Going freelance can be a minefield when it comes to working out your pricing, but Ruth Lundstrom, Creator of The Freelance Suite app which helps you create your pricing structure and make profit, shares her top tips on setting your price as a freelancer.
Make sure you price for profit
“Profit is what’s left over after you’ve paid all your business-related bills and costs – anything that your business uses or needs is an overhead or cost, and that needs to be factored into the price and not be coming out of your pocket. You’re a skilled and talented professional – you deserve profit, you deserve success, and you deserve a professional wage just like everyone else.”
Don’t price based on what you think people can afford
“The biggest mistake we’re all making with pricing is assuming what people can or can’t afford. People will make room for the things they want and will prioritise their hair if that is what’s important to them. Prada and Chanel don’t discount or drop prices because they think people can’t afford them, they let people find a way.”
Make sure you account for everything
“I recently got some different gloves which were more expensive. This meant I then altered and rounded up the price of my service, even though it was only a few pence difference. Making small adjustments as and when you have to means you won’t be losing money all year and won’t have to pluck up a ton of courage in 12 months to announce a £20 or 20% increase just to cover all the new costs or product price increases.”
Budget for the ‘boring’ stuff
“I got sick early on when I went freelance and had to take a whole week off and reschedule clients. I was a week’s wages down and I had to rush back to work. Lesson learned the hard way! Financial literacy and money management is a vital part of the business so by ensuring you have included sick pay, pension, holiday, and stock replenishment in your pricing makes life that little bit easier when you budget for the curveball.”
Know your worth
“Once you’ve factored in all your costs, you then need to decide what your own skill is worth, what the experience you’re providing is worth, and what the transformation is worth. It doesn’t matter where you live in the country, what you think your clients will want to pay, or what other people charge.”
The Freelance Suite app is available to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Looking to read more on freelance? HJ's Freelance Week is running from 23-27 October. You can find the full schedule here.
