Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

What are your services worth to these friends/businesses? That's what you should charge them. How many hours you work on their projects is irrelevant. Why should they care how efficient or inefficient you are? And why should you waste your time keeping accurate time records?

When I've worked for friends I started by telling them that I would not feel right charging them "list price" for my services, since they are friends. Instead I focus them on the likely value for them of having the results I would deliver. (Sometimes I even do a simple ROI calculation for them, with estimates of what the result would be.) Then I agree to a fixed fee that is roughly equal to, or slightly less than, what the project is worth.

Everyone is satisfied.

As Michael suggests, definitely focus on the tangible value of what you offer. If they don't have the budget up-front for everything, then create a multiple-milestone project, with payments as you achieve certain goals (increased traffic, "likes", etc.). By starting small, you get to know your clients' needs better, they get to know your style/skills, and you have the opportunity of creating a long-term relationship as you bootstrap the process with them. It's also vital to create realistic expectations for your results (under-promise/over-deliver).

You've received stalwart advice thus far, to this I'd add the following: your goal must be to produce outstanding value that's worth ten times your fee in billable hours.

Charge by the project as opposed to setting a rate per hour but to arrive at your magic number you need to ask them what kind of returns they expect in monthly sales as a result of your efforts on their behalf.

A suitable rate might be arrived at by looking at your current gross monthly salary. Whatever this figure is, think about reductions on a sliding scale, beginning at 5 then going to 10, 15, and then to 20 percent of your original number, halving it (50/50 to each client), and presenting that figure as your monthly gross fee.

Although your proposed fee must match the client's payment expectations, your deliverables must exceed the amount paid.

What can you offer your clients (and friends) in terms of results? That's when the onlooker can see if you really can make that 10x benefit to them. After all, even a 1,1x benefit is worthwhile - only if it is long term.

My own terms are to offer a money back guarantee if their profits don't match what they pay me. That means a long term benefit long after they stop paying me.