Drafting/Design earnings range

[jmyers]

What would be the expected average range of gross earnings for a self employed, one person residential design/drafting office that is competitively priced, has adequate skills, has been in business a few years, and provides quality service in the Midwest (specifically the Indiana area)?

 

Is there enough residential design/drafting work in the Midwest for a person to have 40-50+ hours of work per week?

 

Thanks to all who reply!

[HumbleChief]

I would imagine the markets in "The Midwest (specifically the Indiana area) are as specific and unique as they are in any other part of the country. For example 'specifically the California area'. Specifically which part of California? San Francisco? Los Angeles? San Diego? Or tiny hamlets like Groveland? Or Briceburg? 

 

So are you in Indianapolis? Fort Wayne? Kempton? Cutler? The point is there is no singular answer as each market is completely different than another. So the answer to your question is an obvious yes, there's "enough residential design/drafting work in the Midwest for a person to have 40-50+ hours of work per week?" Your local area? Another question entirely and only you can answer that by doing some local research. Best of luck and as always the best place to start is by getting your toes wet first and testing the local market.

[rgardner]

@joey_martin Probably has a little more local input but if you look at many designers they also provide remote services designing homes all over the country and even the world.  As a general rule a Qualified, Experienced Designer who is proficient with their program charge an average of around $100-135 per hour or the eq. of that in piece work depending on the business model.  Many designers will be on an average of 6 figures as long as they are diligent and know what they are doing.

[HumbleChief]

21 minutes ago, rgardner said:

@joey_martin Probably has a little more local input but if you look at many designers they also provide remote services designing homes all over the country and even the world.  As a general rule a Qualified, Experienced Designer who is proficient with their program charge an average of around $100-135 per hour or the eq. of that in piece work depending on the business model.  Many designers will be on an average of 6 figures as long as they are diligent and know what they are doing.

...yes, depending greatly on your local area.

[joey_martin]

There's no work in Indiana...none....better move on 

[joey_martin]

JK. Seriously though, depending where in Indiana can make a huge difference. I am less than hour north on Monument Circle, and yet don't get a lot of work out of Indy. Locally, the jurisdictions don't even require plans. "Builders" are getting permits from sketches and ideas and a piece of paper. Remodels? Forget about it. I have just recently starting getting referrals for those. I hate doing them, but....

 

My biggest repeat clients are in Ohio (2), South Carolina, and Jacksonville Florida. One builder in the metro Indy are uses me, everything else is out of my area. For larger contracts and builders that are going to use my services long term, I travel. The only feasible way I could get to where I wanted to be, was to get on a plane every now and then. 

 

Can you make 6 figures? Hmm....maybe. Can you bill 6 figures? Yes. But it will take getting into your local HBA and putting in some work. Getting on a plane now and then will help too.

[winterdd]

I asked this question a while back and wondered the same thing after being part time for 17 years with my residential design work. Bust your butt, make relationships, be patient with clients and 6 figures is attainable. Charging by the sq foot has worked best for me. Do renderings as well, not just houseplans. Some people want to see color options of their home before spending the money. I charge 100% up front for renderings. People get very excited when you send them a modeled version of their home with different paint options. Every thing else is a down payment and then final payment. I will tell you right now, CA is the only way I can do this full time. Autocad just won't cut it and I am not willing to learn another software if I don't have too.

[winterdd]

4 hours ago, rgardner said:

@joey_martin Probably has a little more local input but if you look at many designers they also provide remote services designing homes all over the country and even the world.  As a general rule a Qualified, Experienced Designer who is proficient with their program charge an average of around $100-135 per hour or the eq. of that in piece work depending on the business model.  Many designers will be on an average of 6 figures as long as they are diligent and know what they are doing.

Last sentence is very true......you have to hustle and be willing to receive any feedback from builder's. Always keep learning more.

Will there be slow times? Maybe,,,but that's not really your fault. You can't help if new builds slow down. However, that's when you rely on additions and reno's.

[robdyck]

2 hours ago, ChiefUserBigRob said:

However, that's when you rely on additions and reno's

Slow times? No! I say fast times! That's when your speed increases on your mountain bike and you start placing in races!

[Christina_Girerd]

There likely is enough work, but as has been said, you will likely have to find out the best way to get to those potential clients in your area (or remote) and help them realize they need your services.  I've found connections with builders very helpful too, with referrals going both ways to keep it good for both sides.  I've also done remote work, non-contract docs or 3D so I didn't need to deal with licensing issues.  I mostly do remodels as our local area is already very built up.

 

Don't know if you any similar opportunities like this in your area, but here's a not so common marketing tip that worked well for me.  When my kids were young and their schools would have silent auctions for some fundraiser, I would print up several nice flyers for a free two-hour consultation with an architect - "Thinking of remodeling?  Let's discuss making your dream a reality." - with nice 3D renderings on it.  I would get a job out of every "free" two hour consultation, every time.  (And I made sure to add a note on it "Please schedule before ---" some date within a month or so, as that also motivated them to get started.)  I normally do a free initial consult anyway, so I didn't lose out at all.  I got motivated people who had often "been thinking about it" but hadn't gotten around to starting the process, so this made it easy for them and once they started talking about their project and I'd give some feedback, they'd get excited and want to keep going.  Other charitable groups often do similar types of fund-raisers.  Works for raffles too.  And those jobs always led to other referrals. 

 

As others mentioned, relationships & connections are key.  Organizations I was connected with such as schools, church, clubs, professional societies, all led to jobs.  When I started out, I joined some groups specifically to build those connections. 

 

I also remember getting some helpful advice on pricing my services when I first started out.  I was told to set my hourly fee high enough so that I looked competent compared to other professionals, but to feel free to not charge for everything I did, so the client always felt they were getting a good deal.  I.e. it's better to charge $100/hour and bill 10 hours of work, than to charge $20/hour and bill 50 hours of work.  Exaggerated example, but I found it to be good advice.  Also helpful for when you are getting into a new area of work, such as virtual reality modeling, when you are a little slower as you learn.

 

 

 

[rgardner]

7 hours ago, Christina_Girerd said:

I also remember getting some helpful advice on pricing my services when I first started out.  I was told to set my hourly fee high enough so that I looked competent compared to other professionals, but to feel free to not charge for everything I did, so the client always felt they were getting a good deal.

Excellent advice.  It also helps weed out the clients that you don't really want.