A. Both methods of determining charges are used in this
field. Personally,
however, I think it is more reasonable to charge based on the actual
hours of work I spend with each client.
What is tricky when you are starting out, is the estimating of your
hours. I think clients need to have a pretty close idea from the
beginning what your charges to them will be. However, it will be
difficult for you to know how many hours a given wedding will take,
until you have a number of weddings' worth of experience.
I think that this may be one reason why so many consultants use a
'wedding package' system. They will do x, y, and z for you for $x---
rather than a more customized service-- because they know what they want to
get monetarily for that amount of work.
You can use a modified hourly/package system for a while, to get
started, by trying to decide about how long you think you might normally
spend on each segment of your proposed services--- phoning venues,
shopping for accessories, wedding day assistance, or whatever. Then
make up a price sheet with each of these individual services, so that
when a client calls you, you can make an estimate of your total price
based on these individual services.
As you work with each client it is ESSENTIAL that you keep track of what you
do and how you do it and how long it takes. So that as you get more
experience, you can adjust your estimate prices for individual
services--- so that you'll be satisfied with the financial compensation
you get, and you won't get in the awkward position of needing to ask for
more than your estimated price.
Three other tips on pricing.....
Estimate a little high, then do not be afraid to lower the final bill if
you have not performed as much time in service as you expected. This
shows that you are ethical and fair.
Be prepared to have under-charged a little on your first several jobs...
and consider taking the loss rather than asking for more than you
estimated--- IF the under-charge is due to your under-estimation of the
work involved, not due to changes in the services the bride wanted.
After each job, you can adjust the numbers you use to make your
estimates, and it's a learning process. You'll be able (IF you've kept
good records) to better estimate the charges on the next estimate.
Present your estimated charges as a single number figure--- $350 or
whatever. Do not break your estimate down to "$50 for x, $35 for y,..."
It keeps clients from nit-picking your charges, and it allows you to
possibly over-estimate for one part of the job, and under-estimate for
another (accidentally, I mean) and still come out about right in the
end.
Sara L. Ambarian-- Foreverwed.com expert
Do you usually take a
percentage?
