How to set your rates as a Freelancer

Sometimes as freelancer working freelance jobs, we get stuck at setting our rate and when we do we seem to question the rate we set for ourselves. It is necessary for me as a freelancer to set my rates for my home business. Here are some tips of how I came up with my rate as a Virtual Assistant, writer, accountant, etc..

Difficulty:Moderately Easy
Instructions
things you'll need:
•Index Cards
•Pencil/Pen

1
Whatever your business is, if you don't already know the going rate for your line of work, research the going rates for your home business. Check out your competitors pricing. You can also check out several websites that will give you the average rate. Try www.Salary.com or www.Payscale.com. Try out their salary calculator to help you get a sense of the going rates for your field.
2
Take into account the many overhead costs of not only the work that you are doing but the cost to keep your business running.
Examples
-Insurance (health, dental, life, property, disability, unemployment)
-Continuing Education
-Taxes ( Federal/State/FICA - both employer and employee. About 35% - 40%)
-Retirement savings
-Overhead costs (rent, equipment, etc.)

Remember that the company or individual that hires you to do freelance work does not have to pay for all of the above when they hire you on a freelance basis. It is a way to justify your rate
3
Take the total $ amount for your going hourly rate that you found during your internet research and add 5% - 15% to cover your overhead expenses. I'm advising that you add the overhead charge because if you start negotiating down it is my hope that you do not accept less then the industry rate because if you do, then you would be under earning.
4
Use index cards to create a cheat sheet of the various rates you have for the various things you do in your business. Having this near the phone or your computer helps you stick to your rates and have confidence when quoting over the phone. Remember though if there are many things involved, write down what the client needs then let them know you will get back to them so you can add up everything you will be doing for them. This way you can take time to think about how long it will really take for you to do the job and allot in enough time and how many hours to charge.
Tips & Warnings
•Evenutally I came up with $25 hour - $35 hour rate for my Assistant work. I also focused on finding my niche in the an industry that would pay at that rate. Usually at the top Executive level who does a lot of traveling and could use my services remotely.

•Use time management when taking on freelance jobs. You need to allot enough time to work for various employers, have some down time in between.

•Remember the rates may vary for each freelance job.

Resources
•Salary.com