This July I will have been in business for myself for 14 years. On one hand it feels like it has happened in the blink of an eye, while on the other hand it feels like it has been three lifetimes worth of hard work and headaches. Many of the lessons that I have learned were completely avoidable, while others were imminent and necessary. It is difficult to look back at the last decade and a half and say that it was ALL worth it ALL of the time. I think that is fairly normal, but it does not have to be. The biggest lessons that I have learned over the past few years have been regarding how I value my time. I have learned that life is in fact very short. Not only are we getting older, but our kids are getting older, and time is fleeting. When we own our own businesses, we often look at the transactional data in which our market dictates value. I am here to tell you that we must demand more for ourselves and more for our industry than what most people are “willing to pay.” 

When I first started my business my rate was based on the relation between what I had made working internships/prior jobs, and what I should be making now that I was 23 years old. The number was directly correlated to past experience and past wages. If I made $25/hour on my internship, I should make $35/hour now that I was on my own. As I developed my skills and gained experience, I slowly upped my rate.This transition and rate increase was not related to my value of my time but rather my experience. I had more time in the industry, so I should be able to charge more. 

As I have gotten older, my life has become more expensive and more chaotic, I have found the need to make more money. What have I actually done to deserve a higher rate? Is it reputation, skills, marketing, confidence, or a combination of everything? Realistically it comes down to numerous factors and variables, but the greatest is the confidence and value that I have for my own time. I have realized that there are so many opportunities in life and business that will present themselves if you do the right thing. Your rate should take this into account, and there is no data-driven metric that may get you to that specific number. It comes down to priorities, time, and value. If I can work directly with a manufacturer or vendor and make a rate that is considerably higher than consumer facing work, it would be foolish of me to load my schedule with projects that afford me no time for the higher paying jobs. If my children are in the midst of their athletic seasons, and I promised that I would be at every game, I better make sure that the project that is pulling me away from that promise is worth the financial return. If there are projects or customers that I enjoy more than others, I better guarantee that the project I do not want to do pays me well. 

While there always may be a “market rate,” you have to ensure that the market rate is worth your time. Regardless of whether your time is spent working on a passion project, helping a friend, working on another aspect of your business, or simply enjoying some down time. The older I get, the more I value my time and the opportunity cost of said time. It does not matter what I am doing, it better be worth at least the opportunity cost of doing something else. There is no market rate that can define that variable for you. My opportunity cost rate is far greater now than it was fourteen years ago. That is due to experience, age, wisdom, personal obligations, and having a better understanding of my own time. The reason most people are hiring us to work for them is because the opportunity cost of them renovating their own home is less than them going to work, spending their weekends swinging a hammer, spending time with their family/friends, or participating in hobbies. Their value is dictated by their time and what it is worth to them. I have realized that I am not willing to base my market rate on how someone else values their time.