For many newcomers to the business of Personal Histories determining what to charge is a challenge. There are no set industry standards and fees range from next to nothing to $100+ an hour.
It doesn’t really matter what other personal historians charge for their work. We’re all different. One size does not fit all. So here’s what to do.
Start with your own expenses
- Make a detailed listing of all your expenses for a year. Include everything – personal as well as business. Include a “contingency” amount for such things as health emergencies, repairs, travel, etc.
- Don’t forget taxes and start-up equipment such as printers, scanners, cameras, recorders, etc.
- Divide your total expenses by 12 to arrive at a monthly estimate.
Let’s imagine your calculations point to monthly expenses of $4,000. If your only source of income is from your personal history work, you’ll need to generate at least $4,000 of income every month or about $1,000 a week just to meet your expenses.
Calculate your billable hours.
Use good time tracking software and determine how much of your time is spent on non-billable activities such as research, marketing, bookkeeping, file management, and so on. A good rule of thumb is 20% of your billable hours. So if you work a 40 hour week, you’ll be spending about 8 hours a week on non-billable items.
This means you need to charge a little more than $3o an hour for the remaining 32 billable hours in order to bring in a $1000 a week. (40 hr. work week minus 8 hr. non-billable items)
Determine your profit margin
Being self-employed means both flush and lean times. To ensure that you can bridge those downturns in your business, build in a profit margin. Consider anything from 10% to 30%.
Suppose you decide on 15%. That would mean adding an additional $4.50 (15% of $3o) to your hourly rate bringing it to $34.50.
Charging by the project
You may prefer to charge by the project. If so, estimate the number of hours to complete a project and multiply by your hourly rate.
And Don’t Forget
- Double the amount of time you think a project will take. It always takes longer than you anticipate.
- Avoid pricing yourself too low. Clients will assume you’re not good because you’re cheap.
- Don’t base your rate on what others are charging.
- You’re a professional and are worth every penny you charge.
Additional Resources
- Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
- Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants by Laurie Lewis
- 7 Resources New Freelancers Can Use to Figure Out What to Charge
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