How much do consultants make per hour

As we just discussed, choosing the right method really comes down to you, your clients, and the market. You want to make sure you are being compensated fairly without veering too far outside client expectations. Both you and your clients have probably worked an hourly job before, and it makes for a solid, simple, straightforward pricing method even in the consulting world. The first step in calculating your consulting hourly rate is to get an idea of what you were making hourly at your most recent job.

There are quite a few rock solid reasons behind this pricing decision. These are all really important things to consider. These are just a few of the reasons the gig market has exploded over the last decade. When you work as an employee, the company is profiting off of you a lot more than they are paying you. By removing the middleman, your clients can pay you a lot more than you were earning while still saving quite a bit of money in the process.

Of course, we still have to factor in market rate. While charging by hour is probably the most flexible pricing method available, it does have one glaring downside: the faster and more efficient you become at your work, the less you get paid. Fast forward ten clients and all of a sudden, you are only needing 15 hours and billing half of what you originally charged to setup a website.

This is where charging by project makes perfect sense. The client simply wants their website built and they have a defined budget available for that. With this method, your client knows exactly what they are getting, and you can actually increase your effective hourly rate by getting better and faster at delivering your service! When charging by project, try to calculate your time in stages. It may take you an hour to analyze and research your topic.

Maybe the first draft of work takes you five hours, and a predict a few hours worth of edits. From here, you are going to want to allow some time for anything extra that may arise and then calculate your rough estimate against your hourly rate.

Remember, charging by project is best used when most of your projects tend to look similar to each other and you are improving or getting faster over time. In an ideal world, every consultant would be paid based on the Return on Investment ROI their work generates. In reality, however, ROI-based pay is usually just a tool for scamming new and lower-end consultants and service providers.

In short, the businesses that tend to generate a significant ROI from consulting services are usually not going to be interested in offering ROI-based pay. In reality, most successful businesses have a good idea of where they need to improve and how profitable it will be for the business once that area is improved. They also understand how large their own role will be in any solutions proposed by a consultant. Because of this, it makes more sense for them to shop around and pay a fixed fee rather than attempting to pay based on performance.

What makes more sense for this business? What could we change about this scenario to make ROI-based pay make more sense?

There are a few options:. Successful businesses know exactly who the proven players in their industry are or can find out quickly , and those players are virtually never going to undercharge for their services. This leaves us with the latter two options. Apply Now. For Employers. Adjust Employee Salary. Price My Industry Jobs. For Employees. Get a Salary Increase. Search Job Openings. Select City. Choose Similar Job. Pick Related Category. What is an Entry Level Consultant?

Job Openings for Entry Level Consultant. Digital and Experienced Hire Talent Sourcer. Boston Consulting Group - 21 days ago. Ro Health - Tacoma , WA. The position requires a professional and personable individual excited to focus on building excellent relationships through working with healthcare Entry Level Brand Marketing Consultant.

We want someone to fill the Entry Level Brand Marketing Consultant role and deliver personalized marketing support to territories in the local area through targeted product and service SThree - Denver , CO.

As a continuously expanding, international staffing company, we Entry-Level Recruitment Consultant. Entry-Level Recruitment Consultant - Frank Recruitment Group Are you competitive, resilient, and looking for a role where you can directly impact your earnings and how quickly you progress? If so, it can make sense to charge for your time on an hourly basis as opposed to a project-based rate.

Some people get a bit squeamish at the idea of telling a client their hourly rate. In these cases, it can be easier and smarter to give someone a project rate. Clients tend to prefer project rates. A flat rate gives them a defined amount of money they can expect to spend. Consultants enjoy this pricing model because they can earn more than they would with a traditional hourly rate. Of course, the reverse can be true as well. Then it turned out the client wanted to have several kickoff calls discussing the infographic before you could actually get started on the project.

The project suddenly becomes a lot less profitable. To determine your hourly rate, start by considering your ideal salary. Divide that by 5 for the number of weeks in a year , and again by 40 assuming a normal workweek. Plus, you need to account for sick time, vacation days, healthcare, and other overhead expenses.

To maximize the profitability of your consulting projects, create a clear outline of the various tasks included within a project, and estimate the amount of time it will take you to complete each one. You can also add a clause to your contract stating that this project rate is based on the items outlined in the statement of work. As you work with more clients, keep track of how long it really does take you to perform these various tasks, so you can get better at setting these rates moving forward.

Retainers are yet another option. After working with a client on a few projects or at a set hourly rate for a few months, you can present a retainer as a more valuable option moving forward.

Retainers also make sense for certain types of work more than others, such as a graphic designer who agrees to deliver a set number of graphics each month, or an IT consultant who provides website monitoring services. They care about the business result. Evaluate the value of that end result, and charge accordingly. Skip to content Home Dissertation What is the average consulting fee per hour? Ben Davis April 30, What is the average consulting fee per hour? How do I calculate my hourly rate as a consultant?

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