As I transition (hopefully) from managing toy lines to doing more freelance design, I thought it would be good to calculate what my base hourly rate should be. Once I’ve finished prepping all of my financials for tax time I should have a much more accurate idea of this, but in the meantime I was able to get a decent estimate from the FreelanceSwitch hourly rate calculator.
It only takes three minutes or so fill out, but it’s good to have a calculator handy, because most of the numbers they ask for are annual. I’ve discovered that to cover my business and living expenses, I will break even at around $35 an hour (hey, San Francisco is expensive, y’all). You can also enter in ideal annual profits to see how that affects things. When you’re finished, check out some of their articles on freelancing to get some good tips and advice.
Tip for crafters: when deciding how to price an item, be sure to include the cost of your labor at the aforementioned hourly rate. Even if I only spend five minutes making a product, at my break-even hourly rate that translates into almost $3 that needs to be built into the wholesale price.
Biz Miss 