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Subject:Re: Long Term Rates From:Walter Hanig <walter -dot- hanig -at- NETMANAGE -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 10 Jun 1998 09:57:11 -0700
My two cents (standard rate is 4 cents):
>> Should one charge less per hour for a longer-term job?
I contract on a moonlighting basis, that situation may color my view.
I would consider charging a little less for a long-term job, assuming you believe that the long term commitment is genuine. I'd charge a little less because you presumably want to encourage long-term jobs, which have minimal non-billable down time. In the normal situation of multiple short-term jobs, you spend more non-billable time marketing: interviewing, customizing resumes, that sort of thing. With a longer term job, you get to put in more billable hours.
I agree with Barb in that I tend to charge repeat customers at the initial rate, subject to the following considerations:
* how long it's been since I charged the initial rate
* how much I want to do the job (is it interesting? will I learn something valuable? do I like the people?)
* how much I need to do the job (transmission on the blink? daughter's college tuition due?)
* opportunity costs (can I do other work instead at higher rates?)
One other point on rates, sure to gather flames:
You could consider explicitly charging a lower rate for the initial contract or portion of the contract and then increasing the rate. The client gets to evaluate your work at a lower rate and then assess if you're worth the higher rate. If you go this route, try to be upfront about it.
