The concept of charging for a project may be a struggle as there are many factors that come into play:

• How much time is it going to take to complete that project,
• What level of expertise will you be applying in the execution of that project?
• Would it take extra support from other people to complete that project, i.e. are you going to have to sub-contract to other professionals, and how much will you pay them?
• What size is the organisation and what benefit will they get from it?

You cannot charge a small one-woman business the same price you will charge Google even if what you are going to do will take the organization to the next level because their income is only a fraction of what huge companies get. You may also decide to work for certain types of companies (based on size and sector) which will be your niche and influence how you charge per project.

This is the formula I use for working out an hourly rate.

There are certain skills you have that do not cost you anything to put to use and get results out of which makes it easy to finish the work within 2-4 days. If the work goes beyond four days, it makes sense to charge for a week or month as the case may be. However, if you have to travel, do interviews and do more work outside your comfort zone, the price will naturally go up.

I have had projects that required more investigative skills, and so I charged more. Using several skills will make the price go up. There are also different kinds of writings which will require little or more work from you and all these factors will determine how you will charge.

Keep a record

As you progress, you will probably have a fixed rate for your sub-contractors which will make it easier to work out your price range. Keeping the details of the different projects you have worked on will help you make this decision easily.

Your experience may bring up the need to rate your skills on a ladder; this will help you determine the level of your proficiency and in turn influence how much you have to charge to render a mix of these services to your client.

I have been in situations where I have under-priced myself. Once this mistake happens, you need to move past being disgruntled and work towards pricing better next time. As you grow as a freelancer, independent contractor, business owner, you will begin to have a clear picture of how much your services should cost. How much your time is worth!

Keeping track of your projects on a spreadsheet makes it easier to review your prices when you need to.

Have a baseline

Having a baseline means you know the minimum you’re willing to work for per project. Before I got to my own baseline, I realized that charging at a cheaper rate meant I was oversubscribed. The result is you are unable to fully deliver on all the projects. As I tweaked my rates, I gradually grew and got to the level where I got the right number of clients with the right fee. You may discover that adjusting your price range, some of your clients may not return. As long as it has the impact you are looking for on a monthly basis, you are good to go. Ensure that you don’t increase your price to a point where ALL your clients get offended and take their business elsewhere. Find a balance and you will be able to build the sustainable business you desire.

Nuggets: You need to understand what you are able to offer, the kind of external skill set you will need for different projects and the kind of clients you seek to work with. Strike a balance between what will make you deliver flawless work and the monetary value that will give you the fulfilment you seek. Your time is valuable, charge for it.