In every good-sized city there exists what I call the Freelance Stratosphere. It seems like every day I hear about a new freelancer, sometimes a direct competitor – someone else doing web design in Indianapolis.
This sweet graph doesn’t take into account the differences in cost among professions. All figures, including that awesome jet and peaceful clouds, are purposefully simplified for discussion.
It’s easy to understand the Freelance Stratosphere. There are freelancers working at $25/hr, and there are freelancers working at $150/hr, and everything in between. The freelancers on the bottom are just starting, while the freelancers at the top are well-experienced and well-established.
Why it’s important
In the Freelance Stratosphere there are different levels; and when a client gets project estimates from different levels, confusion happens. Usually, they have little or no indication that they are bridging these levels. For instance: a freelancer in a middle level may have costs $1000 different than another freelancer in the next higher or lower level. To the client, the differences may not be immediately obvious; all they focus on is cost.
It would almost be cliche to say “you get what you pay for” but that old saying is true. The higher you go, up the Freelance Stratosphere the greater the capability, confidence, cost, professionalism, credentials, and of course, cost. The lower you go, the lower the cost, but they must beware of the increasing risk and other drawbacks. Did you notice the disturbing cracks at the lowest level? Ahh, the cleverness. If I were even cleverer I could have written in some nice alliteration with the differentiating factors…
All levels have their place
For many small projects, a low-strata freelancer is fine, but for projects that are a real investment in both time and money, the client will need more confidence in the chosen freelancer, and must go up the levels to find one that suits their needs – striking a balance between cost and quality.
Educate the client
On the occasion I’m estimating for a client who has unwittingly run across these levels, I have found that a little education is necessary to justify my cost. I’ve found clients to be pretty open to the realities of the Freelance Stratosphere, once explained.
Have you ever had this conversation with a client along these lines? I’d love to hear about it. Also, If you are someone cleverer than I, feel free to offer suggestions for that alliteration I spoke of :)
Technorati Tags: freelancer, freelancers, freelancing, pricing, self_employment
April 2nd, 2007 at 3:36 am
I started to work on web design projects as freelancer. My experience is that a freelancer can be paid very good or very poor. It depends by the project and buy the buyer. I have to tell that I never worked above 25 USD/hour…
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Great graphic. But I’m not sure that the analogy is altogether accurate. The stratosphere seems to say that the higher you go the better, which I think you’d agree isn’t always the case.
Maybe a mountain is a better symbol from nature — there are many paths up the mountain where your guide charges a different rate. Some of the cheap guides are “winging it” and will take you up a path rife with dangers. While some expensive guides are taking you up the same path that cheaper ones are.
I wish it was as clear cut as $25/hr = bad quality and $125 = great quality.
April 10th, 2007 at 8:31 am
I’d agree that nothing is clear cut, but I believe this is a pretty accurate guideline. Most vendors on the expensive side will have been “shaken out” by competition and their history of practices, and won’t be in business unless the market has deemed their offerings and price point to be valid.