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

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.

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.

Theo's writing style is lively and at times, entertaining. The multimedia section is starting to show its age, but this is still a very worthwhile read.

This is an excellent book for Graphic Designers starting a business. Los of helpful information and tips and things to consider. It is an easy read. Overall excellent book. I've bought several books starting my business and this one was the best.

Of all the books in my business/design library, I think this one has proven to be the most valuable. While I am not quite to the point where I can reasonably charge some of the prices that Theo recommends, I still feel like this book is a great resource for much of the business of design. If anything, I think this book does a good job of building confidence in pricing and business as a whole. The writing style is very smooth and easy to follow, and her personal accounts help tie in real-world experiences to justify her recommendations. Theo Williams also does a pretty good job of covering a broader sense of project management and client relations, though not in too great of detail (which is okay, as that is not the point of the book). The end of the book provides us with some rough business forms (invoices, estimates, etc.) which I also found greatly helpful. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a better grasp on how to go about figuring out prices for design projects.