My stint at a local burger joint is not really comparable to working freelance. While you may have a boss in both instances, the working conditions and pay are entirely different. I had fun and earned a few bucks but I will definitely pass on the waitress thing and work freelance.
A lot of skilled individuals (or lacks thereof) are now switching to freelance work for many reasons. Employers are also now considering hiring freelancers instead of regular employees. While the work may be manageable, there are many things to consider before jumping in to the bandwagon – and most importantly of course, is your pay.
- Depends on the industry and type of work – For certain industries it is ideal to charge per project or per sale (particularly for commission-based income). In real estate for example, apart from industry practice, give out payments (or more of commission or incentive) for every sale made.
- In certain jobs like programming, web design, or graphic design – Charging per hour or per day has its own advantages and benefits.
Per hour
If you’ve been commissioned to work for fixed hours, any extra hour will be charged accordingly. That means guaranteed pay for every minute you spend working. Any amendments in your project that requires an hour or two will still be charged, and not for per day or per project basis.
Flexible – As long as you have available time, you can work and charge for it. If you have many hours in a day that you’re available, or maybe you’re just squeezing in just an hour or two, you can still work and be paid for it. If you have multiple clients, you can work fixed hours for one, and the remaining hours for another client.
Per day
If you charge per day and you finish early, you get paid and still have extra time to squeeze in another project or give yourself time for some R&R. But at the same time, you have to dedicate whole days and get paid only when you have full days available. If you only have 3 – 5 hours, while some maybe okay with pro-rating your fee, but others may require you to be available for the whole day if they are available and need you to be available the whole day as well.
So whichever you choose, just make sure you’ll be getting what you deserve as your pay. There are still other factors like your location, your employer, and your skills, of course, where you can gauge you pay, but charging per hour or per day can indeed make a difference in your income flow.
Now talking about all these work and money stuff makes me think of getting a freelance job of my own. Being a real estate agent may get some real good commission but I think I still have enough free time to work per hour. Or maybe per day. Do they pay for every hour at Facebook? I’d be really rich by now.
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