I am terribly sorry, I am British, and this is really most awkward.
But we need to talk about money.
We need to talk about it. We need to get comfortable managing it, accounting for it, asking for it, and getting paid what we are owed - because no one else is going to do it for us. And this is just as relevant for employed remote workers as it is for freelancers and solopreneurs, in a world where everyone is trying to figure out location-based pay and infinitely flexible contracts and packages.
It starts with knowing and believing what you are worth in the first place, so that you can confidently articulate and negotiate from a position of strength.
It's time to shift the conversation to the value you create for your clients/managers, and position your work in relation to that, rather than an exchange of your time for their money.
I hope you find the podcast helpful, in thinking about your worth and how to frame it.
(And if you prefer to listen to podcasts on Youtube, you can catch and subscribe to ALL our episodes right here!)
In some ways, it's even harder in employment, because hirers and recruiters are terribly shy about stating numbers. Yup, even the ones who aren't British! When you see something like 'competitive salary', how on earth can you make an informed decision as to whether it's worth your while applying?
Especially in knowledge-work industries, where rates and value-added can vary tenfold, based on individual experience and skill.
As someone pointed out in the Facebook group recently, this is actually one place where the freelance gig platforms generally do better, with rates and project prices clearly displayed, and easy to filter on by search.
When it comes to figuring out your own rates and what you need to charge, it's essential to remember the difference between freelancing and taking a salary - everything else you have to pay for and account for, from sick days to retirement benefits, as well as all the un-billable time you spend on admin and prospecting. That's the reason I use Xolo in Estonia and Entre Trámites in Spain, to ruthlessly minimise the time I spend on the essential admin tasks of solopreneurship, which eat into my fee-earning hours.
Even then, you need to reverse engineer how much to charge for the time you can bill, if only to figure out whether you have a viable business on your hands, or a full-time hobby.
Remote Work Spain community member Pekka Gaiser has built a fantastic tool to help you work this out, based on self-employment in Spain.
He's offering this incredibly useful calculator for free right now, but do come and thank him and share your feedback over in the Facebook group. It's a very powerful tool, that you can work with to see the effect of changing each variable. - what if I wanted to reduce to a 4 day week, what if I wanted to take August off completely... (I can dream, right?)
Knowledge is power
Know your needs, know your worth. Banish the impostor police, and any squeamishness or hangups you might have about talking money.
