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Calling an electrician saved me $150 on my first logo gig
I was pricing my first freelance logo design for a friend's dog walking business in Nashville. I had no clue what to charge so I asked my uncle who does electrical work how he prices jobs. He told me he figures out his hourly rate and adds 20% for the headache factor (his words, not mine). I used that logic and quoted $250 which felt like a ton but they said yes right away. Now I'm wondering if I underpriced it since they agreed so fast. Has anyone else used a non-creative job like plumber or mechanic to set their first rates?
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sethm581d ago
Yeah, calling electrician math a "real pricing structure" is like saying my uncle's 20% headache fee is just a straight-up annoyance tax. @cora813, you're right that $250 for a logo is cheap, but I bet that dog walking business owner was just relieved to get a price that wasn't some "thanks for the exposure" nonsense. Honestly, I'm half tempted to start quoting my own projects with a "this job is gonna suck" fee too, even if it just covers the coffee I'll need to get through it. You nailed it though, I should just look up what actual designers charge instead of trying to reverse-engineer my rate from an electrician's handshake deal.
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cora813 that "this job is gonna suck fee" part got me. Thing is your uncle's 20% headache fee actually is pretty standard in residential electrical work, at least around here. We call it an "aggravation factor" or "difficulty multiplier" and it's a real thing when you're crawling through a crawlspace full of rat poop or dealing with a homeowner who's standing over you asking questions every five minutes. It's not just a made up number, it's for jobs that are technically the same amount of work but way more annoying to actually do. So your friend's math might be more legit than you think, even if it's not how auto mechanics do it.
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cora8131d ago
Wait, your uncle adds 20% for the headache factor? That's not really standard in trades, at least not how auto mechanics do it. Most of us, we figure out our hourly rate and then add the cost of materials and markup on parts, not a random percentage for annoyance. Maybe I'm just used to how it works in my world, but that feels more like a "this job is gonna suck" fee than a real pricing structure. And you got the yes because $250 for a custom logo is actually pretty cheap for someone who's serious, so you might have left money on the table. Next time, I'd look up what other designers charge for that kind of work and base it on that, not electrician math.
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