E6. How to price your work

Feat. Linette Lao

"Time is not the defining thing here. And that's why hourly, I think, is usually the wrong way to go about it. Cause it quantifies your brain and your heart in a way that can't be quantified."

-Linette

It's never easy to talk about money. In this episode Hafsah and Yen dive down this rabbit hole with principal and graphic designer of Invisible Engines, a design consultancy that specializes in working with nonprofits and human-centered organizations. Linette talks about why charging hourly is not the right for anyone and offers insight on how to reframe the value of the dollar.

They also discuss the nuances of being a woman in the workplace, how that affects salary disparity between genders historically, and what actions can be taken to combat that now.

Tactics From this Episode

Tactics are takeaways that a listener can do based on what we’ve discussed in an episode.

Linette offered up this exercise she read about from somewhere in the past. You sit down with someone and have them ask you, "how much is your service for three hours?"

And you respond, "A million dollars!" or what ever exorbitant amount you please. You do this over and over again until you feel numb to the number and anxiety of asking your worth. Of course there are lots of scenarios in which this doesn't work but if you're fretting about asking too little/too much, it's worth thinking about why this is troubling to you.

Homework

To piggyback on the tactic offered this week, pick up the phone and call someone that you already know in the industry you're interested in. Then, ask them what they make. Yes, truly. Ask them what they charge. Certainly, this can be very taboo to ask a stranger so make sure it's someone that's willing to be transparent about it with you!

Resources from (or based on!) the episode