Hello there,

Have you ever wondered about how relevant your freelance pricing is?

I actually never had a question myself until I started running the Freelance Business Community and reading all the reports that are coming to light.

Sometimes these reports make me very mad and should be read with a pinch of salt and attention to the details.

2022 Global Payoneer income report states that ''the worldwide average hourly freelance rate is $28, much higher than the $21 average rate two years ago.'' Seriously?!

Without specifying the details of the demographics of this research, this is just so misleading. For freelancers and for their customers. Here is what they say though ''Freelance Income Report, using data from a survey of 2,000 Payoneer customers from over 100 countries who work with international clients''.

YunoJuno report: ''2022 saw an average increase in day rates of around year-on-year, with freelancers earning on average 438 GBP per day.'' (54,75 GBP an hour). ''The data from this report is drawn from approximately 80,000+ bookings made on the YunoJuno platform from the full calendar years from 2020 – 2022.''

Malt Freelancing in Europe report 2022: indicates daily rates ranging from 190 EUR to 1074 EUR (23,75 - 134,25 EUR per hour), however they do specify in which country and which sector. Thank you for that at least.

The problem in my opinion is that most of these reports (or all) are based on customer information, i.e. the fees customers have paid to freelancers, but not what freelancers are actually would like to charge or what their daily rate in reality is. We know that competition on a platform is tough, and you either accept the assignment at a low(er) rate or there will be another freelancer who will.

What if you are not on a platform? Where do you verify whether you are reasonably priced? Freelancing Females are building the world's largest global rate database for freelancers (since 2019). You can submit your rates (anonymously) and see what others are charging in your country or category. Brilliant! I did check mine already, he-he.

Also, working with collectives like The Indie List (see below about their jobs openings) may save you the trouble of pricing yourself low to be able to win a customer.

What about you? Are you using any reports or benchmarks? Are you comfortable with your rates?

What else is going on:

• I was asked to keep the Call for Speakers a bit longer open. With the Easter break coming, perhaps you are brewing an awesome idea for the topic and would like to submit it during the time off? Just in case, the submission system will stay open until 15 of April.

• We have opened the registration for the Freelance Business Month. Sounds surreal, considering that the event is 6 months ahead. You may want to book your ticket today, as you may notice, there are some pricing changes this time.

• Our annual schedule of masterclasses is announced! This year we are partnering with The Indie List to deliver you great, informative and entertaining sessions. Every 2nd Thursday of the month, at 18:00 CET, we will be meeting an expert to cover the following subjects (below). You can register once and attend all of them for free.

1. 13 April - The main pillars of 6-figure freelancing with Tom Kozacinski
2. 11 May - Boost your close rate by 500% with high-end consulting clients with Angelique Rewers
3. 8 June - Master the art of outranking your competitors on google with micro-SEO strategies℠ with Chris Raulf
4. 10 August - Masterclass with Robert Vlach
5. 14 September - Playful Productivity: how to get more done in less time while having fun with Claus Raasted.

• What's more: once a month, we will be holding a Freelance World Café, where together with Szilvia Filep you will get energised with ideas and meet fellow freelancers! The world café is for everyone who would like to have a speed networking, but also learn a couple of new ideas quick. Join us here. The first Café is scheduled on 27 of April, 15:00 CET/ 14:00 UK / 09:00 NYC.

A few other things for you to read or watch:

Blog: Freelance economy vocabulary
Video: The recipe for a strong personal brand
Podcast: Me on Outvise podcast talking about my journey from freelancer to the FBC community manager


Let your freelance business be awesome.

As always, hit reply and let me know what you think or suggest topics for next newsletter.

Regards,
Elina

MASTERCLASS, 13 April, 18:00 CET
The main pillars of 6-figure freelancing

Presenting our first session at the upcoming #FreelanceBusiness Masterclass Series with The Indie List

Join us next week on 13 of April 18:00 CET/ 17:00 GMT/ 15:00 NYC for an interactive session with Tom Kozacinski, where he'll share his insights and strategies for building a successful freelancing career.

In this 60 mins session, Tom will talk about the Six Pillars of 6-Figure Freelancing, which are essential skills and strategies for freelancers in the creative and IT industry who want to achieve six-figure success.

He'll cover topics such as
>> personal branding
>> time management
>> networking
>> sales and pricing
>> skill development
>> portfolio
>> online presence,
>> and share his experiences and best practices for achieving success in each area.

Register below to save your seat.

About our partner - The Indie List

The Indie List is a platform for freelance marketing and creative talent in Ireland. Founded in 2020 by Una Herlihy and Peter McPartlin, The Indie List has become the go-to platform for businesses seeking the best freelance talent in the marketing and creative industries.

With a commitment to quality and excellence, The Indie List has established itself as a leader in the Irish freelance talent market and recently received the first global "Trusted Talent Platform" award from Open Assembly. You can watch Peter's presentation here about how they grew their business.

Peter and Una see a big demand for graphic designers, digital designers, motion graphics and web designers. If you have experience working on known brands and a high quality aesthetic and have an online portfolio or website, then reach out to Una for more information.

Right now, they are looking for:

• Mid-level graphic designers for 2 leading design agencies in Dublin
• PHP developers for an (agency) position open at the end of April. (Strengths in HTML, CSS, Javascript and PHP; Experience with WordPress CMS WordPress custom theme development are essential; Experience with Bitbucket, WHM and cPanel would be highly beneficial; Starting 3^rd week of April).

Freelance Business Month
registration is open

This year, the FBM will have 2 access options:

1. Free Ticket will allow you to access pre-recorded talks and presentations, audio sessions and digital goodie bag

2. Full Access Ticket, which is now 32,5 EUR will open up additional options and access:

• to live online presentations and meet-ups
• session summaries
• to all recordings
• to online meet-ups with speakers and other attendees
• to attendees list and networking
• to special workshops
• ticket holders will also be invited to FBC and FBM strategy sessions.

In short: if you want to have a passive participation and just follow some of the sessions, a free ticket is your option, if you'd like to build your network, connect and participate actively in the discussions, then the Full Access Ticket option is what you need.

Don't delay, the moment we will announce the programme, the price will go up.

Announcing The Freelance World Cafés

The Freelance World Cafés is a great opportunity for everyone to have a speed networking and learn a couple ideas quick. Scheduled to run every 4th Thursday of the month, in short 60 mins, you can expect a couple of fast presentations, new connections and a boost of energy.

Our first café is scheduled on 27th April, 15:00 CET / 14:00 UK / 09:00 NYC and will focus on the organisation's plans for 2023 (by Elina Jutelyte), and you can gain valuable knowledge about business planning (by Szilvia Filep).

Fancy more events?

Sarah Duncan is inviting everyone to join her workshop: Tiny but Mighty: Five Game-Changing Principles That Create a Thriving Business of One, taking place on 11 April, 19:00 CET

- Are you at a crossroads in your business?
- Projects that used to feel fulfilling feel like a burden.
- Systems that used to run smoothly are breaking.
- Money that used to feel like enough doesn't feel worth it.

Join Sarah's free virtual workshop to diagnose the barriers holding you back from truly fulfilling work that gives you the life you want.

Interested?

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