The Dreaded Question: How much do you charge?

When I first started promoting myself as a freelance graphic designer, showing people my portfolio and handing out my business cards, my target audience was individuals and small businesses. They’d tell me what they wanted, I’d calculate an estimate and the response would be “I’ll think about it” which really meant no.

After running into this response time and again, I would cringe when asked for the cost. I tried quoting an hourly rate; tried quoting for a project; tried quoting a flat fee. “I’ll think about it” was still the response.

It can be a struggle to decide how much to charge for your work. You can tell yourself you need enough to live on and calculate based on how many hours you spend on a design, travel, overhead, and experience. You think you’ve come up with a reasonable price for someone just starting out. But you don’t get any clients.

And here’s the thing, it’s not the cost. Small businesses aren’t as cash strapped as they make themselves out to be but they are choosy about where they spend their money. They might mention ROI. What you need to do is persuade the client that your services are worth the investment. I found that if you just frame the discussion in terms of money you’re likely not to land the client. That’s why I started using the paper towel analogy, “Would an employer hire you if your resume was on a paper towel?” Talking about what graphic design can do for their business and the importance of having a professional look for all their marketing materials will help land the client. Then you can discuss cost.