Today,

I sincerely believe that most creatives find it difficult to set their rates.

So, let's talk ... 🎶 money, money, money, Must be funny, In the rich man's world 🎶 (I'm sure you're humming the Abba song in your head too 🤣 )

And today I feel like doing something about it...

Maybe you think 👇 

💬 "When I have to announce the price of my services to the Client, this is really the part I hate and feel uncomfortable 😞" 💬

Don't worry, we've all been there! And you know what? It's perfectly normal!

As you'll see, there are several tips for setting your rates. Choose the one you feel most comfortable with right now in your creative journey! You will learn, change and adapt your rates as you go along.

I hope in any case that this article will bring you a different vision in your relationship with your rates and that it will allow you to be more serene and confident in front of your Client at the fateful moment of disclosing the famous amount.

So take a little matcha, get comfortable, and let's go my kiki, I explain everything while trying to show you that everything is possible 🤓

Here is what we will see together

1. What's the perfect rate?
2. Why is having a Pricing Strategy important?
3. What should be taken into account when setting rates?
4. What are the 5 tips to know how to set your rates?
   Tip #1: Hourly Rate
   Tip #2: Average Daily Rate
   Tip #3: Number of Services
   Tip #4: Project Rate
   Tip #5: Value Rate (the Holy Grail)
5. The 4 questions to ask yourself before setting your rates
6. My 3 essential tips for setting prices correctly

Don't feel like reading? (even though this article will only take you 10 minutes to read, watch in hand⌚)

Watch the YouTube video: 5 tips - How to set your rates

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1. What is the perfect rate?

• There is no such thing as a perfect price
• We are all different and will propose a different approach for the same product
• Even our own person will evolve throughout his career and create a certain expertise
• This expertise is not free!
• The Customer pays, our years of learning, our experience, our personality, our performance, our productivity and our professionalism
• It does not pay for our time but for our expertise
• And this is worth its weight in gold!

2. Why is having a Pricing Strategy important?

1. Determine your goals
2. Costing
3. Knowing the value of your offers
4. Make the right assumptions to achieve your goals
5. Adapting your rates

3. What should be taken into account when setting prices?

1. The competition
2. Fixed and production costs
3. Financial objectives
4. The notoriety (community, testimonial, ...)
5. Self-confidence
6. The expertise

4. What are the 5 tips on how to set your rates?

Tip #1: Hourly Rate

What is an hourly rate?

• It is a rate that is calculated by the hour
  

How to set your rates based on the hourly rate?

• Set your rate on the basis of minimum 75-100€ per hour for a downhill freelance life (according to my advice)
• If you really don't have much of a load, you can go down to 50€, but not more than 3 to 6 months

My opinion?

• It is the simplest when we start, the most common and the most used, it does not mean that it is the best solution, but it allows us to reassure ourselves for the first approaches with the Clients
• 👍 Advantage - No room for error and you increase the hourly rate as you go along
• 👎 Disadvantage - If you work fast, you'll shoot yourself in the foot.

Tip #2: Average Daily Rate

What is an average daily rate?

• It is a rate that is calculated by the day (for more important or recurrent services)

How to set your rates based on the Average Daily Rate?

• At the beginning, I advise you to set a minimum of 500€ per day
• Then you can raise your prices as you wish every 3 months

My opinion?

• Once you have gained confidence in your services and your hourly rates, you will be able to set a rate at the ADR (Average Daily Rate) which will allow you to have more regular clients and especially to have more "stable" weeks and months (I'm not teaching you anything, stability when you are a freelancer is essential)
• You can also offer 1 or 2 days of your week for the same Client and be sure to be paid on the long term
• 👍 Advantage - same as hourly rate
• 👎 Disadvantage - same as hourly rate

Tip #3: Rate by number of services

What is a fee per service?

• It is a rate that is calculated on the basis of the estimated time to perform one or more services

How to set your rates based on the number of services?

• Estimates the time required to complete the service
• Multiply this time by your hourly rate
• Adds a 30% margin
• Fixes a price from 3 angles, for example:
  pack small
  pack medium
  pack large

My opinion?

• If you offer only one service, you can stay at the Average Daily Rate, but if you want to offer several services, you can prepare a rate for each of the services to be performed
• 👍 Advantage - The Customer knows in advance what he will pay and you know how much you will receive
• 👎 Disadvantage - If you're wrong in your estimates, you'll have to finish the project with less money in your pocket. But this can be circumvented by adding (at least) a 30% margin of error

Tip #4: Project Pricing

What is a project fee?

• It is a rate that is calculated on a flat rate basis of the estimated time to complete a project

How do you set your rates based on the project?

• Describes the whole project in phase
• Determine if you will need to call on an expert, a colleague or a subcontractor
• Take into consideration the urgency of the Client
• Estimate the time required to complete the project step by step
• Depending on the steps, multiply this time by your hourly rate or average daily rate
• Adds a minimum of 30% margin
• Fixes a tariff in 3 angles, for example:
  raw product delivery pack
  raw product delivery pack + assistance
  raw product delivery pack + assistance + extra service

My opinion?

• Sometimes, the project is much bigger and your rate for the number of services does not meet the Client's demand.
• You will have to break down the project into "steps" to be able to detail it in a quote
• 👍 Advantage - same as Tariff to numbers of benefits
• 👎 Disadvantage - same as Tariff for number of services

Tip #5: Value Pricing (the Holy Grail)

What is a value-based rate?

• This tip is my favorite
• It is a rate that is calculated on the basis of the value for a service or a complete project

How do you set your rates based on value?

• It is the fact of sticking a price on a service according to various irrational factors such as:
  your expertise
  your notoriety
  your story
  your communication
  your recommendations, ...
  It is also this trick that big brands like Starbucks, Nike, Tesla, etc. use.

My opinion?

• Let's not lie to ourselves, setting your prices to the value, should be the achievement of all Creative
• This is the time when you will be able to "choose" which Client you want to work with and which projects you are most excited about
• 👍 Advantage - You can work at your own pace and with Clients whose projects you love
• 👎 Disadvantage - It's an irrational way of doing things (it has a "non-palpable", unreal feel to it), which is why you need to have some experience before you can use this trick

5. 4 questions to ask yourself before setting your rates

👉 1. Question #1: Is this a very short service?
YES = "Value or service rate"
NO = "Average daily rate"

👉 2. Question #2: Does the Customer know exactly what they want?
YES = "Value or service based rate"
NO = "Hourly rate"

👉 3. Question #3: Will this be a long-term project?
YES = "Average Daily Rate Tariff"
NO = "Value or Project Tariff"

👉 4. Question #4: What value do you think this project or service will bring to your Business?
Will it represent your work well?
Does it bring value to your portfolio?
Do you want to attract more Clients of the same style?
Will you learn anything from it?
Will you grow personally from this project?

6. My 3 essential tips to set your rates correctly

✨ Tip #1: Money versus its Mindset.

• The main block of Creatives related to money: "I feel like I'm too expensive and that people will never want to pay that price".
• The main trick is to work on yourself and to know how to "assert" what you are worth in relation to the work you do
  To go further, join the Happy.webacademy for free resources to master your rates

✨ Tip #2: Money is a Tool

• There is enough for everyone
• Take your place
• It is made to circulate
• This is the heart of your business

✨ Tip #3: Your rate doesn't represent you.

• Toi = Ton tarif
• Your rate does not represent the person you are
• Your price does not represent your value
• Your rate represents the value you bring to others e.g.:
  A service at 100€/h
  >I am not worth 100€/h
  >my service is worth 100€/h
• So if a customer says no, it's not you that doesn't suit him, it's only your price

In conclusion,

Now you know that all work deserves to be paid what it is worth. A rate doesn't represent you or your worth, it represents the work you've done.

And my final Tips for today 👉 get a no from your rate announcement? Consider it okay! Your rates can't be right for everyone, it would be right for anyone!

There is no point in selling off your prices to match a competition that does not represent your work at all! Bring a value that can only be found in your company.

You now have all the keys to set your prices correctly and with full knowledge. Don't forget that calculating your rates is above all a mix of strategy, experience and mindset!

Got a little question? Pause it in the community!
How? Join for free during 10 days the Happy.webacademy's Accompaniment Program to create your Creative Business with Webflow and access to a private library of ouffissimes resources 🤪

(And yes, you read that right! It's free)!

And finally, download your resources 📔

How to download the resource: Controlling my rates?

1. Click here 👉 I access the private library of the Happy.webacademy
2. Go to the Private Library
3. Unlock the Business Space
4. Woop, Woop, more surprises await you inside 🥳 🙌 !