intermodal's Journal: Reasonable rates for rural computer work?

I'm trying to figure out what a reasonable rate to charge for general tech work in a rural area is. People out here don't have a lot of money, though they don't have much bad computer trouble either. It's mostly fried motherboards or modems from electrical storms, and home networking, and virus removal, though I am doing some web design as well. Basically I'm looking for ideas of what to charge for the following, since there are a lot of local computer illiterates interested in such services:

Virus removal
hardware work
network installation or troubleshooting
website work

Any ideas would be appreciated. This is in Grayson County, which is in North Texas, if anyone knows the area.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:My $.02

[TechnoLust]

I used to do rural work while in HS. I started out charging $20/hour with 1 hour minimum, then went to $25/hour, including travel time. Then people were calling all the time and I didn't need money and wanted to be on the lake instead, so I went to $50/hour and they were STILL calling. Finally went to $100/hour and did one or two more before they stopped calling. So, it depends on how much work you want. :-)

Re:My $.02

[Penguin Follower]

Yep, I have to agree with Techno. I do in-home computer service on the side while finishing up college. I charge $50/hr and get plenty of work. And this county is fairly rural - the only city is the county seat. Everything else is considered a village in this county. FYI, but most of the people I've done work for say I'm undercutting the competition (computer stores in the area) by about $35/hr, so that means most formal computer shops want around $85/hr. That seems about right, as the going bench rate (in-

Re:My $.02

[TechnoLust]

Yeah, when I "went pro" in 1995, the place I was working for charged $85/hour for the bench. Then it went to $100 before I quit to go to college.

Rates

[johndiii]

Sam's figure of $30/hr sounds reasonable for the lower-level stuff. For website design/implementation, you should get significantly more. I billed $60/hr for some recent web work, in the Dallas area.

Talking shop (and the Euro symbol)

[Ethelred Unraed]

Out of curiosity, what are the going rates elsewhere? Anyone know?

I'm charging EUR 60/hour* ($60/hour for North American clients) for both graphic design and web programming, but haven't been keeping up that much with what everyone else is charging (which I really should be...).

I have heard in general terms from fellow designers and web developers that they are getting less money out of clients, but haven't heard concrete figures...

Cheers,

Ethelred

* - In spìté of äddiñg süp

Re:Talking shop (and the Euro symbol)

[Oculus Habent]

Here in Maine, where average income is <$27k, graphic arts work starts at around $75/hour. The advertising firm on which the boss decided is charging $100/hour or something - for which they should be shot, as I do the photo editing when they don't know how.

When I was doing in-home software work and training, I was charging $30/hour with great response. There are a few people - good acquaintances - for whom I still do occasional work who insist on paying me no less than $25/hour.

Benchwork is around $50/

Re:Talking shop (and the Euro symbol)

[Ethelred Unraed]

Here in Maine, where average income is <$27k, graphic arts work starts at around $75/hour. The advertising firm on which the boss decided is charging $100/hour or something - for which they should be shot, as I do the photo editing when they don't know how.

That sounds more or less in line with what it was like when I first went self-employed about five years ago.

Basically the chain of events was:

1. Ethelred works for design agency as web designer.
2. Ethelred busts ass, gets ~$20/hour for his work. Work

Re:Talking shop (and the Euro symbol)

[arb]

Out of curiosity, what are the going rates elsewhere? Anyone know?

I am a developer, mostly doing ASP and SQL Server related work with some VB thrown in when I get the chance. I have one main, regular client (been here almost full-time for the past 2.5 years, look like being a permanent fixture for the forseeable future) but also do other small jobs as I find them. I usually charge clients $85/hr, with a minimum of 4 hours, though I don't charge for travelling time and my regular client gets a lower rate '

Metric

[Ethelred Unraed]

(All $amounts are in Aussie dollars - $1 AUD = approx $0.75 USD.)

Ah! So you're using metric dollars, in other words!

*ducks*

Cheers,

Ethelred

Re:Metric

[arb]

Ah! So you're using metric dollars, in other words!

Of course! Although, like all Imperial to Metric conversions, I can never quite remember the correct multiplier. ;-)

(Actually, the Aussie dollar is looking a darn sight healthier the past few months than it has for 10-15 years. Only a year or so ago it was down to $0.55-0.60 USD, so things are looking up!)

Re:Metric

[Ethelred Unraed]

Actually, the Aussie dollar is looking a darn sight healthier the past few months than it has for 10-15 years. Only a year or so ago it was down to $0.55-0.60 USD, so things are looking up!

Meanwhile, the Euro is looking a tad too healthy for my partly-US-dollar-paid tastes...EUR 1 ~= USD 1.20. Ouch ouch ouch.

Cheers,

Ethelred

Rural Labor

[bethanie]

Hey, nice to see you again!

I can't address tech work specifically, but I *can* attest to the fact that labor in general is quite a bit more expensive out in the country than it is in the city -- there's less competition out here.

My best advice would be to charge what you think is fair and what makes it worth your while. If you come across someone in dire straits and feel like being nice, you can give them a discount. But don't end up a charity case 'cause you're being charitable.

....Bethanie....

My price is...

[jawtheshark]

... one case of beer. Flat rate. Of course, I don't plan on making money of it, it's just because I like helping people and most people don't accept "free help".

Of course, if it's hardware failure, I'll buy the pieces for them but they have to reimburse me.

Who are you charging?

[dead sun]

If you're just setting up a little shop to fill a need then I'd suggest somewhere around $50/hr like most others are suggesting. Charge an hour minimum to keep people from calling up and having you fix a stupid 30 second problem. Of course, if they do call up and have a 30 second problem make sure you educate them a little about what it was that was wrong. 15 minutes later you'll have $50 and they'll have a working computer and be smarter too. Can't argue from either side.

Most of what you've listed isn't re