How Much Should I Charge? - Susie Jackson

Catherine is a translator and content creator based in the north of Germany. Through her company, Cathy Translates, she provides her customers with English translations from German and Spanish as well as content in both English and German. Catherine works mainly with NGOs and ethical brands, combining a personal interest in sustainable beauty and fashion with her work.

When Catherine joined Charge with Confidence, she had been freelancing for approximately a year and felt stuck when it came to tackling her business and her finances.

The challenge: giving Catherine the confidence to stick to her rates

Before signing up to Charge with Confidence, Catherine already had an hourly rate that she was fairly happy with. She had seen a webinar by Corinne McKay explaining how much to charge per hour based on her expenditure. However, Catherine’s biggest challenge was managing to stick to the price she’d set for herself.

Working with NGOs in particular, Catherine was concerned that they wouldn’t have the kind of budgets necessary to be able to pay her hourly rate. Talking about her first direct client, she says, “I was worried about charging them too much and them telling me they couldn't afford it.” Since she didn’t want to risk missing out on the project or rush her work, she ended up earning less per hour than she would have liked.

The solution: changing the way Catherine thought about her pricing

Using the method I teach through Charge with Confidence to set a minimum hourly rate helped Catherine see exactly what she needed to be taking into consideration as well as the reasoning behind it. By identifying the why, Catherine was able to understand the importance and validity of her pricing.

“The most impactful part was setting a minimum hourly rate and understanding that I dictate my prices/working hours. I think Susie said something along the lines of ‘You wouldn’t call a plumber and tell them how much you’ll pay them to fix your sink, so why should your business and services be any different?”

Having a set minimum rate and understanding why she shouldn’t go below it has given Catherine the confidence to say no to rates that don’t reflect what she puts into her business and to projects that won’t be worth her while. Now, when she does decide to refuse a certain job or price, Catherine no longer doubts herself. She knows she is doing the right thing and feels justified in her decision.

Catherine has realised that when she lets customers dictate her rates, she is the one who ends up losing out. She has also come to the conclusion that she shouldn’t let her years of experience in business affect her rates and her pricing.

“I’m qualified linguistically (I have an MA) and I’m passionate about my craft, so I shouldn’t be taking/accepting jobs from clients (mainly agencies but also direct clients) who won’t pay me a decent rate just because I’m still quite early on in my professional career in general.”

The results: Catherine is now working strategically with her business and her finances, and never earns less than her minimum hourly rate (quite the opposite!)

The rate calculator spreadsheet I provided Catherine with during Charge with Confidence is coming in handy long after the programme finished. Catherine told me that she has been using it whenever she is offered a fixed-price job to understand how long she can take to complete it and still make sure she earns the right amount. She puts how much she wants to earn per hour into the calculator and it tells her how many hours she can afford to spend on the project.

Catherine gave me a specific example of a time when she wanted to earn almost 50% on top of her minimum hourly rate for a job. She put the fixed price she had been offered into the spreadsheet calculator and saw that, to earn the hourly rate she wanted, she could afford to spend 3.7 hours on the project. She decided that she would stick to this time frame to complete the work. But the job went smoothly and only took her 2 hours, meaning that she ended up earning over twice her minimum hourly rate!

These hourly rate calculations have helped Catherine to avoid spending too much time on a job, something that she admits she was in the habit of doing before she joined Charge with Confidence.

Having completed the programme, Catherine also says that she no longer feels stressed when it’s time to look at her banking and business finances. Not only has she managed to overcome a fear and a mindset block, but everything now seems so much more manageable.

“Susie has a great course full of very useful information and steps that are very easy to take to improve your business. I don’t know if I would have taken these steps if I hadn’t taken the course because I was so stressed about doing it, but these classes and question sessions show you that it’s very doable to take steps to help your business financially.”

By following the Charge with Confidence programme and implementing what she learnt, Catherine now feels in control of her business. She knows what to do to make sure she’s earning enough in the present, and she is also able to use this knowledge to grow her business in the future.

If you’d like to find out more about how Charge with Confidence could help you and your business, read about the programme by clicking on the button below.