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Average Customer Rating:

The Graphic Designer's Guide to Pricing, Estimating, and Budgeting

Customer Rating:

This book is an excellent comprehensive guide for any person who is either considering becoming a freelance graphic designer, starting a design studio or setting up a full-service design firm. It outlines, in a detailed and easy-to-follow way, all the key elements one must consider, such as fixed costs, budget management and establishing rates. Theo Williams, the author, employs a fresh and user-friendly approach in every business concept she presents. This book is the bible I'm using to set up my business. Someone took my copy, so I ordered another right away! I don't know what I'd do without it!

basic theological discussion of pricing	Customer Rating:
This book is not nearly as helpful as I had hoped. If you want to read to entire book, you'll get an overview on basic ethical and pricing theories, but there is no pracitcal "this is what designers are charging now" basis, and it is less that fun to read. Skip it.

Not enough concrete information.

Customer Rating:

I have been operating a freelance graphic-design business on a casual basis for over 10 year and have just recently decided to take it to a more professional level. I purchased this book because I thought it would help me streamline my billing system and teach me something I didn't already know. Unfortunately, I found that this book was much more chatty than informative and that the information was a bit too vague. It would have also helped if the forms at the back of the book were more fully discussed in the book itself. While I found it interesting and somewhat insightful to read about the author's opinions and experience (which is credible), I did not feel that I gained much new insight from the book. Another book that I found more pragmatic and useful was Cameron Foote's "The Business Side of Creativity". Even though that book covers all aspects of running a graphic design business, it also includes a section on billing with advice that is both practical and concrete (including how to deal with clients who are price-sensitive in an assertive manner). While this book may help someone who is completely new at billing clients for graphic-design services, I personally gained more from Foote's book than this one.

Freelancers, read this one!

Customer Rating:

Freelance Graphic Designers, or those considering it, get this one. It is excellent. I have read it 3 times and still learning from it. It is Good advice. She's a nice lady. I want to meet her. This helps you in negotiating and deciding on a price, and not letting the client take advantage of you, and invoicing. The author is a woman, btw. I think it is cool that a woman can have such a hugely successful business.

Why didn't I read a book like this ten years ago?

Customer Rating:

In straight-forward, witty and very business-wise language, Theo Stephan Williams lays it all on the line for anyone in or thinking of getting in the design business. She explains exactly how to negotiate, what to say and how to actually make a profit. While all other books dance around the subject of money, she just lays it on the table, giving hourly rates and project break-downs and without having to feel bad justifying prices that will keep you in business, I finally realize that it is a right to make a profit out of what we do. For ten years I've been operating exactly like the kinds of people Theo knows inside out - thinking that breaking even is good enough, afraid to raise prices for fear of losing work. All that gets, she explains, is a huge, unprofitable client base, all making demands and not paying a good price for the services they receive. Theo provides clear, logical, sensible and highly convincing arguments to turn your business around and make a real success of it, as she has done of hers. Read it and join the ranks of enlightened designers and design firms who actually make great money out of doing great work.