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If you use Freelancer.com to find jobs in your area, you will be required to submit your hourly rates. Stating them upfront will help a potential employer determine whether you should be considered you for the job at hand.
Time is gold though, which is why it's important that you set hourly rates that are fair to you without compromising your ability to get jobs. Here are some things to consider before you set your hourly rates.
Quality of Work
How good are you at doing your job? The quality of work you do plays a huge role in the determination of hourly rates. If you have distinguished yourself in your field, you can command higher hourly rates that someone who is just starting out. Plenty of employers would be willing to pay higher fees if you can guarantee excellent work every time.
Reputation
Your professional reputation is tied to the quality of work that you do in addition to the ratings you garner from previous clients. The higher your ratings and the more positive your reviews are, the more reputable your business will be.
Potential clients tend to see a good professional reputation as a seal of approval and a guarantee of sorts. Simply put: a good reputation can improve your chances of getting hired. With a higher demand for your services, you can raise your hourly rates without worrying too much about available work.
Bear in mind that growing your reputation takes time. You will need to work in the trenches for a while and get a significant number of positive reviews and high ratings. For that reason, your experience also affects your reputation, and by extension, your hourly rates.
Costs of Operation
How much does it cost you to perform a task that you are qualified for?
The question is important, as it tells you how much you will need to charge just to break even. You can then calculate the minimum profit that you would like to get and factor that into your hourly charge.
The higher the costs of performing a task, the higher the hourly rate you will need to charge in order to earn a decent income. For example, if you are in an area where fuel costs are high, and you work as a delivery person, you need to factor the cost of transport by the hour, and then add that to your base hourly rates.
The Amount of Work Required
The amount of work required to accomplish a certain task will affect your hourly rates. If there is more work to be done in a limited time, the cost of completing the tasks will be much higher for your employer.
If the work requires great attention to detail or more strength, you will also need to charge a higher fee by the hour. Simply put, the effort required to paint a mural won't be the same as simply whitewashing a wall. The former task should cost more money per hour.
Determining your hourly rate for local jobs is not an exact science. The rates may rise or fall depending on the economic situation in your locale. What matters in the end is that both you and your employee feel that you have a win-win situation. Everyone should go home happy.
