Modeling fees
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I am hoping some of you can give me some advice. I've been approached by an architect friend to do some computer modeling for him on the side, but I am unsure how much to charge by the hour. If it were full-blown architectural services, I'd go by the rate my boss charges ($75-85). But the modeling job is akin to basic drafting services (I feel) - no design or problem solving whatsoever. I don't want to sell myself short (or the profession), but also don't want to prioce myself out of this job or future jobs. Any advice would be appreciated.
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I charge the same daily rate regardless of complexity.
It is all your time, if you charge less for this job then theoretically your losing money because you could be making more money doing something else.Your standard rate is what it will cost you to do it.
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Daniel,
There are two things to consider here, firstly he is a friend and IMO that's not an ideal situation as you know friends and business do not work well normally. the second thing is the "on the side" part, so remember when pricing you are doing this to supplement your income in your own relaxation time, so you need to factor the value of this time.
The fact that it's a straight forward project without problem solving as you mentioned should factor into pricing too. Charging by the hour as a freelance worker always opens new debates, I would suggest looking at the project and getting a feel of the overall time it will take you and instead give a project price, that way you can agree before undertaking the task and get money issues off the table and get the job done.
I am not sure how fast your modeling skills are but consider hiring an artist to model by the hour an him being a slow and steady modeler, the price will escalate out of control, would you rather not agree on a price before starting? This is only because as you said it is a simple project and probably won't have many changes.
I cannot give you a suggested price per hour as lifestyles, skill levels, cost of living, etc are all factors, but him being a friend might make it easier to discuss pricing so that you both feel as you gained by this. -
I provide both architectural services and 3d visualization services. Typically my fees for 3d Visualization services are less than that for Architectural services. That is primarily due to the fact that I am not incurring liability insurance expenses for those services. Unfortunately business is not as black and white as that. The grey area comes into play when you add many other factors into the mix. There are some clients who simply have a limited budget or a cap on how much a particular aspect of a project can cost. I did one set of illustrations on a fixed fee of $2,500 for example and whether I worked 10 hours or 100 hours that was my problem the fee was fixed at that amount. I've done other illustration projects on an hourly rate and when I actually added up my hours the fee would have been exuberant and I would have lost that client so I simply bill an amount that I feel is commensurate with the effort and will allow me to pay my bills and support my family without losing future income from that client. Ours is a competitive industry and you must continually wight many factors when determining fees. In the end I try to make a serious effort to determine the scope of the task and assign an estimated amount of hours it will take me to accomplish it, then determine what the comfort level of this particular client is for this particular task in terms of total expenditure. I also determine if this is a repeat client and will I want to maintain a good working relationship. I've some some 3d modeling projects that have spanned several weeks and multiple options for large scale projects that were very complicated and took a very specialized set of skills that I have developed over the many years of doing it for this particular client. In those cases I also factor into the equation a higher per hourly rate simply because of the special skills I have and my ability to achieve this clients goals in a rapid turn around time. Pfwew that was a lot of words... Well hourly fee's are just the starting point when determining the cost of your services. There will always be firms out there providing a similar service for less even some oversees firms that are providing it for WAY less, and there will always be firms making more for the same service. So to sum it up my hourly rate can range from $20/ hour to $100 per hour because in the end it's not your hourly rate that is important its the number at the bottom of the invoice and the perceived return on that investment. The bottom line number can be large if the perceived and actual benefit from having expended that money can be proven to have been worthwhile. IE in some cases the clients have told me that having my illustrations have helped them land a multi-million dollar project. So in that regard a few hundred dollars on this side or that side of my fees are negligible. IF however they do not land the project then my fee will be more highly scrutinized.
So give your fees more thought than just what other people are charging and try to determine what assets you have that bring more value to the table for your clients. build up a good working relationship and most importantly deliver your services on time and on budget.
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@unknownuser said:
but also don't want to price myself out of this job or future jobs.
Daniel,
If this is the situation You want to avoid I suggest You ask Your friend how much
space has he got in his project for 3D. Being an architect he must have a rough
estimate of the costs. Even if his offered price is somewhat less than You expected
You will not price Yourself out . You can always gradually increase Your price as Your
career as a freelance modeller progresses, if this is what You want to do. -
Daniel,
As Pete said I would not (and do not) price 3D work on an hourly basis. I always quote what I call "not to exceed". Take what you think is the most you would have into a job, add in your profit margin and that is your not to exceed price. Now if it comes out that you had less time than expected in the job you show a "reduced price" on the invoice and you look like a hero. It is something that has worked well for me over time.
Hope this helps,
Scott -
Thank you guys for the great advice. There is a reason why I am charging by the hour. The project is modelling a small existing bungalow plus a few dormer addition designs. I am afraid a "few" might turn into "countless", especially if he has a client who can't make up his mind. I have already told him what I thought it would take hour-wise to accomplish the work, so once I give him the rate he will know the approx. cost.
I really do not have a profit margin - regardless of what I make , it's all profit, since I am doing this in the evening, on the side (95% of my SU work is done that way, just for fun). But I have an ethical obligation not to sell my services too cheaply. Hmmmm...what am I worth?
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Daniel,
You alwayshave a profit margin (my business teacher is smiling), it is anything over your minimum hourly rate you would accept (maybe not tell people but you would accept it). That in turn is your "profit margin". When I do work for a new client I get a percentage up front (one time only) to cover my "costs", that way if he walks on me all he took was the "profit margin". Hopefully you understand this.
Scott
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