The topic of pricing is often taboo in the design world, but we think it helps everyone to talk more openly about it. In this episode we discuss how we price our work, and how that’s changed from when we started out in design. We also debate the merits of project based vs hourly pricing.
Pricing your work by the hour makes it seem more like a routine service expense, rather than an investment in solving a problem with a custom design. There are situations where hourly pricing works well (e.g.: revisions or regular tasks) but for the most part working out a price based on the project itself is better for everyone involved.
Value-based pricing is a method of figuring out a price for the project based on the value the client will receive from it. It can be tricky to do, as you must uncover a lot of information from the client at the start, including how much they will earn from the results of the project, but once you figure it out it is a very rewarding pricing model.
If a client cannot afford the proposal you put forward, don’t lower your price in order to work with them, instead look at ways you could reduce the amount of work you do for them. If you reduce deliverables the price will be reduced also, but you’re still being paid a fair amount for your skills.
00:30 – Intro & catch up
03:15 – Difficulties in pricing when you’re starting out
08:00 – How we priced when starting out
10:00 – Hourly vs project based pricing
17:40 – Communicating your price to clients
21:00 – How we price projects now
26:40 – A pricing scenario
32:20 – Getting bigger and better clients
33:50 – Reducing deliverables instead of the price
34:50 – How our listeners price their work
41:00 – Wrap up and last advice
