Raising Your Graphic Design Rates from $2k to $5k
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 23. 04. 2023
- The video aims to help graphic designers increase their earnings by attracting higher quality clients. Brett Williams starts by saying that charging more can lead to higher quality clients, and that there is something psychologically different about the buyer when prices go up to a certain point. However, the speaker notes that many creatives struggle to overcome this hurdle.
Brett Williams then shares their own experience of raising prices from 2K to 5K a month for senior level design work. They found that this change resulted in an instantaneous turning point for their business, and clients did not slow down but actually increased in demand. This was a significant change from the 2K rate, which the speaker felt was too low for their skills and talents. By increasing their prices, they found that they were able to provide more value to their clients, and demand increased significantly.
Brett emphasizes that it's important to work with clients who value design as a core part of their business, as this can be a game changer. They also note that with each increase in price, they found that clients became better, leading to the question of whether going to even higher prices would result in even better clients. The speaker explains that they started charging 450 a month initially, and they have seen the full scale of clients from that rate to 5K. They believe that 5K is still fairly low for a senior level designer and that they could charge even more. However, they prefer to maintain a balance between earning more and managing their stress levels.
The speaker also advises designers to leave behind lower markets if they don't have the required skills or quickness to serve those markets effectively. They emphasize the importance of doing the best work possible within their current skill level. The speaker adds that the intention of raising prices should be to slow things down and not just to get more customers or make more money.
In conclusion, the video provides useful advice for graphic designers who are looking to increase their earnings by attracting higher quality clients. The speaker emphasizes the importance of raising prices to reflect their value and skill level and the benefits of working with clients who value design as a core part of their business.
Find out more about Brett @ www.designjoy.co/
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The smart market theory says that you can not cheat the market by charging a high price for low quality products for prolonged time. In most cases, your income is low, not because you are under-charging, but because your product is of low value. Work on the quality first, then increase prices.
Many people have more than enough skills and experience but lack confidence and mindset. These are the people who desperately need to raise their prices.
Not entirely true. It also depends on the industry you work in, what country you reside in and how well you speak English. I know many Indian designers and Latin American designers who blow the vast majority of American designers out of the waters in all fields, from Logo, to web to brand identity to Ux and Ui and everything in between. But they make pennies compared to what a mediocre designer in America makes even if they're both working for the same company. Also certain industries like being a graphic designer in fashion or music is ton of competition and not enough good jobs, so prices are much lower all around even though those designers are generally more skilled than the corporate designers. Stuff like that does matter. But you're also right too in some senses
I read this comment before I watched and assumed this was a video that just bluntly said "raise your prices" with no context. But I'm actually amazed at how much of your comment WAS what the video was saying. Not sure if you're trying to correct what the video stated or reinforce but I see it as a reinforcement. I have heard a lot of Chris saying "raise your price raise your price" and my mind thinks the exact way. But the way this Brett brother explained it is much more clear than what I have personally heard from Chris. Per your point, your value actually has to be high as well.
In my personal experience running a business for the last 2 and working in it for the last 9, we have always charged 50-75% or less per hour than almost every competitor, yet we have worked directly alongside almost all of our relevant competitors and noticed we finish the work way faster, relate to the client way better (if even just at ALL), and get more smiles and gratitude when the work is done for the client. So we just knew we needed to up the prices, and we slowly have. We are actually still 75% of our competitor's hourly rate for field labor, and I loved Brett's explanation - it's not that you CAN'T keep charging higher and higher, but sometimes you are very comfortable charging exactly what you charge and don't desire for anything to change.
So to your point, when you witness your work doing as well as a competitor/friend who charges 2x as much, take note. When your work does way BETTER than a competitor/friend who charges 2x as much as you, take note! And up the price!
It's a balance - don't undervalue yourself, but don't overvalue yourself either.
I've never been a fan of the "charge more because you can" theory. You should charge more because you're worth more, and if you desire to be worth more but you aren't yet, then beCOME worth more.. Then charge more. But yeah without being worth it, no, you cannot just raise the prices strictly because you can.
This subject always steps peoples toes. My two cents are, Adobe itself is launching ads through youtube where this girl gives "3 tips" about how to use photoshop for people with cero experience so they can hace something to charge their clients.
Those current ads bugged me out badly. Since Adobe itself acknowledges that the design market is so corrupted you can encourage people to make money out of thin air. And honestly at some degree this mindset is to blame.
@@siinxx7656 Iâm major confused though, if you learn 3 tips on how to use photoshop, and you encounter a business owner who needs graphic work, but they have no time to learn or desire to learn, is it unfair for them to pay you to do it? What exactly are you trying to say, am I misunderstanding?
This works even more on the freelancing platforms... people always hesitate to increase their pricing, because they think that they won't be able to get any clients, while actually they will get much better clients which are easier to work with :)
I love this. Brett you have a killer take on it. Absolutely love the part "theoretically I could definitely charge more than this, but I enjoy where I am at now, getting paid what I do to have the workload that I do". That may change in a few years, sure, but right now you're doing what you love at a rate you feel great about. Such a rare teaching - we don't always just have to increase price to make more money. "Why make a million when you can make a billion"... Because I'm happy where I am instead of only always having to do something bigger and better, that's why!! To each their own -- context is huge! Thankful you're one of the few to broadcast this perspective.
The higher the skills, the higher the demand and the clients.
thank you for this video.
Design is basically like every other industry: work the trenches, get the experience, move up the (relative) depth chart.
Partnership > service provider đ€
Great video boy's!
Thank you Chris
Yes charge more Iâm raising my prices up January next year I always work on upping my quality before I charge more.
The best clients are always the ones that pay more because to them it's not a life or death situation when they need additional revisions that cost more and so on. The poor clients that are struggling keep tight purse strings and send much longer more demanding emails.
Does Bret even exist? None of the projects on his website seem real, i canât find a single real company/client. I also canât find his work on Awwards where he claims to be featured frequently. The quote from Kevin from Shark Tank, how can one verify that? Spidey sense going off đŠ
Whatâs included in â5k per monthâ in this case? Flat fee, 40h / week,âŠ?
Unlimited design requests but he only works on one request at a time.
Something I keep going back and forth onâŠshould freelancers put pricing on their website?
Maybe a list of starting prices?
I'm no expert but I imagine it depends on what services you provide - if it is a guaranteed flat fee for that service, like a haircut for example, I don't see how this would be only always a bad or only always a good idea. Also depends on the way you like to sell - if you think people misunderstand and need to be talked to first before presenting the price, then hide it. But if you're the personality who is great at marketing and the website just pulls you in to buying, I feel like a price is valuable cause then clients can go "oh I can pay that for this!!" and then tell their team and the sale is made in their mind before they even talk to you. I can't imagine the answer to this is binary for every single situation :-). Just my take! Best of luck to you in your endeavors JMJ
Where can i get the full epi?
It should be dropping next week stay tuned.
I want to earn from your knowledge
I am barely getting any clients charging low prices. Increasing my prices will mean I have no customers at all, and I will have to starve
Trust me youâll find your clients Iâve seen people spend their money on $1500 purses $350 on shoes and 2k on concert tickets, the money is out there idk if your just starting out or you been doing this just focus on putting your work in front of the right clients.
Find clients who value design and want quality, not clients who want's the cheapest option.
â@@warrioryt7037 Are you 1000% certain that with literally 0 context of what Freddie is selling and for how much, that simply charging more is always the best answer? Do you have no concern that he may be trying to sell Coca Cola cans for $500 just because he can? Obviously he is not, but I'm surprised at how much people just jump into "I have no idea what or how much you're selling but raise your prices!" Under this logic, no matter what Freddie is selling, he should sell it for $1million. Scratch that, $100 million. Sorry, $100 trillion. I mean if context doesn't matter then why aren't we all charging $100 trillion per hour for whatever we do, there is a market for that right?
In other words, I'm not against raising prices. It *may* be what Freddie needs to do. He *may* actually be charging way too much for what he is doing. He *may* be charging perfectly appropriately based on statistics, just needs better marketing. Maybe he is new to the game and has 0 name for himself and 0 word of mouth and 0 way to communicate to anyone at all why he is worth it.
I don't say this to roast you Warrior, I just think Freddie needs a whole lot more teaching than just "no, raise your prices anyway"
Because, Freddie, competition always needs to be considered here. If your product serves someone the exact same way your competitor does, you need to charge as much as your competitor. If it serves them LESS than your competitor at the same cost, you will simply lose the long term game. Simple as that.
But what these teachings often don't include is, what do you do better / differently than your competition. For example, in my design business, we don't factually create a guaranteed better product than any of our competitors, because product goodness is subjective, I don't care who you ask. What we charge for in my business is our relationship skills and desire to custom tailor designs directly to the client. We listen. We respond. We go to lunch. We hang out. We crack jokes. And not everybody wants that. But our goal has been to obtain (& more importantly: nourish) clients who desire and appreciate those exact things. Yes the design is very important too! But you can't just charge more cause you want to charge more. You need to first have an understanding that "okay, I have proven people desire my work, and now I am seeing I am way better than my competition, so I need to charge more than them". Until that time comes, gotta keep working hard at upping the value, following up with your clients' feedback when you DO get work, and grow that thing! Don't be discouraged.
Sorry for the extremely long post, I just know what it is like to be in your shoes and I hope you can figure out how to navigate! Business is crazy, it changes how you think about everything, but if you're built for it, it is such a blessing to you AND your clients.
You can try to uncommoditize your services. That is a concept in Hormozi's book. Try to find a twist / a niche of selling your service that makes it unique. Craft an offer that nobody else on the market is doing. A Coke can is 1$ until you try to get one in night clubs and movie theaters. Or in that mountain hike where there is only one tiny snack bar, the prices usually go up. Uncommoditze, in doing so, you get rid of other competition and drive your prices up.
Partnership > service provider đ€
Great video boy's!