I hate the whole "well, if you want me to do more then push boxes, you have to pay me X....". When I freelance I charge the same no matter what I'm doing. My skill set is sitting there, if you want to use it you can, if you don't, that is your business. Either way my ass isn't on my couch so you are paying me what I'm worth. If I get a schedule out of the person I'm working for I can
play a
bit, otherwise I'm going to assume it is an 18-20 hour festival day that I won't get lunch or dinner and will end the day needing another day to get my life and body back in order. I'm also in a well paying benefited salaried job, so freelance work for me is just hobby money... so if I'm going to spend a day off with you I'm going to make you pay dearly for it.
Charge what you think you are worth. Odds are you are getting 1099'd, so add at least 30% to whatever your ideal "hourly" rate is. If you are doing the legit stuff and carrying insurance and such... add 50-100%. Many freelancers I know will also
roll in the cost of being available. So, if you
book them for a Saturday only vs the whole week you pay a lot more. If you
book them for a few weeks you will get more of a deal. There is a right cost to everything... but if you want me for just a day a few times a month or just once at all I'm not going to come cheap.
Talking number a
bit, in my area a
box pusher is worth 16/hr. A good tech is worth 20-25/hr. A PM is with 25-40 an hour. All of that is based on a W-2 slot. For a 1099 add at least 30% to that.... and overtime after 8 hours. So, 250 for a
box pusher, 300-350 for a tech, 400-600 for a PM. If its a festival day add a hundred to everyone.