Comments on: How to Set Your Consulting Rates http://www.consulting-business.com/consulting-rates.html Consulting Tips, Insider Strategies, Interviews, Jobs, Firms, and Consulting Articles on Management, Marketing, Internet, IT, Services and Much More. Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:51:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Angela Lussier http://www.consulting-business.com/consulting-rates.html/comment-page-1#comment-5214 Angela Lussier Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:41:30 +0000 http://www.consulting-business.com/?p=1192#comment-5214 Great! Thank you. Great! Thank you.

]]> By: Michael Zipursky http://www.consulting-business.com/consulting-rates.html/comment-page-1#comment-5213 Michael Zipursky Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:59:12 +0000 http://www.consulting-business.com/?p=1192#comment-5213 Angela, great question. There's no magic number. If the workshop is for a client that can afford to pay big dollars then go big. Many consultants charge 2,000-5,000 for workshops. You can also run this as a per person charge, say $50-$100 each. Big names can get $10,000 and up for each presentation they get. However, if you're giving these workshops as a lead generation tool to find clients you can often afford to make less up front as you know you'll get a few clients each time you put one on. That being the case, you can even offer the workshop for free. Think about how much time you'll need to put the information together, deliver it, communications, etc from start to finish. So if it's not a lead generation type workshop, be sure that you're getting a good return from it and charge appropriate fees. If you ask for too little you'll be devaluing your brand. Angela, great question. There’s no magic number. If the workshop is for a client that can afford to pay big dollars then go big. Many consultants charge 2,000-5,000 for workshops. You can also run this as a per person charge, say $50-$100 each. Big names can get $10,000 and up for each presentation they get.

However, if you’re giving these workshops as a lead generation tool to find clients you can often afford to make less up front as you know you’ll get a few clients each time you put one on. That being the case, you can even offer the workshop for free.

Think about how much time you’ll need to put the information together, deliver it, communications, etc from start to finish. So if it’s not a lead generation type workshop, be sure that you’re getting a good return from it and charge appropriate fees.

If you ask for too little you’ll be devaluing your brand.

]]> By: Angela Lussier http://www.consulting-business.com/consulting-rates.html/comment-page-1#comment-5212 Angela Lussier Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:53:16 +0000 http://www.consulting-business.com/?p=1192#comment-5212 Michael, How about setting fees for things like 1 hour or half day workshops? I do a lot of these and I know a lot of consultants charge different rates depending on whether or not the workshop is one of their core presentations or specific to that audience. Any comments on this? Michael,

How about setting fees for things like 1 hour or half day workshops? I do a lot of these and I know a lot of consultants charge different rates depending on whether or not the workshop is one of their core presentations or specific to that audience. Any comments on this?

]]> By: Michael Zipursky http://www.consulting-business.com/consulting-rates.html/comment-page-1#comment-5205 Michael Zipursky Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:26:50 +0000 http://www.consulting-business.com/?p=1192#comment-5205 Richard - great points you bring up! A reminder to everyone that you should speak with an accountant to find out the details of what taxes and laws apply to you and your business. Richard – great points you bring up! A reminder to everyone that you should speak with an accountant to find out the details of what taxes and laws apply to you and your business.

]]> By: Richard Wright http://www.consulting-business.com/consulting-rates.html/comment-page-1#comment-5191 Richard Wright Sun, 25 Apr 2010 20:47:52 +0000 http://www.consulting-business.com/?p=1192#comment-5191 One very important point you didn't discuss, which catches many new self-employed individuals by surprise is the impact of taxes. People who work for a paycheck are accustomed to the employer withholding social security taxes and income taxes, and neglect to consider that when they are self-employed, they will need to cover these taxes themselves with estimated payments. This comes out of the fees you charge, so if your target is $80,000, 12.5% of that will be needed to cover self-employment taxes (social security), and at a modest effective tax rate of 15%, you will need to plan for at least $22,000 for tax payments. Consider whether your target income is before taxes, or after taxes, and adjust your hourly rate accordingly for 27% to 35% for taxes, allowing for state income taxes if necessary. One very important point you didn’t discuss, which catches many new self-employed individuals by surprise is the impact of taxes. People who work for a paycheck are accustomed to the employer withholding social security taxes and income taxes, and neglect to consider that when they are self-employed, they will need to cover these taxes themselves with estimated payments. This comes out of the fees you charge, so if your target is $80,000, 12.5% of that will be needed to cover self-employment taxes (social security), and at a modest effective tax rate of 15%, you will need to plan for at least $22,000 for tax payments. Consider whether your target income is before taxes, or after taxes, and adjust your hourly rate accordingly for 27% to 35% for taxes, allowing for state income taxes if necessary.

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