💵 What's my worth? How do I price myself? · The Bunker #41

How has the week been? I hope you have completed all the tasks you set out to do! (I definitely haven't procrastinated all week 🤣).

Well, let's get to the point.

I remember that when I started, there were some things that seemed simple, but they were undoubtedly intimidating.

Yes, I'm talking about prices.

• How much should I charge?
• Is €500 expensive? Is it cheap?
• Should I charge different rates for different clients?
• Should I charge hourly? Per project? Per time? Per difficulty?
• If I have no experience, can I still charge high amounts?

It seemed easy to say "I'm worth €500" (or whatever), but then a client would come and offer €400, and I didn't know how to argue because I didn't even know my own value.

That's the problem -> I didn't know my value.

That's where it all starts. The first thing you'll have to do to determine your price is to figure out the value you bring to the client.

Each designer has their own prices, but usually the figure comes from several aspects:

🔎 Research the market value

You can charge €20k for a website, but if the average is €3k, your client might go for the standard option simply because you're too far away.

This is a problem, but on the other hand, it's good news.

It's a problem because the entry barrier is higher, and you'll lose many clients at first. Some clients consider the value you can offer them, but in the end, we all have certain price ranges. It's normal to hear things like "I only want to invest between €3k and €10k."

On the other hand, it's positive because maybe you're not interested in this type of client.

In my case, €500 clients are not interesting to me because I know that those who pay the least are the ones who will demand the most and show the least respect for your time and experience. Does that mean I'll lose €500 clients? Yes. But in return, I'll attract clients paying €1,000 and more.

I recommend opening a blank page in Notion and writing down the profile of the clients you would like to attract. Your content should revolve around that profile to attract them. (Also, depending on the profile you want to attract, you should be on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or LinkedIn).

Observe what people around you are doing to get an idea

I don't recommend setting prices that are too far from the standard market range; you have to be within the market.

If the market establishes €3k-€30k for this type of projects, don't charge €50k. While it's true that you might eventually land a €50k client, the amount of time and patience you'll need is enormous. Besides, you're probably in a position where you don't want to wait too long.

So the smartest thing to do in the short term is to set a price at least within the standard range. Then, you can play around a bit more:

Objectively analyze what you're capable of. Imagine your brother (just to mention someone) starts a clothing brand, how could you help him?

• Web design
• Mobile responsive
• Easy/Medium/Advanced animations?
• SEO strategy
• No experience
• I can defend myself
• I'm a genius
• Branding strategy -> Can I help with branding?
• Will he need to send packages? -> Can I help with packaging?
• Will he need to send emails? -> Can you design emails? Can you write them?
• And so on.

If you ask yourself these questions, you'll realize that you're much more capable than you think. Usually, with this exercise, we achieve a realization like, "

• Oh, I actually know more than I thought."
• The question you have to ask yourself is: How much can I offer the client?
• Am I a designer who can only provide design?
• Can I also handle the development?
• Can I do SEO for them?
• Can I design the assets for the website?
• Can I recommend a branding strategy?

All these things mentioned above, and many more, are the value points you can offer to a company.

Analyzing the profile you're interested in is crucial to determine your prices

I'm mentioning this because it's super important.

Do you want to attract startups? -> They probably have funding rounds that you can benefit from. Maybe they can pay more.

Do you want to attract newly established companies? -> They probably need quick help. In other words, little money and little time. But they might be more flexible or less demanding.

But as a designer, what do you prioritize? Many projects for little money? Few projects for a lot of money? Less demanding clients? Each profile has its pros and cons.

I'll tell you that you'll figure this out with experience.

But me telling you this doesn't help much, so let me tell you the profile I'm looking for:

• I'm looking for companies that are already operating. They are financially viable and need a makeover or urgent improvement to further grow their business.

This type of profile:

• Being financially viable, they have no money problems; they only need you to make even more money.
• They won't have time problems either. They are financially viable and can wait.
• They are demanding and energetic. They make money with their current design, but they want to make more. They have time and money, they have patience and a desire to grow even more, and they won't settle for just anything. They'll be eager.
• Another good profile is that of a SaaS company. In other words, companies that offer services to other businesses. In my experience, they tend to be the most respectful with time and money.

And this is the most important part.

I would also say that having testimonials, case studies, and so on is important, but let's leave that for the next post. This post was about how to determine a price when you're starting, and as we all know, in the beginning, we have very few things.

• Define your profile.
• Create a high-quality portfolio.
• Analyze what you can offer and what others offer.
• Analyze the prices others charge based on what they offer.
• Set your price within the standards and try to find something unique that not everyone can offer (in my case, extreme attention to detail, simplicity, carefulness with interactions, and a strong focus on functionality rather than visually stunning elements).
• I already mentioned it, but I want to highlight it as a bullet point. Try to offer something different.
• Example: You're a web designer, but do you have knowledge of C4D/Blender? Can you create interactions based on 3D models? In other words, personalized assets.

Until next time,

Cheers, Jordi Espinosa.