Enough of the Charity Work!

There’s a theory that states that those raised in poverty are likely to find fulfillment in little things. Unlike their peers who strive to amass as much wealth as possible, those from the so-called humble backgrounds tend to settle for less. Consequently, am I a victim of this? The use of the lowest price in the market as a means of competition in the open market may be very costly, as I’ve come to learn.

One of the most-dreaded questions by job seekers is, “How much should we pay you?”. Freelancers and small businesses at times find it a challenge to give quotations for their services. Unlike goods which have a specific production costs, professional services such as web and graphic design do not. Specifically with the Kenyan market, there’ll always be a cheaper alternative. I have been running my small tech enterprise for over a decade and it’s a challenge I’ve overcome using different strategies.

Pocket-friendly, not Cheap

The strategy that I’ve used the longest is – the lowest price possible. By quoting and charging the lowest has mostly given me a chance to work with startups. It’s been a really fulfilling journey seeing my clients feeling proud and relieved that they have an identity and web presence that didn’t cost them an arm and a leg. In the recent past however, I’ve had taken stock and this is likely to change.

People will always prefer working with established brands for assurance that when they’ll get worth for every penny they invest in a project. Marketing is the most widely used method to get new customers. However, the surest way to attract and retain customers is through giving top notch products and services accompanied by world-class customer service. Satisfied customers are likely to refer more people to your business.

A friend or someone referred to me by a friend would come to me with an idea that they want realized. This is through mostly web and graphic design / branding. As always, they request for a quote accompanied by words like “just starting”, “fellow hustler”. It always ends up with me having to give them the lowest quote possible. I’ve built websites for as low as 50 USD, designed logos  and maintained websites for almost nothing.

Why Do You want to Charge More?

An obvious assumption would be inflation. This isn’t entirely my case. As a growing professional, I’ve come to value my Past Projects Portfolio. Why build a website that won’t be in existence the following year because the owner couldn’t renew their web hosting subscription? This has sadly been the case of over 70% of websites that we’ve built on the cheap. I do appreciate the referrals but also take pride is my past projects. Anyone who truly believes in their dream would invest heavily to see it through. Consequently, they wouldn’t allow their projects to easily fade away. Charity is good, but positive transformation of the recipients is most fulfilling.

Read also Paying for Creative Works