Hi Carlos,

I've just checked out your Website - nice job. As a copywriter, I have a few suggestions for you...

First of all, while I appreciate the fact that you only charge $25 an hour, as a potential client, I don't need (or want) to know the process behind it, or that you're feeling conflicted about over charging... Why? Because when you tell me that, it shows me that you're not sure you're worth $25, and if you don't think you're worth it, I'm pretty sure you're not... As a client, if I'm looking for a web consultant, I want two things:
1. Someone who knows what they're doing - an "expert"

2. Someone who will do what I'm hiring them to do which is to make my Website be found online, attract new visitors and convert them into paying clients.

So when I'm looking for a web expert, the only things I want to know is: Are you the right guy for me?

So, as a copywriter, my suggestion to you would be - take out everything from here:
..."The hours that I bill for (i.e. billable hours) are not always exactly the hours that I actually spend working on a project. They are almost always less.

This is because I do not feel it right to charge my clients to learn to do something I have no previous experience with (unless they willingly pay me to learn something I have no professional interest or need in learning to do). My clients pay me to use skills I already have (or to quickly refresh particular skills they need but which I haven't used in a while) not to learn new skills on their time.

There are exceptions in that sometimes a client will pay me for some learning time to get up to speed on how to work with their source code in particular, learn a new technology they want me to implement which I would not take the time to learn on my own, or otherwise. But such exceptions are not the norm.

If I do not wish to take the time to learn something on my own to service a client need I will let the client know so that they can find someone else or I will get pre-approval from them to charge for taking the time to learn something new.

Carlos..."

Because you're wasting valuable space there - because people visiting your site don't care about that. (If you really feel you need to say that, put it somewhere else - on your "about me" page, for example.) Instead, tell me about your services. I may not know what a web consultant is, or I may want more information about what you can do for me... so tell me. But not about the process.

Next - your introductory offer... I think you're going to get a lot of people who will take you up on it... But... (Okay, I'm new to the forum and the last I thing I want to do is get labeled as a meanie...) But Carlos - let's say you get 5 people who take you up on your offer...

That means you're going to get paid $250 - and you're going to be doing 25 hours of work - that's 3 days worth - plus more, because you and I both know there's prep work, research, and a bunch of other "non-billable" hours that go into what you do. But even if we leave it at the 25 hours... You're making $10 an hour...

The problem I have with this for you, is that once you've got a client who thinks you're only worth $10 an hour... or $25 an hour... you're going to have a hard time convincing them that you're worth more later on. And you're going to attract the kind of clients who only want to pay $10 or $25 an hour...And you're going to be working your tail off to survive.

So I have to ask you a question... Are your services worth more than that? Really and truly?

Because even if you're just starting out - even if you don't have a portfolio - (and there are so many ways to build one...) you can't run a successful business making $10 or $25 an hour. It just can't be done. And why would you want to??? You can go get a job and make that much money.

My strongest suggestion would be for you to decide what you're services are worth - and stop apologizing for what you're going to charge - and just start charging that.

At the very least, you might want to charge $50 an hour - because if you do a breakdown of it - even at $50 an hour, with a full client list, you're going to end up with between 20 and 25 hours of un-billable time every week - not to mention there will be times you don't have a full client list, or you want to take a vacation, or you get sick and can't work... so I'd suggest you cost it out - and look at your expenses, your un-billable hours, and what your profit margin is... And I'd also look at what your competition is charging.

As an online business owner, perception is everything - the way your customers perceive you IS your reality. And the people I'm afraid you're going to attract are the people who are going to balk at paying the $25 deposit, and they'll also be the ones who expect you to do even more than you're willing to do right now... and they're the ones who are going to end up stiffing you in the end.

Real business owners - even those of us who only have online businesses - expect to pay for professional services. We know that while every now and then someone like you comes along who does a fabulous job and is undercharging, for the most part, you get what you pay for. And because our businesses provide us the lifestyle we enjoy, we're willing to pay to have those things done right, rather than going cheap and then having to have it done over...

Finally, the only other thing I wanted to add - to what several other people have told you - the Industry Standard is 50% down. People expect that, and they do pay it. As a writer, I have clients in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the states - I've not met any of them face to face, and yet they still pay my 50% deposit up front, before I begin their work. Your clients will do the same - as long as they believe that you're a professional who is going to do the job.

So once you've figured out what you're worth - and what you need to charge to build a strong and thriving business, go back over your Website and make some changes to your copy... put in your new prices... and then start marketing your business. You've got lots of experts in here who can give you some very valuable advice about how to do that... so you can attract the level of professional clients you want - and will love - working with...

Well, sorry this was so long... I've got to run - I've been in Paris on vacation for the last nine days and it's time to get packed. We're going to take a side trip to go see some castles on the Rhone river, before heading home and back to work on Tuesday!

Warmly,

Cheryl