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  1. #1

    What am I worth?

    Hi, I didnt know where this this would go so I put it here...

    Ive been a designer for a year now, and only recently have started taking orders. My question is how much do you think me, my skills, and designs are worth, or better yet, how much would YOU be willing to pay if you wanted a job done? Ive been told that Im being underpayed, but I really dont what ways I can calculate charges. Please, I need an honest opinion!

    Heres my site and portfolio: http://johnmai.com
    The portoflio is in the flash section.


    Thanks!



    -john

  2. #2
    let me give you some advice. as good as you are, remove all information on your site concerning your age. if you want to be taken serious remove it. you are good, but i can see potential clients not taking you serious and underpaying you cause of your age. they'll think that you'll need this experience and take advantage of you. that is the truth and this is from experience. my background is very close to yours. especially how graffiti influenced me in my designs.

    i charge by the hour. then i calculate how many hours it will take and multiply it to my rate.

    i don't know if your are being underpaid since you didn't say how much you do get paid. you do have talent though.

    i looked at your portfolio and it doesn't really show what you can do as far as mainstream design is concerned. it looks like you are a web guy. your web sites are impressive. if you do the design and the coding, i would say around $500+ for a site that consists of around 6+ pages, design, putting it together, etc. to me, from what i saw on your site, your flash talent is where it is at out of all the stuff i saw. you should really develop that part of design since you seem to have that covered.

    great stuff.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Peoria AZ
    Posts
    52
    I agree- with visualnewbie. You are good. Develop your flash more and you can be a pixelbrick or a 2advanced in your prime- your flash skills are better than mine and I live off of web dev (but I code LOTS of php)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Posts
    441
    where do u live?

  5. #5
    Thanks for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it!

    visualnewbie-

    Yeah, I was concerned about that too, when I first started I was sort of thick headed, and wanted to show how age is meaningless. I just noticed how its not good for bussiness.

    I got an average of ~$150 for the ones I have done. I didnt spend much time on them though, less than 6 hours each I think. Also they were just psd files and 1 html page.

    As for the flash, I have always considered it second to my html skills. I dont really enjoy working with it either, but I think I will pursue it more now because of your comments. I just have a hard time balancing my scehdule. There's so many things I would like to learn.. including computer tech.


    MCP-

    Thanks, but I think it will be some time before I can do something as good as 2advanced and pixelbrick.

    rlynch-

    Does that matter? Im located in a small corner of an apartment down in sunny cali.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Posts
    441
    haha

    taht probly came out in a creepy way. i meant it to be in a potential project kinda way.

  7. #7
    yes... age does matter when getting your fair share. keep it a secret.

    your average is pretty low i must say. only $150 . since you said that it was about 6 hours and psd files, it isn't that bad. that equals about $25 an hour, which is about right. i would say you're worth around $30 an hour based on the work in your portfolio and the location of where you live. however, your flash is worth more. it looks like you have more creativity in flash than the other mediums. from a person that is an outside party, your flash comes first before all your other stuff. so, keep up with the flash and you'll be up there in no time. i choose not to touch flash though. i'm a print and corporate designer.

    location matters a bunch. or else you will get underpaid will others of the same talent in the same location get more cause they're more competitive.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    East Bay, CA
    Posts
    1,250
    What am I worth?
    More than the $120 I paid

    I didn't have a problem buying from you at your age, but I'm young as well, so that's probably why. I actually felt kind of annoyed that you're better than me at flash/web/graphic design, since I'm older, heh But I can see how it would matter as far as other people might go, trying to screw you thinking that you're going to jump at the unfair price they offer like a hungry dog or something, like you're stupid because you are young.

  9. #9
    Originally posted by secludo

    , trying to screw you thinking that you're going to jump at the unfair price they offer like a hungry dog or something, like you're stupid because you are young.
    Well fortunately I havnt had to experience that yet, but I always quote my price and what I believe it is worth first, if I dont think it is worth a price they offer I will say it. As for the one I sold you I think it was $150, but I had to let it go fast cus I had some things to get.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    29
    Very nice, looks professional and very nice looking

    The flash makes it a little slow in loading though but its worth it when you get into the site

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    England, UK
    Posts
    57
    awwww... geez

    I'd really like to kno how old you are. Then I can judge your skills for your age, you look around 15, methinks.

    Oh come on, its not like we are going to get you to design our sites anyway considering we already have designs, lol

    Oh yeah, your site looks good. I dont think you are being underpaid for psd files and one html page.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Posts
    164
    Your skills are there and will sharpen with time. You need to show more corporate work. Why? Well if you go to a lot of the "cool" site the work is great but they might be starving too.

    Corp. clients want to see corp work. The realy creative works they dont get into.

    Your use of fonts are interesting but once again it is time that will help you.

    Learning who your potential clients will be is a big factor.

    I charge on a flat rate. Hourly works for noone and is to hard to stick to. Look at it this way, if the client requests for you to track every hour, what a pain!

    I charge a basic $6k for a site and it goes up from there. Remember you are selling YOURSELF not realy your skills.

    HUH?

    Let me explain, if a client comes to you because he was told to, but asks you for something you dont know how to do, do you turn him down? NO, you take it and figure it outduring the project, hand him back what he wanted and presto, everybody is happy.

    Now, did he get sold on YOU and what he thinks YOU can do or the fact that he knows you know PS?

    I have been doing this stuff for 15 years anda great deal of people know me here. I am not saying I am the greatest, just something to offer a young pup. To give you an example I have $35k in billings for this month alone, not to bad from home. Also, charge more for your work, the reason is clients will feel that they are buying quality for a higher price even though you know you would have built it for less.

    This is not ripping your clients off just a fact of business.

    Also, what a great deal of people here dont realize is the PixelBrick might charge $40k to $60k for a site but they are spreading that over 24 months this is more cost effective for the client and reduces their barrier to entry.

    If you have any questions feel free to hit me up on ICQ.

  13. #13
    Tranz-

    What do you mean by corporate work? I havnt had much chances to design different sites, mainly just hosting sites. I do whatever is offered to me... thanks for advice, I will put it in mind.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Peoria AZ
    Posts
    52
    Corporate is a style of design more than the fact that a large corp had you do it. It is a site has a clean, very marketable, and very professional look and feel.
    And example of the difference of the two can be seen looking at the two of the most reputable design firms out there.
    Compare pixelbrick and their portfolio to 2advanced and theirs.
    Pixelbrick probably stands to make more money since their designs are corporate, whereas the styles used by 2advanced are "2 advanced" to represent, say, a telephone company.
    Not to say who is better, I couldn't make that call- they are both incredible. But pixelbrick is more corporate.

  15. #15
    MCP-

    Oh ok, well Ive always wanted to do simple, professional looking sites, but my recent clients so far have all wanted something eye catching, much like 2advanced.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Posts
    164
    Are you an order taker or a designer?

    There is a huge difference. You know what the first one is. The second one is a bit more different and will stand to make more and have a better following and more word of mouth traffic from clients.

    A designer sees the site completed as the client is talking about it or describing their ideas to you. the designer works in reverse to get what they see the client and themselves wants on the screen. A designer informs his or her clients as the best path to follow. To let them know that maybe just because they surfed by a PB or 2A site that those styles are not the best way to go or out of their little $500 budget.

    A designer will educate the client to the overall stages of the discovery, design, development and deploy.

    Be a designer and not an order takes and your clients will respect you more for it.

    Most designers or developers also dont understand that what they are designing or developing has an overall fundimental impact on the business model that they are trying to assist.

    Learn how your design will be seen as a VALUE added service to that CEO or business owner, they might not know web but they know their business, sell it to them in a way that they can understand. This is called Reading the Client.

    I could go on all day, but as I have said you will learn this stuff in time grasshopper.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Peoria AZ
    Posts
    52
    MCP *echoes tranz' statments*
    I agree. Compromise is also an important part of the equation. Some clients really want some cheesy midi music and 15 different spinning animated gifs and pictures of their dog all over their company website, even for these people there is hope if you can sell them properly. A good example of me really compromising my vision and design to meet a clients' needs is
    http://www.chefmatts.com
    This guy literally had a website that had all of the above elements that I listed, and after some smooth talking and smooth listening, he ended up with a pretty cool site that made him so happy he decided to put me up for a weekend a Loew's Ventana Resort ->http://www.loewshotels.com/hotels/tucson/default.asp all expenses paid and he gave me a few hundred extra dollars as a bonus!
    BTW- I love that chef matt guy!

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    270
    wow "a few hundred extra dollars as a bonus!" and a vacation....you must be raking it in!!!

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Posts
    164
    Originally posted by jhcashman
    wow "a few hundred extra dollars as a bonus!" and a vacation....you must be raking it in!!!
    If for him that was a cool bonus then why not? I have built complete sites for 7 day cruises before. It is all in what works for you.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    3
    Hey! You cnaged the layout, DAMNIT. Can you please post your old layout, I needed to find out how you made that frame within a page in your old HTML design. Planning on a great design but I need to know how you did that.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Peoria AZ
    Posts
    52
    Originally posted by Tranz

    If for him that was a cool bonus then why not? I have built complete sites for 7 day cruises before. It is all in what works for you.
    For me that was much more than a cool bonus, it was incredible. He was fully paid up on the contract we wrote up and he called me to thank me, and asked me to send him a link so he could pay me 300 extra as a "thank you"- then he offered to put me up at Loews. I was stunned. I still haven't booked it yet (too busy) but I can't wait to see what it is like!

  22. #22
    Originally posted by [3lite]
    Hey! You cnaged the layout, DAMNIT. Can you please post your old layout, I needed to find out how you made that frame within a page in your old HTML design. Planning on a great design but I need to know how you did that.

    lol, on the splash page of the new design there are links to the past designs (v1, v2, located above the center). Is it that low profile that you cant see it? I may need to make it larger...

    www.johnmai.com/v2


    BTW the I used iFrames for the "frame inside a page". Check webmonkey for a tutorial.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    3
    Whooops, I figured it out now. I knew it was an Iframe, bah those are annoying. But im still going with an iframe design. Thanks anyway

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    collegeville, pa
    Posts
    37
    you have no worth... its all about finding the right customer... im only 17, and i've maed websites that in reality made me $200/hr, and ive made sites that made me $20/hr......... if the customer is willing to pay, let him/her pay.

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