for additional money, you won’t receive it.

Also, it’s really good to also offer clients this option in the beginning of you working together. You can tell them: My retainer will be XYZ, but please keep me posted on any additional work you might be sending my way, which we can discuss to be priced per hour or per project.

If you have questions you can email me here: justyna@we-rule.com, or reach out via our contact form.