In this week's episode of JC B/C Podcast, I talked about the frequently asked question:
As an hourly freelancer, what should I charge?
So, here are tips to stop losing money by knowing what your "floor rate" is really. π§΅
Well, obviously, one constraint you have less control over: What is the market value? But, that *assumes* you have the same value interchangeably with someone else, so scrap that thinking.
First, do the math on what YOU want to have.
Note: Since we're in a time-based industry in #msdyn365bc, I can't encourage people to go to "value billing" instead of "time based". I'd love us to be there, but we're not.
A lot of folks start by thinking "52 weeks a year, 40 hours a week, so.. 2080 is my basis".
Nah. Way off. Vacation, Sick Time, Holidays, even regulatory reporting time, conferences or workshops, and you find it's only about 38 weeks per year. 1520 is your basis.
Then, you ever have a workweek where you are just *on* and manage a solid 40 hours and every one of those hours is billable?
Gold star to you if so, as I can't remember the last time I've had that happen.
More likely, you'll lose 2-4 hours a day on average to nonbillable things. Meetings you can't charge for, support cases you can't bill for, or even just reading great Twitter threads. π
This means you have to high/low split it into 80% and 50% utilization estimates.
Now you're talking a basis range of about 1200 or even 750 hours of billable a year. That's a BIG change from 2080!
You also have to factor in expenses, upkeep, and taxes, and then, just then you can start to really figure out "What is my target _floor_ rate?"
Want to hear the rest, along with it all broken down in detail?
I cover it in a 30-minute deep dive in this week's "JV B/C Podcast" (which you're subscribed to, yes?).
Remember, this is how to set your bottom, "I won't go under this" rate. We're going to do another round later to talk about how to stop losing money by learning to position yourself.
If this thread helps you think about what your value should be, or gave you some insight into how to charge, give the first top of the thread a Like, Retweet, or share some of your own experience playing this game in the comments!