Eschewing hourly rates or flat fees, New York designer Alvin Wayne simply charges a percentage of the total project budget for his design work. It’s a move that eliminates complications—and ensures that he’s in control of where to save and splurge.
When do you feel like you started charging what you’re worth?
It took time. When I first started, I charged $150 for a consultation. As I got more experience, I began feeling like I wasn’t getting paid enough for all the work I was doing. I started going up with my price—at one point, I was raising my rate with every phone call. I was naming ever-higher rates to see if people would pay it. And they would pay it! Now I know that I had to set the bar higher to get the clientele that I want. I’m at the point where my fees help me weed out the projects I don’t want.
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