Question from a newbie

I'm just getting started in the freelance arena and have a couple of questions for you more seasoned folk:

- What is the best way to build my skills and portfolio?

- What do you guys charge for your services? I've been looking around the web to get an idea of the 'going rate'; I keep seeing ads like "8-page Flash website for only $299" and get discouraged thinking I can't possibly compete. I would REALLY appreciate it if somebody(s) would give me a fairly detailed breakdown of their rates. If you don't want to post it to the board you can email it to me directly. This is only for my own edification and won't be shared.

Thanks a million!

-- Denise --

Best way to build skills and portfolio: do projects pro bono for service organizations that you care about.

As far as charging, strange though this may sound, it is illegal to discuss prices. I don't know that this group has an explicit policy, but I've been on other forums where it is expressly forbidden, and all references to exact dollar amounts x'ed out. According to the HTML Writers Guild:

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Is it illegal to discuss pricing?

The short answer: YES (at least in the U.S. where many of our members are).

The U.S. law specifically makes discussion of pricing between competitors (all or some) a federal offense. According to either Marshall Kragen or Lewis Rose (both practicing lawyers), several brokers in DC were successfully prosecuted for simply discussing an increase of fees at a dinner meeting.

When, where, or how doesn't matter. Any discussion of pricing by a group of people within the same industry is illegal in the U.S. The feds call it price fixing.

Link: http://www.hwg.org/re...
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creativebusiness.com has some good metrics on how to set your rates based on your positioning and overhead.

cheers

cd

Wow...okay....hardly what I'd consider a violation of anti-trust laws to say "hey, how much do you make..." (as opposed to "let's charge this")....especially considering we're a bunch of freelancers, not a cartel or monopoly.....

Sheesh.
Denise, I'll give you a straight answer. I'll email you.