I am delighted to tell you that I just finished a podcast with LuAnn Nigara of A Well-Designed Business. I think it came out really well, and I hope you take a few moments to listen to it.
It’s all about design fees, which is an exciting subject because there are a whole bunch of directions that we can go in. We talked about the relationship of a design fee to how much the client’s actually spending on the job, which is very important to know. Even if you are working hourly, you need to know about that relationship and how important that is to the success of your job.
We discussed how much easier it is to sell design fees to a client than it is hourly fees. It’s easier because a client knows how much it’s going to cost while the designer knows exactly what she’s going to do.
Setting Boundaries with Your Clients
That leads us to the subject of boundaries. We also covered how it’s essential to put boundaries into the Letter of Agreement so that we are protected and have a little backdoor as well. That way, when the scope changes, as it often does, you have the ability to write a new Letter of Agreement or add on some hours or whatever it is you need to do to be paid appropriately.
We also talked about paid-first appointments, how that actually works, and how you do it. It is essential to know when it’s appropriate, as well as when it’s not appropriate to charge for a first appointment.
I think it’s a great interview. I really enjoyed it because LuAnn asks some interesting and thoughtful questions. She asked questions that you might ask me like, “Well, what if the client says this?” or, “What happens when they do that?” We did a lot of Q & A as well as exploring all those little nuances that you can get stuck in when you’re talking to a client. I think it’s a great interview that offers a lot of education, and you will take a lot away from it. So, check it out by clicking on the link below. I hope you enjoy it!
Until then, design something beautiful and get paid what you’re worth.