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I bill $60/hr. When I start to reach capacity, I multiple my rates by 1.5 for all new clients. I can see myself starting to bill out at $90/hr by June, 2012. A

I bill $60/hr. When I start to reach capacity, I multiple my rates by 1.5 for all new clients. I can see myself starting to bill out at $90/hr by June, 2012. An interesting follow-up question for the freelance community could be how many of us employee freelances beneath us. I've added a freelance copywriter and designer to my team and it's a joy to be able to work with and support another freelancer as they develop their practice. It's also a joy to have some of the capacity problems resolved by the addition of another set of hands. (:

laurenproctor 15y ago
It has also become practical for me to employ a freelancer to pick up some of my freelance tasks. So far, it seems like one of the best ways to scale my work while focusing only on the tasks I enjoy most.
zachshallbetter 15y ago
My rates and procedures are the same. Although, when clients expect me to rush design/build their work I bill 1.5 or double depending on the time frame.
tptacek 15y ago
What do you do? $60/hr sounds low for Rails, iOS, Python, or serious database work. If you can see yourself billing out $90/hr in June, 2012, why not try this experiment: bill yourself out at $90/hr (actually, $720/day, please) in January. See what happens. If there is one thing HN people get wrong about consulting, it is that they relentlessly undercharge. It's easy to see why: the stuff they do seems easy to them. It's not easy. There is a worldwide shortage of real, viable talent. Companies are falling over themselves to attract and retain dev talent. The stuff you are doing is not cheap. If you are billing at a rate that matches what a good full-time Google employee makes, you are wildly undercharging; freelancing is expensive (you are responsible for all your own taxes and your own benefits, and for providing a cushion for yourself for dry spells) and the service you provide (flexible, on-demand work without bringing a full-timer on) is extremely valuable. CHARGE MORE.
- randomdata 15y ago
  "There is a worldwide shortage of real, viable talent. Companies are falling over themselves to attract and retain dev talent." I have to say I find that hard to believe. Now, to be fair I don't actually know if I am talented or not. It is impossible to accurately judge oneself, though I like to think I am. I've had the opportunity to play lead on some pretty big and successful projects for some major businesses using many of the technologies that are said to be hot right now. A present co-worker said something to me along the lines of "I have worked with a lot of programmers, and you are by far the best of them" and it seemed genuine. Take from that what you will. Anyway, I've entertained the idea of working with some other organizations. Some have not been interested in me at all, and the rest were no longer interested after a short chat. Nobody has been interested in seeing the actual quality of my work. I'll accept that I just don't have that talent, but given the above, it seems to me that it is really just my marketing skills that are lacking – Which makes sense; I spent my spare time becoming a better programmer, not becoming a better marketer. Given that, I remain skeptical of the talent shortages. How much comes down to companies just having no clue about how to hire people?
  - tptacek 15y ago
    I'm sure you're great, but I've been hiring people nonstop for almost a year now, and networking with people who are also hiring, and the fact is: it's a tight market for dev talent. Is the market efficient? I'm sure not.
    - randomdata 15y ago
      But if you are passing over good talent because of external reasons (such as poor marketing skills), is it fair to say there is a technical talent shortage? The talent is there, you're just not interested in using it. And it is completely fair for a business to seek a well rounded person. If you want someone who is good at marketing and development, you are more than welcome to look for that. You are under no obligation to hire anyone less. But it is not the technical talent that is tight. Anyway, hopefully I don't come off as sounding bitter or something. I have an amazing job already and respect anyone who feels I am not a good fit for their organization. I just have to wonder if the shortage of talent is real, or if companies are passing over real talent for other reasons unrelated to the lack of skill in technology.

laurenproctor 15y ago

It has also become practical for me to employ a freelancer to pick up some of my freelance tasks. So far, it seems like one of the best ways to scale my work while focusing only on the tasks I enjoy most.

zachshallbetter 15y ago

My rates and procedures are the same. Although, when clients expect me to rush design/build their work I bill 1.5 or double depending on the time frame.

tptacek 15y ago

What do you do? $60/hr sounds low for Rails, iOS, Python, or serious database work. If you can see yourself billing out $90/hr in June, 2012, why not try this experiment: bill yourself out at $90/hr (actually, $720/day, please) in January. See what happens. If there is one thing HN people get wrong about consulting, it is that they relentlessly undercharge. It's easy to see why: the stuff they do seems easy to them. It's not easy. There is a worldwide shortage of real, viable talent. Companies are falling over themselves to attract and retain dev talent. The stuff you are doing is not cheap. If you are billing at a rate that matches what a good full-time Google employee makes, you are wildly undercharging; freelancing is expensive (you are responsible for all your own taxes and your own benefits, and for providing a cushion for yourself for dry spells) and the service you provide (flexible, on-demand work without bringing a full-timer on) is extremely valuable. CHARGE MORE.

randomdata 15y ago
"There is a worldwide shortage of real, viable talent. Companies are falling over themselves to attract and retain dev talent." I have to say I find that hard to believe. Now, to be fair I don't actually know if I am talented or not. It is impossible to accurately judge oneself, though I like to think I am. I've had the opportunity to play lead on some pretty big and successful projects for some major businesses using many of the technologies that are said to be hot right now. A present co-worker said something to me along the lines of "I have worked with a lot of programmers, and you are by far the best of them" and it seemed genuine. Take from that what you will. Anyway, I've entertained the idea of working with some other organizations. Some have not been interested in me at all, and the rest were no longer interested after a short chat. Nobody has been interested in seeing the actual quality of my work. I'll accept that I just don't have that talent, but given the above, it seems to me that it is really just my marketing skills that are lacking – Which makes sense; I spent my spare time becoming a better programmer, not becoming a better marketer. Given that, I remain skeptical of the talent shortages. How much comes down to companies just having no clue about how to hire people?
- tptacek 15y ago
  I'm sure you're great, but I've been hiring people nonstop for almost a year now, and networking with people who are also hiring, and the fact is: it's a tight market for dev talent. Is the market efficient? I'm sure not.
  - randomdata 15y ago
    But if you are passing over good talent because of external reasons (such as poor marketing skills), is it fair to say there is a technical talent shortage? The talent is there, you're just not interested in using it. And it is completely fair for a business to seek a well rounded person. If you want someone who is good at marketing and development, you are more than welcome to look for that. You are under no obligation to hire anyone less. But it is not the technical talent that is tight. Anyway, hopefully I don't come off as sounding bitter or something. I have an amazing job already and respect anyone who feels I am not a good fit for their organization. I just have to wonder if the shortage of talent is real, or if companies are passing over real talent for other reasons unrelated to the lack of skill in technology.