How to Price Your E-Design Services

One thing new E-Designers (and new business owners, in general) really struggle with is how to price their services. You want to be competitive in the industry, but you also don't want to underprice yourself. You deserve to be paid fairly for your work and your skillset.

One thing I see a lot is new designers worrying about large E-Design sites like Modsy or Havenly and how they are going to compete with their extremely low prices. It ultimately causes many designers to set their prices way too low (which is going to leave you feeling burned out, overworked, and lose satisfaction in your work - trust me - I made this mistake when I first started!)

Most people that are wanting the premium services from a solo interior designer understand that you are a much higher level of service than using one of these companies (I actually have a current client who used Modsy for her bedroom, and now has hired me to do it over). Your level of service is much more personalized and in-depth than what they would be receiving from one of these quick design services, and you have many more options and customizations that you are able to provide for them. Honestly, I think the clientele looking for a personalized designer experience is not the same as those looking for cheap and quick design help from one of these sites, so you shouldn't have much of a problem! (Remember - most people really don't want the cheapest option, they want the best option!). 

So, how should you actually price your E-Design services?

Here is a good place to start for flat-fee design services. (I charge my E-Design services as a flat rate and not hourly. It keeps things simple, and both you and the client know what to expect)  

1. Determine an hourly rate that you would like to earn for your services (this will depend on multiple factors, such as your location, experience level, skillset, etc.).

2. Break down the hours that you estimate you will be spending on your project. Try not to leave out ANY details (this will leave you with work you aren't getting paid for and resentment towards working for less than you deserve).

3. Apply your desired hourly rate to your total estimated hours, and THIS is a starting point as to what you should be charging for your services.

Different designers will include different deliverables and steps into their process, so I highly recommend doing this exercise as a starting point to figure out your own pricing based on your own offers, before just looking at what other people charge.

Once, you've determined your pricing, you'll want to be sure to have professional deliverables and project documents to turn over to you clients. I've taken the guesswork out of this for you with my E-Design Project Templates. Be sure to check them out below!

E-Design Project Templates

You've already taken such a huge step in your E-Design Business, and I'm so excited for what the future holds for you. Be sure to follow @the_edesign_desk for daily tips on building your E-Design Business!

Tierney