Rob, it sounds a bit like to me that you are operating more out of a small business model. Clients come to you mostly. Whereas, some of these folks are working under a "for hire" freelance model where someone else has the clients and needs additional manpower/talent to get it done. In those cases, the in house freelancer can command less of a day rate than someone who has sought and maintained their own client and equipment. Even though we tend to toss the term freelance around pretty easily, I think a lot of folks who call themselves "freelance" are really just small business owners. Both methods have their merits. 

I am also encouraged somewhat by Rob being able to fetch a livable rate. I assume you are no spring chick Rob(in a good way) and I think it's good for our industry to have seasoned talent doing quality work. As I get a little older, sometimes I fear this is a young man's game and I'll age out at some point. Staying sharp is a constant concern of mine now that I have a family to look out for. 

On Sun, Jan 5, 2014 at 10:48 PM, Rob Birnholz <absolutemotion@birnholz.com> wrote:

Teddy, I'm not going to get into the specifics of what I bill on a public forum like this. I will say my average rate works out to higher than some on this list, but I'm not the most expensive guy around either.

I'm a multi- purpose one man band, so depending on what services I'm performing at any given time my rate is variable (I only occasionally work outside my own facility). The people I work with and those who have known me a long time appreciate my strengths and understand what I bring to the table. I agree my reel is dated, but a good amount of my work is either proprietary or difficult to show. I'm also not much of a web guy (obviously), so my site isn't that shiny and new either. But the clientele I deal with appreciate my talents and the content on my site is directed at specific market-- and generally they seem pretty responsive.

You said it seemed I was bragging. Hardly. In fact you'll notice I rarely talk about myself or my work around here. But I am proud that I've survived this long, in spite of myself. So that must mean I'm doing *something* right.

I'm in awe of much of the talent in this community. I'm never going to be a great artist, but I'm not going to sell myself short either.

FWIW, age does bring a certain amount of wisdom (although I still try to improve my skills every day), and having a bit more experience than I did when I was 30 helps justify a somewhat higher rate.

All that said, its not like I'm getting rich at this job. But overall I can't complain too loudly.

(BTW, I'd be happy to talk about my rates - in private - with Rachel or even you Teddy. Feel free to give me a call.)

Switching gears a tad (to get back on topic). I live in Central Florida, and while its nice there are other parts of the country (or world) I wouldn't mind moving to. But I've noticed that rates in this business don't seem to fluctuate too much market to market. I'd probably earn the same $ amount if I lived in NY, SF or LA, but my cost of living would skyrocket.

At 25 years old, that probably wouldn't be as important. But these days I'd have to seriously downsize if I moved, and I doubt my wife would go for that.

There's a lot more to what you earn (and what you're worth) than just the dollars and cents of an hourly rate.

/rant off

Rob Birnholz
Absolute Motion Graphics, Inc.
Longwood, Florida
www.absolutemotiongraphics.com

(sent from a mobile device)

On Jan 5, 2014, at 1:57 PM, Teddy Gage <teddygage@gmail.com> wrote:

> What's your rate Rob? Normally I wouldn't ask, but you have certainly raised the question with a statement like that

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