How much time do you spend on your gigs?

[dukanu]

Reply to @emostafa: I dont know about banners and flyers but I can tell for sure it is impossible for a logo design to spend just 10 minutes. That mean a random job done with no research. Thats a super bad thing for a logo designer…

[francute]

like anybody says,… it depends on the gig… for basic gig around 30mins- 1 hour… for some, even 4-5 hours…

[mallika255]

Like 18 to 20 a day… and got good response. 72 orders just waiting for level 2 bedge…

[mjgenius]

depends on the order

[scottmcfadden]

6 hours for one gig ? seriously unlikely this would be true.

If it is I wonder how you pay your rent ,electricity and eat.

While for you this is a hobby for others its slightly more , though to be fair if someone did actually order from my one and only gig it could take me anywhere from 20 minutes to 4 hours especially if they sent me high res stuff to fix.

Fortunately for me there are many people prepared to work like you for less then 50 cents each hour.

Must admit I will leave my gig as active despite this.

[ramesh_behera]

i spend 6 hours but didn’t get any work

[deanstokes]

I think there’s a few things at play here. Firstly, $5 is worth varying amounts in different countries. Secondly, people have different ideas about how much their time is worth.



I’ve tried to structure my gig in such a way that almost every order includes an extra. This means that I earn an average amount per hour over time. It means that it’s fine if I need to spend a little extra time on one order compared to another because, over time, my earnings will balance. My average order amount fluctuates between $16 - $19.



The quickest I can create a PowerPoint template from scratch including the time taken to look at the information, visit the website, download assets etc is 7 mins. Whether someone has ordered express delivery or not has no bearing on the time I take. The prices of my other extras pay me for the extra time it takes to carry out the work.



I do think it’s very important to work out how much time your gig will take and carefully think about what you can realistically offer for $5. You don’t want to burn out doing 18 hour days and only have $20 to show for it…

[writerlisaz]

It’s certainly true that in different countries, $5 is worth very different amounts. Because I’m in the US, for $5 I will spend 15 minutes and no more than 30 working on an order. I make sure my gigs offered don’t take longer than that, and if it does, I will change what I offer. I believe that I average $20-30 and sometimes more an hour, due to extras and things that don’t take as long. I’m offering a professional service and need to make a wage that fits that, and I do.



That said, if you’re talking about the time it takes to deliver a gig, then it’s definitely more than a few minutes. My deadline time is currently at 7 days, but I’ll turn most orders around in 2-3 days at most.

[sabiansoldier]

I rarely do anything for five dollars, and when I do I can complete the gig in 2 seconds (just the kind of service I do allows me to use software that does all the work for me lol)



Most of the time, I’ll be handling orders worth 40-50USD a piece, those I’ll spend an hour or two on.

[contentmachines]

Novice will take more time from experts… Because here expertness and hand speed talks…If you look between both of them, then you will see the real difference… @};- @};-

[muradbougraine]

It’s based on type of the gig, as a web designer It take much time to finish it,

[drribroshan]

It is based on the how big is the order, some days it spread about 5-6 hours. May be less.

[cutler4life]

I specialize in article writing and forum posting. It depends how much information the buyer gives you. I have a few consistent buyers that know exactly how I like information displayed so I can quickly write them a great article. Usually, if it requires extra research I will kindly ask the buyer to purchase the research extra associated with the gig. I see anything between 5-20 minutes as reasonable to spend on a 400-600 word article. Forum posting is a different story. Signing up and finding the right times to post takes more time, but it is also more enjoyable than just writing the articles for bloggers, etc. Hope I gave a little bit of useful insight!

[jamesbulls]

I never spend more than 15 minutes per $4. Anything more than that and I’m robbing myself blind.

[billykindell]

Reply to @sara1984:

Yeah I work during the day doing something totally different. And I aim to do 2 gigs every hour. Also, not using this to get rich 😛 Just a little bit of extra cash!

[abigailsmycken]

I sometimes spend a few hours, but that’s because I do handmade items and sometimes I’m not pleased with the end result and start over. Most of the times I spend about 30-45 minutes per product.

[vainpaper]

I do graphic design and I have a spreadsheet to keep track of my time so that I know what I am making per hour.



I will enter each job’s cost, then track the time I spend per job. The spreadsheet totals it all and spits out my hourly rate. I typically hover around $50 an hour. $75 is the goal.



If I have a customer who repeatedly causes my hourly wage to drop on the spreadsheet due to bad communication, unwillingness to pay for revisions, asking for more than the gig price covers, etc. then I drop them like a bad habit and spend more time focusing on the profitable customers. It has served me well.



This method has helped me keep a close eye on my time to make sure I’m being efficient and profitable. I’d be happy to share the spreadsheet with formulas and all! 🙂

[vainpaper]

Reply to @dukanu: Depends on the logo, depends on the client.

[vainpaper]

Reply to @ranger1124: It’s all about the templates baby!

[writerlisaz]

Reply to @vainpaper: That’s a fantastic hourly rate! Not sure I will ever get to that as a proofreader/copyeditor, but I aim (and mostly achieve) about $30 an hour, which is a nice wage for my profession, especially since I’m essentially a beginner in this field.

[elinge]

last night i spend 5 - 6 hours on a project for a buyer, of course im not charging just $5 bucks for that.



Thats why it is so important to clarify on your gig description that the buyer has to contact you first before placing an order

[vainpaper]

Reply to @writerlisaz: $30 an hour is great! When I was a beginning in graphic design I made $10-$15 an hour. How do you measure it or keep track of it?

[writerlisaz]

Reply to @vainpaper: It’s pretty much my estimation, and what I aim for. It varies, but if I get close (or even $20 an hour), I’m happy. And even though I’m “new” at this gig, I do have experience doing it over many years, just not so officially.

[vainpaper]

Reply to @writerlisaz: Got it. One thing I did notice was that when I began actively tracking my work time with an online app vs. mentally I was much more aware of my labor cost. It made me tighten up my system and cut the waste.

[nivvie]

For most gigs, I try to get them done within 15 - 20 minutes. Some do take longer, and I’m happy to treat each individual gig with the respect it deserves.