How much should I ask for (marketing coordinator, freelance, $1m company) (interviews, job)

[mysticpenguin]

Hi everyone,

A few weeks ago I was here asking for advice about transitioning from medical to dental office management. I did 4 working interviews, received a conditional offer pending background check, and continued working under the table pending the background check results. Everyone loved me; I know I did an excellent job. However, the market is down, and they lost a dental assistant, etc., so they did and do not need someone full time at my intended position.

Instead, they offered me a freelance marketing opportunity, as my marketing materials (event invitations, social media, direct mail and email campaigns) got great results from their patients.

I am obviously bummed, but I do really enjoy marketing.

My question is, how much should I charge per project or hourly? The office currently has 1 managing dentist (cosmetic and implant dentistry, but of course they do everything else), specialists 1x/month per specialty, one dental assistant, and two hygienists. It's a $1m/year office. I don't know if any of that helps. They definitely need help with marketing... for the first time in almost 30 years, their hygienists can't stay busy and their dentist is almost never busy.

I just don't know what to ask for, as marketing has been one (large) aspect of a salaried job for me before.

[DCmum]

Have you done any research on how much these positions pay? You should at least know how much you are worth, or the minimum you should accept to do this kind of job and then go from there. You can also ask them if they had a number in mind and go from there, but you def. need to do your research

[Schermerhorn]

Originally Posted by DCmum

Have you done any research on how much these positions pay? You should at least know how much you are worth, or the minimum you should accept to do this kind of job and then go from there. You can also ask them if they had a number in mind and go from there, but you def. need to do your research

Isn't that what she's doing right now? Asking around on the internet? Anecdotal info that comes from these kinds of discussions is still info, after all. If she has no idea where to start, there's nothing wrong with asking on a forum like this one.

[grmi66]

I used to pay my graphic designer who designed all of my print work and did a little bit of web site updates for me $65/Hour. Plus they billed me in 15 minute increments, so I wasn't charged a full hour if all they did was add an name to a business card template. If I had a bigger project I would negotiate the hourly rate into a rate for the whole completed project. An example was re-designing my company logo. Think we agreed on something like $500 so we did not have to keep track of each and every email and phone call that it took to finish the project.

[manapua12]

Have no idea where you are located nor what the market is in your area, but I would not be surprised if they would only be willing to pay you 'per hour' what you would have made with the other job you were to get, or what they would pay their receptionist.

I think you will be met with a big blank stare if you ask for $65/hour. I"ve seen ads for Marketing Coordinator type roles here in Honolulu that start at $11.00/hour, and yes that is absurd, but that is Hawaii for you. Of course, there are similar roles in other companies here that will pay much more, so there is a wide net.

Don't price yourself out of anything. Maybe ask them what they are willing to pay?

[Mr.BadGuy]

Best thing to do is ask:

1. Is this W2 or 1099/corp-to-corp? Companies classify freelancers in different ways. In NYC, "freelance" is an unofficial code word for "temp" in many fields.
2. Do you have a budget or budget range for marketing this year?

My neighbor is a marketing manager and he's been given ranges of anything between $25-100 an hour. If you need the income, you don't want to price yourself out of the offer, but it's just as bad to leave money on the table.