Quote: Originally Posted by
mua908 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
How do you fairly price your clients??????
I know money and pricing is a touchy subject so no actual prices should be shared. What exactly do you take into consideration when you charge a client who lives far? I have been traveling to my clients for a year now, but im not sure if i should be pricing more than what I am currently charging. To keep the interest of others that live far, sometimes i dont even charge for gas!
. I do so that I dont turn my clients to the nearest MAC store instead.
To be honest, it shouldn't be a touchy subject because it's something many MUA face. While you don't want to drive your clients to the nearest MAC store you still need to put a value not just on gas but the time it takes to get there, the wear and tear on your vehicle (oil, tires, etc). If you have a studio and you travel you can create two different prices - one if they client comes to you and one you have to go to the client. Photographers build this into their prices as well if they have to go out and shoot a wedding or a baptism or some event where it requires the photographer to do the same. You should NEVER feel like you're going to turn your clients off and that they'll run to the nearest MAC because you are providing them with a service of your time and talents by coming out to them.
That said, how each MUA builds their prices obviously are different but to build a price based on your time to travel, gas and of course wear and tear on the vehicle you need to factor in a few things.
- Travel time: Just because a location is 20 miles away doesn't mean it's going to take you 20 minutes to get there. You need to factor that in because technically you are going to a job. Plus you need to factor leaving. Just because you're not at the place where you'll be doing your job doesn't mean that the time you take to get there and the time you take to leave shouldn't be factored in.
- Distance: Obviously if you're using your own vehicle you need to factor in not only gas but the wear and tear on your vehicle - oil, tires, etc.
Some MUA simply add an additional percentage to their base rates, say they're going to charge a client $100 and if there is travel involved they may add an additional 20% traveling. Some just build the cost of travel into their fees so that $100 would include their traveling fees. Others will have a flat traveling fee of, example, $25, for the MUA to go out there. Obviously prices will vary regardless of how you do it you need to factor how much time, gas and wear and tear plus distance it will be. If a client refuses to pay the travel fee (if you don't build it into the cost) then is it a client you want? Sometimes you have to turn down jobs if client doesn't want to pay you not only what you're worth but your expenses. You shouldn't be losing money if this is your job.
. I do so that I dont turn my clients to the nearest MAC store instead. 
