How...Much Do You Charge?

Freelance isn't free! Learn how to figure out all the things that go into your rate, and how to navigate networking techniques & conversations.

0:09 Episode Introduction

1:23 Preface

1:53 Day Rates

3:55 Give an example

4:42 Think about your assets

6:20 Synopsis of Rates

6:59 Networking

8:10 Non-work-related conversations!

8:33 Rule of Thumb

9:30 Wrapping Up

Connect With Me!
Instagram
Website

Chapters

• 0:09 Episode Introduction
• 1:23 Preface
• 1:53 Day Rates
• 3:55 Give an example
• 4:42 Think about your assets
• 6:20 Synopsis of Rates
• 6:59 Networking
• 8:10 Non work related conversations!
• 8:33 Rule of Thumb
• 9:30 Wrapping Up

Transcript

00:09
Catherine
Hello there. My name is Catherine and I'm 23 years old, working as a full time freelancer in the media and entertainment industries. And welcome to the How I Diaries podcast. This podcast is a diary of how I'm currently going about my life and career. If you are someone who has a passion for media and entertainment, or find yourself wondering how people end up working on set and landing all these other jobs in the industry or the freelance lifestyle appeals to you.

00:34
Here is your one stop shop for everything you need to know about breaking into it. All these episodes are all about sharing everything I wish I knew earlier, as well as my personal stories along the way. To help you get on your way to. So today we are talking about rates and networking, specifically with the pay work I do or production assistant work I do.

00:56
Two very important things in this industry and in freelancing in general. All of my perspective is going to be as someone who is compared to others, pretty entry level nonunion and still building a cohesive resume. A quick note about resumes. I have another episode that's all about resumé tips and even has a template that you can download and plug in all your information.

01:21
Yada, yada, yada. So go check that out. But anyway, back to this episode. For starters, I live in New York City. It is currently 20, 22. The minimum wage here is $15 an hour. Productions usually go by day rates weekly rates, and a day is based on 10 hours or 12 hour day rates. The stand with production organization has been pushing for the industry standard for production assistance to be $300 a day for a 12 hour day, which comes to about 25 an hour before taxes and around 22 and change including taxes.

01:53
So having that as a reference I usually never apply to jobs that basically average to be anything lower than $20 an hour. So for a 12 hour day that would be at least 240 or for a ten hour day that would be at least 200. I would base it off whatever your state's minimum wage is and remember to always factor in taxes yada, yada, yada.

02:14
So that is my current situation with being in New York City just because it is a little bit more expensive here, you know that you're hell. The only time I will accept offers for less than that rate is if I know for sure that the company will be a long term client. So then it becomes a situation of, you know, I scratch your back you scratch mine, and by the next few times you work with them, you should be asking for a higher rate and all that sort of stuff.

02:39
This is also my opinion on just how comfortable I feel you know, asking for higher rates and stuff like that. I am a young woman and I do usually advocate for it and ask when I can, but like with anything else, there is a time and a place, you know, like if you're at your regular job, you're not going to be asking for a raise right away, yada, yada, yada.

02:59
And especially I am very self-aware that I am entry level which some people will argue doesn't make that much of a difference. But since I have other streams of income, I'm a I'm a little bit more lenient with, you know, whatever. The only thing I do strictly abide by is that hole. I never accept jobs that are averaging under $20 an hour.

03:19
Yes, people do post things like that. And to that I don't agree with also with production just because it's under state mandated labor laws and stuff like that, overtime comes into play. I believe that if somebody posts a ten hour day rate there, you're allowed to charge overtime if you go past that 10 hours and then same with like a 12 hour day.

03:38
I haven't run into the issue where I've had to test that. So if anybody knows, let me know because that is good information because that's a two hour difference and that's a lot of money hourly. But usually with production you can expect days to be ten to 18 hours long. So for instance, like the other day, I had a job offer where it was 210 for a 12 hour day and I was like, if it's going to be a full 12 hour a day, can we keep it to two 50?

04:05
And they were like, Sure. So you can wiggle room with that where if it's a one day production or whatever, there's a little wiggle room where it's like, Okay, well you only need me for one day, which means you're probably going to milk that whole day. Give me a higher 12 hour day rate, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

04:21
Sometimes they might not, you might not even have to ask and they might offer you something like that. But in any event, always do your own calculations and read the situation It's a fine line to ride. And I will say, in my opinion, making connections is a lot more important part about a job. But in saying that too, you also need to, you know, learn to stand up for yourself and work.

04:42
Another thing you can start to factor in before you accept a job is what other assets you have that could be of use to a team for instance, I have a car and I always mention that in my applications, and this gives me a little bit more room to negotiate a higher rate and or, you know, be offered money for reimbursement like if you're a sound person, gaffer, etc. It's great to mention what equipment you have or even other connections you have to other, you know, assistant cameras or, you know, teams.

05:12
I know a lot of DPS who also offer package deals for them and whatever. There are other people they also like to work with in their department This is also why it's very important to network this industry. I would stress again, again and again, again, this industry is literally who you know and not what you know. At the end of the day, when people want to find a crew for production, they want to get it done quickly and efficiently.

05:35
And what is more quick and efficient than getting a recommendation from someone or already having people in mind? I also strongly believe in karma and that since this industry is so word of mouth, you better make sure you are reciprocating this to others. As well. You want to become the person someone thinks of when they know a guy or know a girl, or someone who also knows a guy or knows a girl sort of thing.

05:57
Yeah, I'm going to start sort of go more into the networking part of this episode just because there isn't too much to talk about negotiating rates and stuff like that. That's why I kind of combine them into this one episode. And especially with the rate thing, it's sometimes so subjective to each, you know, company job and all that sort of stuff.

06:20
I'm just blanketing of like know how much your minimum wages where you're working. No, you know, factor in taxes, factor in overtime, factor in all these other things. You should just, you know, know how to do these calculations. So, you know, right off the bat, if you're getting ripped off or whatever, because there are people who do that anyway.

06:38
Back into networking, you can follow as podcasts on how I diary's on Instagram. I have little weekly roundups of proof of how beneficial networking is and basically how everything I talk about in these little episodes pays off. So it's also inspiration for any other entry level applicants out there because it is possible. You just have to work a little harder in different areas.

06:59
So to get more into the networking, I strongly believe it's genuinely all about your personality and work ethic. If you are friendly and you are a hard worker, focus on that and the people around you will naturally come up to you and start talking about what they are working on and the whole conversation, yada, yada, yada. And these are the conversations you want to be having.

07:18
You also must be a good listener. Take every new job as a learning experience, even if it's work you've done a hundred times over and over again. The people you are surrounded by are all new opportunities to learn. Ask people about their lives and journeys, stuff that isn't production related and don't be selfish again. There is a time and place for these conversations, but like I said, they will come naturally to you if you just focus on how your personality and work ethic play into everything.

07:47
Treat it like a first date, a reciprocal relationship where you want to give the best version of yourself and leave an impression. I'm not sure if this is just another manifestation of my enjoyment and people watching, etc. but I really do love just to converse with people about stuff that isn't technically work related. It's cool to get to know what other people are doing, like outside of their own work lives and stuff like that.

08:10
Something I'm hoping will pay off eventually is in these conversations. Even though I don't make money off of podcasting now, I still mentioned that I am into podcasts, producing and editing. You never know what conversations they might be having with other people, and if podcasting comes up, they may think of my name, you know, like, Oh, I was talking to this one girl at one job and she does podcasting, blah blah blah blah blah.

08:33
My typical rule of thumb is once I get to a friendly level with someone and we've talked about our personal lives, things outside of work, I then ask things like, Where do you find your work? Do you have any luck with Staff Me Up or other job boards? What is your biggest tax advice? Are you based in New York?

08:48
How do I get to travel doing this type of work? Those are the questions you want answered, but they're not very like in-your-face, pushy, you know, I just left a gig about a month ago with five new contacts and at least ten people who have witnessed my work ethic and personality, and I believe in the universe. I think I'm going to do another episode later about how I use energy and just believing in the universe and manifestation and all that.

09:12
But I left that opportunity feeling good and I'm going to let the universe do the rest. And my last tidbit would be when you can get people to write reviews or like recommendations to your websites or job board profiles, or just keep them in mind for future. A job asks for references. So that is it for this episode.

09:30
Feel free to take a listen to my other episodes and topics. And if this reaches you and you have any burning questions or stories, I'd be happy to use this as an outlet to all conversate and learn from one another. Let me know what you're experience with this topic is. You know, how do you go about your race?

09:48
How do you go about networking? What are your experiences with it? Always shoot me a gem on Instagram. If you are enjoying these kinds of episodes and putting out in just the podcast in general, it would mean the world to me if you could consider subscribing like you know, rating sharing the show again, you can follow the Instagram How I diaries for some behind the scenes content.

10:12
I post five new episodes at the end of each month, so keep an eye out and until next time. Thanks for listening