If you are self-employed/ freelance, what do you do and what is your rate?

[LoveMyJackRussells]

I’m interested because I know it’s a way many parents, and especially mothers choose to work for the flexibility. And the tradesman day rate thread was interesting too. Given the cost of living and labour shortages, I wonder if rates are generally on the rise?

I’m happy to start. I’m a clinical psychologist (paediatric specialism) and my fee is £130 an hour. I don’t charge for every hour I work. About a quarter of my time is admin/ CPD. I am also employed in a long-term university research project for 1.5 days a week, which is fun but pays much less.

Other self employed I know about (because we pay them) are:

Cleaner (16/hour)
Gardener (25/hour)
Golf coach (50/ hour)
Counsellor (45/hour)
OT (90/hour)
Gundog trainer (90/hour)

I am a freelance designer and 3d artist for the landscaping industry. I charge 25 per hour although if needed can offer a fixed rate for a particular project if needed but that is based on my usual rate x number of hours I expect to use.

Most of my projects take a full day or more though so its efficient and for the most part from home other then a couple of local site visits a month. Expenses are very low. I'm busier then I can deal with currently.

I've only been doing this for 6 month or so after working for 10 years in the same industry. I've been very lucky as my oh has been happy to support me while things built up and now I make more or less the same as I did a year ago when I had a part time job but my freelance work is way more flexible!

I'm a dog walker.

£15 p/h for solo walks, slightly less for groups.

Both of your jobs are in high demand about here. Anything to do with garden design. And dog walkers all have long waiting lists.

I just remembered my daughter’s singing and flute teachers (located in the same music school) charge £45 an hour. They are both amazing and I think that’s quite a low rate, considering their skills and training.

We did look into hiring an interior designer about a year ago. She charged very high rates, so we just did it ourselves. It looks fine. Just like a room, with nice stuff in it really. I suspect her keen aesthetic eye and impeccable taste was largely lost on us.

I think the clin psy rate is so high as you are charging for 1 hour at a time. realistically you prob are only working 3-4 paid hours a day. You can’t compare that with the poster above who charges for 7 hours a day. It’s a different pricing model.

8b in the nhs is £32 per hour.

I charge £140 a day as a freelance outdoor pursuits instructor.

Childminder £4.50 an hour.

I’m a copywriter (some of the time) and a personal trainer (the rest of the time).

Copywriting — usually between £400 and £500 per day. It varies depending on length of the job; a single day would be most expensive, then I apply discounts to longer bookings. I don’t do hourly rates — too fiddly and not worth my time.

PT — I sell packages of sessions mostly. The most popular package is £400 per month for two sessions a week on a monthly direct debit. It’s more expensive without the direct debit (ie if someone just wants a block of twelve or sixteen sessions).

Writing is technically more profitable but there’s less of it. PT work is more steady but there’s an admin aspect. Also it fluctuates through the year; Dec, Feb and March tend to be quieter. Busiest months are May, June, September and January.

Mykingdomforanap that’s true of therapeutic work. I couldn’t manage more than 4 hours of that a day, although I know people who do 6. I mostly do a different type of work which also charges for report writing, which is less intense, as well as supervision and consultation to organisations. I average more than 3-4 hours, but I’d rarely charge our for a full 8 hour day. Business admin is at least hair a day a week, and that’s completely unpaid. I think most of us in private practice would days it’s marginally better paid than working in the NHS ( once benefits are considered), but that’s not why we work in this way. I love the freedom and flexibility ( I don’t love the business admin).

65 an hour recruiting
I don't charge per hour but average monthly invoice/billings divided by average monthly hours

Copyediting £60/hour and bits of writing work at various rates, most recently 800 words £240/hour.

HiddenGiraffes wow! They must have been a great 800 words 🙂

Sorry I'm still half asleep, it was £240 for the piece, for a national newspaper website.

HR Consultant. I charge between £65 and £105 depending on the client and the type of work. Some clients pay me a monthly retainer so they pay less.

Freelance/consultant working mainly in the arts - doing everything from interim roles to writing business plans to funding applications. Day rate is anywhere between £300 and £400, but I often work for a fixed fee based on a certain number of days, and don't charge if I go over those days (which I usually do).

Marketing consultant, I charge £700 a day. Pre children I was working five days a week but now I work 1 or 2 days.

What sort of copyediting do you do to get £60 an hour? Is it technical/medical specialist editing? It's quite a bit higher than the suggested rates on CIEP.

What kind of clients are happy to pay £60/hr for editing?

It's technical writing, yeah. I landed a really good gig and underestimated how long things took me for a while when billing, to ensure I didn't lose it. I now bill accurate hours but there was a real learning curve.

Big American tech company.

Wow, your gundog trainer is expensive! Ours would be 40 an hour if doing one to one.

I'm currently charging 650 a day but that's for a 3 month long commitment. Ad hoc days would be more like 900 (IT).

@yogaretreat

Interesting to read that a marketing consultant charges £700 a day! I am a senior marketing manager for a charity and make very little compared to this.

Which sector do you work in?

@elsaandanna and arguably the most important job of all! Crazy we pay more for our dog to be walked and house to be cleaned isn't it.

Tech companies or financial services companies - there's lots of money to be had