Comments on: Supercharge your income with higher prices

By: Frances Jones

Frances Jones — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:43:41 +0000

Thank you for this discussion which is timely for me. It is a dilemma I am currently facing: Value vs Volume. These discussions are important in the online digital world and in person, where we’re interacting with our customers. We need to place a high value on our products and skills to pay all our expenses, to generate cashflow and to enjoy the profits.

By: ColorCram » Blog Archive » Why Your Work is Worth it. - An Exploration of Digital Art

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:25:50 +0000

[...] 3. John over at Motionworks has a great Business of Design Series. -Business of Design -Supercharge your income [...]

By: Twitter Trackbacks for Supercharge your income with higher prices | Motionworks [motionworks.com.au] on Topsy.com

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:22:33 +0000

[...] Supercharge your income with higher prices | Motionworks http://www.motionworks.com.au/2009/08/supercharge-your-income – view page – cached So often we hear the question asked: how much should I charge clients? In this hard-hitting discussion, we tackle the issue of pricing head-on. — From the page [...]

By: Robin Dickinson

Robin Dickinson — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:52:40 +0000

Allan, you make an excellent point about “company money”. With all that cash coming in, it can be easy to get carried away with spending.

Best, Robin

By: Robin Dickinson

Robin Dickinson — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:01:10 +0000

Hey Benjamin,

I respect your experience and the fact that you willingly share it with us. Thankyou. I will be very interested to read what your views are on discounting.

One of the things you are really highlighting here is the critical importance of SHARED EXPECTATIONS i.e. going to great lengths to make sure that both the customer and you share the same expectations about your business transaction. We will cover this in much more detail in a future BOD discussion.

Best, Robin

By: Benjamin Eshagpoor

Benjamin Eshagpoor — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:32:23 +0000

It’s funny…I come from Entrepreneurial family, and yet, until seeing this, I never really thought about thinking of doing this to make a profit. I’ve been looking at it in terms of what the market can bare.

I’m CONSTANTLY struggling with lowering my prices so I can get the job, but then, if I do that, then I have to take on more jobs just to pay the bills.

I too did what Gyorfi did. When I started freelancing, I was charging per project, but found out pretty quickly, that that was going to work and switched to hourly. I too also estimated how many hours I would spend on the job, and gave an estimated quote based on that. I too asked for a 50% deposit upfront as a retainer and the rest due upon delivery of the project. I think most clients respect that and agree to it, but I also think that most clients have no clue what it takes to fulfill their objectives. Heck, most clients have no clue what they even want to do, and look to me to fulfill their creative goals. I try to put the burden back on them, by explaining to them that if they don’t have any clear objectives as to what they want, I’m more than happy to help them out, it’s just going to cost more. Most clients realize rather quickly that they need to go back to the drawing board and get a clear objective before proceeding. Some clients pay the extra fee. Others provide examples of what they’re looking for.

I had to learn the hard way that when a client says that I have “full creative control” and they want me to take the initiative and run with it, that’s a disaster in the making.

Great job Robin and John! I’m off to watch the “discounting” episode!!

All the best,

By: The most dangerous word in business | RADSMARTS

The most dangerous word in business | RADSMARTS — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:19:32 +0000

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By: John Dickinson

John Dickinson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:27:56 +0000

Thanks for your support and encouragement Carey, Rob and I are pumped that you are finding value in discussion. Best, JD.

By: Carey Dissmore

Carey Dissmore — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:41:09 +0000

Thanks guys for this series. It’s my first comment on any of them but I’m finally caught up. It’s good stuff. So much of being successful in business is making sure you’re getting all the fundamentals right.

It sounds simple, but 24+ years into my career, and 20 of them running my own business, I still perceive the need to constantly refresh these fundamentals. It’s especially valuable when presented in a unique and fresh manner (with an Aussie accent, LOL!).

All that to say thanks, keep ‘em coming. In today’s economic climate, with so much pressure to ‘race to the bottom’ on price shaking the very foundations of our industry, it’s an important message to be delivering.

Should be required viewing for any and all in the field.

By: Allan Dickinson

Allan Dickinson — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:50:25 +0000

Hi Guys, Rob’s statement “Pulling in more than the cost of the business=PROFIT”, is really the key element of the discussion. Cost of business means 1) Fixed costs—must be paid. 2) Variable expenses—can be changed (less chockie biscuits this month). Taxes, insurance, cars, office expenses, salaries, entertainment, buffer for the future bad times etc. When all these items are adequately covered we have PROFIT—and not before! And dont’ forget, the money you pull in, is NOT YOURS—it belongs to the Company, of which you are an employee. So you are entitled to a commercial salary—and no more. Looking forward to “discounting”.

By: A3

A3 — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 02:54:06 +0000

Thanks a lot Robin for your answers and excellent advices. I see what you mean with being really different from the rest to be able to charge different than them (by charging more, of course).

By: Robin Dickinson

Robin Dickinson — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:12:25 +0000

Hi A3,
I would add this to the reply I left to your question on radsmarts.com (bit.ly/93ftL).

If clients perceive that what you are offering is essentially the same as others in the marketplace, it will be much easier for them to choose the vendor with the lower price. It’s human nature, and a good purchasing discipline (see the BOD discussion on LOWERING COSTS in the next few weeks).

People will only pay a premium if you deliver VALUE that is important to them, that they can’t get elsewhere.

The job of every product/service developer who want’s to command premium prices is to design more valuable offerings that the customer MUST HAVE and is PREPARED TO PAY FOR.

Not ‘nice to have and you think they will like it’ – ‘must have and they can’t wait to get it.’

Remember the people queuing around buildings to get the iphone (silly example, but you get the point).

Designing products/services for maximum profit is an incredibly important topic that we will be covering in future BOD discussions.

Thanks for being part of the BOD discussion. Best, and let me encourage you as you move forward with your business.

Robin

By: A3

A3 — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:10:48 +0000

Great episode! Thanks for all the advice. I have a doubt though… if I start charging just thinking of my cost structure and not what other companies or freelancers are charging, my possible clients, won´t hire me, and they´ll go to the company or freelancer who charges less.

I am building my own little company and it´s really hard to achieve some income to have real profit. I think I am at the step you were talking of having the money for month to month, and no buffer, and it really is hard “sleeping at night” or just being relaxed. It seems like very few companies here appreciate the value of the motion graphics / web design / etc, and they all think it should be cheap. At least here were I live.

Sometimes it makes me wonder if I would have to leave to another country and start searching for a job at some company or continue fighting here to make my own company profitable. I am 27 years old, so I should think of a deadline for myself, to decide what the heck I am going to do for the rest of my life, soon.

What do you think about this? Is there any advice for my case?

By: John Dickinson

John Dickinson — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:31:11 +0000

Hey Jonathan, thanks for the excellent suggestion.

By: John Dickinson

John Dickinson — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:10:32 +0000

Hi Chris, thanks for sharing your workflow. Is that technique making you enough profit for your business to survive?