Thread: Thoughts on Pricing?

Hi all,

For 1/2 hr private shows I charge $200 + travel. However I live in an area with very small towns around me and one of their chambers of commerce has contacted me about my prices. I quoted this and have been wondering ever since if perhaps I'm overpriced? I am curious what you charge and if there are exceptions and differences?

The answers to this question are going to really vary depending on where you live. For a half hour show, I charge $230, but I am in Queens, NY (which is NYC), so everything is more expensive here. I wouldn't charge the same thing if I lived in a smaller town, most likely.

Can you find out what other dancers in your area are charging? $200 for 30 minutes does not sound like too much, but it may be if other dancers in your area charge way less.

I'm in Portland Maine, which is not a small town, but it isn;t exactly a big city. The going rate around here is $125 for a 15 minute performance, plus $30/hr for travel. For longer shows, I charge more. I'd price a 1/2 hour at about $175-200

Hey Brea,
If you go here:
Standard rates and professional links and guidelines
and click on the "standard rates" link at the bottom you'll find a list with all sorts of rates around the country.
I don't think your rates are high at all. I charge $225 for anything up to 20-25 minutes. More for longer shows, more for travel, more for weddings, more for people who are well, "needy" etc.
Even if others around you are charging way less- look at what ALL your expenses are- classes, workshops, music, costume, props, practice time....all that invested BEFORE the gig - Then of course the prep time on the day of, travel time and the show. If others around you are charging way less I'd try to find a way to encourage them to raise their rates to something that loses less money, 'cos honestly that's what they're doing: working at a loss.

Thanks Samira! It looks like I am equivalent to the rates in my area.

To others: there is a tendency to dance for free in the smaller towns, I have noticed...sometimes nobody is going to hire someone who wants money.

Originally Posted by nayastrance

I'm in Portland Maine, which is not a small town, but it isn;t exactly a big city. The going rate around here is $125 for a 15 minute performance, plus $30/hr for travel. For longer shows, I charge more. I'd price a 1/2 hour at about $175-200

Momentary threadjack...
Hey Nayastrance, I didn't realize you were in Portland! I grew up north of you in Mattawamkeag (close-ish to Lincoln.) We always stop at Captain Newarks when we roll thru' Portland to visit 'Keag... now I need a Lobster chowder... one can not get good chowder in Tennessee,f:: ...

And now back to your regularly scheduled topic...

Brea, that's the going rate for a 1/2 show here too, of course, weddings and other events requiring specialty performances or extended travel (outside city limits) are more.

I live in a kind-of small city that leans towards the low-income side, so rates tend to be low. $200 for a private show? Totally unheard of. A few days ago I was thinking about how much to charge, and I asked a guy I know who's a stripper how much he charges- $250 PLUS he requires tips.
So no, I don't think $200 is overpriced at all.

sorry to hijack, but can someone tell me more about travel fees.

Originally Posted by Devona-Ankhsunamon

sorry to hijack, but can someone tell me more about travel fees.

I charge per mile (50 cents a mile) for anything outside my metro area. This is for roundtrip. I put a clause in my contract:

"An additional travel fee is required for roundtrip travel if the location of the event is outside of the Triangle area. The Triangle is defined as Apex, Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Garner, Hillsborough, Morrisville, and Raleigh. A travel fee of $0.50 per mile will be calculated once Andalee arrives at event location. Travel fees are nonrefundable."

So, Andalee, you calculate your travel and tell the client when you get there? How does that work? I would think it would be awkward with the client not knowing exactly how much they are going to pay until you get there, no? Does anyone ever disagree with your calculations?

If you wanted to do something likethis, you should be able to get a rough estimate from google maps or mapquest. You can ask for directions from point A to point B and it will show you the route, miles and average time it takes to travel.

Originally Posted by songofincense

Momentary threadjack...
Hey Nayastrance, I didn't realize you were in Portland! I grew up north of you in Mattawamkeag (close-ish to Lincoln.) We always stop at Captain Newarks when we roll thru' Portland to visit 'Keag... now I need a Lobster chowder... one can not get good chowder in Tennessee,f:: ...

..cr.: Sadly Cap'n Newicks closed this year. A'yuh. Still plenty of good chowders to be had. Me, I don't eat seafood so the glory of lobsterland is lost on me. I'm a transplant anyways, I grew up in S.F. California and moved here 10 years ago after college. I love Maine though. Everyone should come visit and we have just about the nicest, most supportive communities of dancers.

Originally Posted by Devona-Ankhsunamon

sorry to hijack, but can someone tell me more about travel fees.

I charge $30/hr each way for travel for locations outside a 15 mile radius of my home. If a client lives 20-30 miles away, I'll only charge them $30 round trip. If they're over 30 miles away, its at least $30 each way. If its going to take me 1.5 hours to get there they're going to pay $90 roundtrip. Its not just the cost of gas someone is paying for, its your time. If you are traveling 1 or more hours to get somewhere, its unlikely you will be able to take a second gig that night (and your clients don't need to know how many or few gigs you book in a night), and you certainly won't be enjoying any personal time that night. Plus if you're traveling that far you're running a huge safety risk if you don't bring an escort or buddy with you and you'll want to offer that person some compensation.

Originally Posted by danielabellydance

So, Andalee, you calculate your travel and tell the client when you get there? How does that work? I would think it would be awkward with the client not knowing exactly how much they are going to pay until you get there, no? Does anyone ever disagree with your calculations?

When I give them their first quote, I tell them my fee and then say, "I'm charging extra since it is outside the area", then I Google Map it and get the estimated mileage and give them a ballpark before the event. I've only had to do this once and the guy sort of had a slight issue with it, but then I agreed to drive the route he suggested (there were a bunch of ways to get there, and he wanted me to use the one that was the shortest distance) and he paid in the end with no problems.

So since the math works out well, if I travel 30 miles one way...it would cost $30 roundtrip. That's about $30 per hour.

I know the triangle. My nephew(with his dad) lives in Apex. My sis used to, until she moved in with potential hubby #3. thanks for the travel fee info.

Ok.

Small town in question has written me back asking if I could do an hour for $200 (my fee for half hour shows).

What do I say to them?

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

Ok.

Small town in question has written me back asking if I could do an hour for $200 (my fee for half hour shows).

What do I say to them?

Tell them they really don't want a dancer for an hour - a lot of people think that they do, but no one can pay attention to a dance show that long (and honestly, what are you going to do for an hour?). I always tell people that they really only want 20-30 minutes of dancing, tops, because after that their guests will become restless and will be ready to move on. Be nice but firm, people usually understand.

Yeah, or you could tell them that you can be there for an hour, but you will only dance for 20-30 minutes. But that for a little bit of an extra fee, you wouldn't mind hanging out for pictures and stuff. ;)

I always tell people that I don't do shows longer than 30 minutes for private parties (40 minutes for nursing homes and other audience-interaction stuff). No one wants to watch one person dance for an hour, no matter how good they are!

Thanks everyone...

Do you think I should bother explaining why we charge what we do? This is what I have currently:

Dear So and So,


Thank you for your interest. I am sorry, but I only offer discounted rates for charity work. The half-hour fee is $200 for (in-town), plus there would be a travel fee to go out to *****. Many people assume they'd like an hour of dance, but generally speaking 20-30 minutes is enough; the audience is generally restless and ready to move on after that.



What I could do, for $300 (this includes the travel fee), would be to perform my half-hour set and then stay for the entire hour for photographs, etc. There is also the option of a shorter performance, or a performance and mini lesson.



I would love to perform in **** and we can discuss this further if you are still interested.



Sincerely,



Brea Morgiane

If they want dancing spread out over the hour you could offer 3 ten minute sets or two 15 minute sets over the course of an hour. You could point out the amazing savings by saying:
"I will do 3 10-minute sets in one hour for $250, that's a savings of 40% off what I would charge for a full hour of dancing"
$300 would be 25% savings
$350 be 15% savings.
I wouldn't do multiple sets in an hour for less then $300. The client is still getting entertainment spread out over 1 hour, you're still only dancing for a total of 30 minutes and you're getting paid a fair wage. This is the tactic I always take when someone wants a long block--they don't realize that 1 hour of non-stop dancing is boring for people but 2 or 3 sets is fun--people who arrive late still get to see th dancer. You could even offer a costume change or prop for an additional fee to mix up one of the sets.

I'm glad we discussed travel fees. I had my first customer today* ask me if I charged a travel fee. It's about 45 minutes away, but in a town I know well as it's near my hometown. So I "felt" like it was nearby even though it isn't! I also didn't know what I charge for travel so I was just like "Um, don't worry about a travel fee - it's not that far."

* first customer where I am actually free and available to do the job. I started advertising 3 months ago and have had about 5 calls, all of which I had to turn down or pass on to other people.

OK. Response to the above mail was this:

We are a non-profit-501(c)(3) organization. I am checking with the ***** Phil-Am organization to see if they would also perform the same night. We could combine you and them to get a nice hour, hour and a half, show. I will get back to you.


Thoughts? What does this mean? I thought they were the chamber of commerce.

It means you get to wait. It sounds as though they are looking for an evenings entertainment as opposed to something to liven up the party.

Kick back and don't worry about it. You'll know soon enough.

{{{HUGS}}}

I charge $200 for about a 30 min show. Alot of dancer in this area (Raleigh, NC) charge about $175. I dont split my show up, b/c I want to get in and out fast. I will hang around for pictures, but not long.

the wedding I was supposed to do, had me doing 3 ten min routines. Which I liked the idea of.

Oh. What I meant was, do you think they mentioned that they were a non profit to get a discount?

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

Oh. What I meant was, do you think they mentioned that they were a non profit to get a discount?

Yes, they did. You should check to make sure they really are a nonprofit and then offer them the nonprofit rate (make one up if you don't have one). This could even be before they respond to you about their decision.

Oh and it is very common for Chambers to be nonprofits. I know the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber in NC is a 501(c)3.

OK I gave them my discounted rate. *sigh*

Thanks so much everyone for all your ideas and thoughts.

brea -

Don't give them your discounted price unless they ask you for it. Simply because somethign is a not for profit does not mean they are a charity. many not for profits actually pay their board members, etc, very well. Personally, I would not have offered them a discount.

{{{HUGS}}}