Fee

[glorybound]

I did a project for a guy earlier this year and fired him. I should have known because he talked smack about the last guy he used. The previous guy was cheap, did poor-quality work, and had awful communication skills. The client apologized for his attitude, and I did finish his project.

The client contacted me the other day, asking if I would be willing to do another project for him, again apologizing for his attitude on the last job. I agreed, sent him a quote, and just got his reply.

The quotes that I am getting on these homes are $390, 10 days turn around.
These seem fairly simple and at only 1,450 square feet, ...

Here is the house he wants done, but with higher quality. He obviously went cheap again, and he didn't like the deliverable.




My quote was for $600, which is probably the lowest I'll do a house for. Here is my response to him.

If cost is your primary factor, you'll be better off going with someone else

What is the going range for a house of this size and complexity? Am I crazy, or is he? If I could finish it in a few days, that would be McDonald's $20 and hour money!

[oglu]

The rule of thumb here is to get 300 per day. If its less the project has to go longer than a week.
The easiest way is to calculate it from what you need to survive and divide it by your monthly working days. But i assume you know that already.

And no you arnt crazy.

[sirio76]

To me 600$ sounds fair, maybe even low considering you work in US and most clients ask for revisions. That been said I’m sure your client can find someone a lot cheaper if he look outside of US.

[glorybound]

The rule of thumb here is to get 300 per day. If its less the project has to go longer than a week.
The easiest way is to calculate it from what you need to survive and divide it by your monthly working days. But i assume you know that already.

And no you arnt crazy.

That's good to hear, and thanks for sharing. My date rate is $480, but even that is subjective since I have been doing this for 30 years and am pretty proficient.

[glorybound]

To me 600$ sounds fair, maybe even low considering you work in US and most clients ask for revisions. That been said I’m sure your client can find someone a lot cheaper if he look outside of US.

Thanks! The more I researched, the more I found that I was right in line, if not less. I give two grayscale proofs and two color proofs.

[glorybound]

Here are some examples

The first is small and would start at $600, the second is medium and starts at $900, and then the large starts at $1200

[glorybound]

It drives me crazy when people request a quote but refuse to give any project information. Just today, a lady asked for the price of a bar they are designing. I requested project information, floor plans, and elevations, and she insisted that she just wanted a menu to look at. Does this happen to you? You can almost tell when people got used to running China or India, where you get a flat fee, regardless of anything.

Oh, for an interior, it'll be $300!

[fixeighted]

Caveat: I'm a little drunk...but honestly dude...sounds like you're having a crisis of confidence which imo is really unecessary. Charge what you want to and feel is rewarding you for what you do.
Your work is great and you certainly do enough of it, therefore people are not complaining but coming back for more, mostly.
In fact, you must be run off your feet trying to get all of it done. Good for you.
If you lose a bit here or there then that's tough, but in the bigger scheme of things it's a small drop....or am I wrong?

[glorybound]

Well said for someone drunk .

I want to keep my finger on the pulse of our industry.

[glorybound]

I was thinking more about this. It was hubris to believe he could tell me what I should charge. I used to work for a design-build company, and they had a two—and three-year backlog. You paid a premium to have them design and build you a house. When one of their houses came on the market, it was always part of the real estate marketing that the house was designed and built by this company. This guy wouldn't know what having his designs command a premium was like. I learned that you raise your price until people stop hiring you, and then you know what your work is worth. I am busy year-round, and there is always more work than I can handle, so why would I do a house for 1/2 my rate? I told him this, but he hasn't replied. I suspect he'll approve the quote and be the jerk he was the last time. I think I'll pass on this one .

[JuhaHo]

What comes to pricing. I try to keep it the same for everyone for similar kind of job. It's not necessarily related to hours used for each individual project.

[glorybound]

It is hard to compete with the one price that fits all people. I am working on some interiors, and not one of the walls or ceilings is square to each other. How can someone say all interiors are a flat fee? They don't know it is probably going to China, and that person is getting paid 10 cents on the dollar, so they don't care; it is easy accounting for them.