Our new Indie Games subforum is now open for business in G&T. Go and check it out, you might land a code for a free game. If you're developing an indie game and want to post about it, follow these directions. If you don't, he'll break your legs! Hahaha! Seriously though.
Our rules have been updated and given their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!
First-time freelance work - what to charge?
SteevL
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I work at a library. We have many databases available to the public, including one that lets you look up businesses matching certain criteria. Anyone that has a library card gets access to these databases from home.
Yesterday at work I was approached by a lady who wanted to know if I would be interested in some freelance work using that particular database to find corporate addresses/phone numbers of retail chains that might be willing to stock her product. I usually try to shy away from stuff like this, but she was a bit persistent and I gave her my email address. It appears I might actually do this, but now she's asking me what I would charge. And that's where H/A comes in.
I really have no idea what to charge. I'm used to showing people how to use databases like this as a part of my actual job, but actually using it to earn some money on the side is something I have no experience with. Does anyone have any sort of experience with something like this, or have an idea of how I can determine a rate? I feel absolutely clueless here.
Yesterday at work I was approached by a lady who wanted to know if I would be interested in some freelance work using that particular database to find corporate addresses/phone numbers of retail chains that might be willing to stock her product. I usually try to shy away from stuff like this, but she was a bit persistent and I gave her my email address. It appears I might actually do this, but now she's asking me what I would charge. And that's where H/A comes in.
I really have no idea what to charge. I'm used to showing people how to use databases like this as a part of my actual job, but actually using it to earn some money on the side is something I have no experience with. Does anyone have any sort of experience with something like this, or have an idea of how I can determine a rate? I feel absolutely clueless here.
Posts
Will she require you to make initial contact and judge if the company is going to be willing to stock? Or does she just want to dump out a list of names/numbers based on a search criteria?
Just the latter -- all she wants is contact info. I wouldn't be willing to do anything beyond that. She told me that it would be easy for me since I know how to use the database; I guess she just doesn't want to spend time learning how to do it.
I'd honestly charge a flat $40 an hour. It probably won't take more than a couple of hours of work anyways. Just make sure you report it on your taxes, chances are she will!
She called me today and we talked a bit. I haven't committed to anything yet, but it's clear that she could use my help; at one point I said I could check a retail chain's description to make sure it might fit with what she's selling. She said "Yeah, and to speed it up, maybe you could have a second computer nearby to look that up while you're using the database." Sound advice for using the internet in 1995.