How Much Are You Worth?

Your work is only worth as much as people are prepared to pay for it or as much as your prepared to do it for

How Much Are You Worth? So How do you work out what your time is worth? Although most people find this process difficult it is important to understand the cost of an hour of your time particularly if you work freelance. The way to do this is to look at all the costs you incur in a year including lifestyle costs and calculate what you need to earn to meet those costs.

How Much Are You Worth? Start with the biggest expense Accommodation Buying or renting a house the costs will include: Mortgage5,000 Heat/Light1,400 Water 600 Council tax1,600 Buildings Insurance 300 Contents “ 250 Phone/Broadband 600 Minor repairs 500 Total 10,250

How Much Are You Worth? Then there’s transport CarDepreciation1,000 Insurance 350 Tax 200 Servicing / Repairs 400 Fuel 16,000 miles2,300 total4,250

How Much Are You Worth? Living expenses Food1,800 Clothes/ Shoes etc 600 Entertainment 500 Holiday1,300 total4,200

How Much Are You Worth? Work Equipment Computer 1,5003 year replacement 500 Software1,5005 year upgrade 300 Camera 6005 “ “ 120 Scanner 1505 “ “ 30 Printer A year replacement 100 Printer ink 350 Misc. equipment 75 Mobile Phone 300 Web Site 150 Self Promotion 500 Stationery etc 250 total2,675

How Much Are You Worth? Legal fees etc Accountant 400 Professional indemnity insurance 200 Professional bodies 200 Check out: Subscriptions Magazines etc 75 total 875

How Much Are You Worth? Therefore a guess at expected expenditure for a year is:10,250 4,250 4,200 2, Total22,250 PA

How Much Are You Worth? So you need to earn at a minimum £22, 250 per year But tax and National Insurance will account for about 22% of your gross income so you’ll need to make an extra £4,895 to cover those. Therefore we are looking at needing to earn £27,145 per year off 48 weeks work this allows for 4 weeks holiday per year. Based on these figures you need to make £565 per week and if you work for an average of 35 hours your hourly rate will have to be £16.00 per hour which isn’t unreasonable. But this is a basic figure and you certainly would not work for less than this. To make a reasonable profit so that you can have savings and investment in your business you should double this figure so your basic rate would be £32.00 per hour or £224 per working day. You can now use this figure to determine how much a job you have done costs or decide how much time should be spent on a job given the budget set by the client. Also if the job requires additional expertise such as photographers, web developers etc you need to factor those costs in. Many people work out their fees based on a day rate for their input. There is no real survey information available on current UK creative art and design fees but have a look at the Professional bodies listed who usually publish guidelines.

How Much Are You Worth? The figure calculated is in line with the Arts Council England & Artists Union Guidelines for Rates of Pay) “Rates of Pay should apply to a wide range of freelance and short contract employment from consultancy work, project planning and development, to all aspects of workshop delivery (set-up, execution, clear-up) and other freelance activity. Rates exclude artist’s expenses for a specific project and VAT where relevant. Hourly Rates: £19.00 p/hr new graduate artist £25.00 p/hr with 3 yrs+ experience £30.00 p/hr with 5 yrs + experience. £150 p/day (£75 p/ 1⁄2 day) new graduate artist £200 p/day (£100 p/ 1⁄2 day) with 3 yrs experience £250 p/day (£125 p/ 1⁄2 day) with 5yrs+ experience. The variations in rates relate to qualifications/experience, which are defined by ‘years as a working artist’, and would be evidenced by a professional CV, indicating the artist’s art world track record and/or unique attributes. Residency Rates: £21,000 per annum (pro rata) new graduate artist £30,000 per annum (pro rata) with 5 years+ experience**. All residencies should be calculated on a pro rata basis where the residency is of 20+ working days. The variations in rates relate to qualifications/experience as above”. (Artists Union advice) w_to_pay_artists_June_2013.pdf

How Much Are You Worth?

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How Much Are You Worth?

Journal / Blog brief Go through your yearly costs using this model and work out your hourly or day rate. Then determine how much you would charge for the last two projects you worked on. Put the calculation and job cost in the Blog, remember to factor in any extra expenses caused by the job such as materials or extra travel.

How Much Are You Worth? When you set up in business as an artist photographer or freelance designer you need to have a separate business bank account which all business costs go through. If you are working from home the Tax people will give an allowance towards business use costs for your accommodation and car etc. Although you can do all this through the tax self assessment process it’s best to use an accountant as they can save you more tax money and probably pay for themselves through the savings. It helps a great deal with accountancy fees if you keep all your receipts in a very ordered way. I usually stick them into a diary kept separate for that purpose so they can be tracked to the right date and job and I can make a note about the spending. You draw your salary from your business account. You can get a lot of information on business set up, being self employed and tax etc at:

How Much Are You Worth?

Getting Paid Some organisations and companies pay within 90 days which is a long time to wait. You need to be able to manage cash flow so that you don’t run out of money while waiting for payments to arrive in your account. This usually means having an arrangement with the Bank to allow a constant overdraft which is not going to cost you a fortune in fees. You also need to chase up accounts departments for payments. In fine art public arts projects often there is an agreed amount for the project and you have to deliver the project within that cost. In those circumstances you need to ensure that you make some money for yourself and not put everything into the delivery of the artwork or project.