How much to charge as a forum Administrator?

[Mike30]

Hello, I have a friend who's running a small community on Discord.
They want to move to a self-hosted forum and they want me as the tech Admin. Because they do not have experience with software and they are not techs at all.
I would like to help them, but I can't compromise my time to do it for free, specially if I will have obligations as a forum Administrator.

Any Idea how should I charge for my service? What would you consider to be a fair charge to be their permanent/on demand tech Admin?
Monthly? One time? etc...
Thanks

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Would $250 a week be too much to ask?

Of course, you'd probably be expected to be active daily.

 

[Mike30]

Would $250 a week be too much to ask?

Of course, you'd probably be expected to be active daily.

I don't know, I am just asking to learn based on other admins experiences.
I have a fixed rule for building websites. I do not touch or do any website for someone else, simple or complicated, for less than my starting charge and it starts at $3k. I don't lower a penny from it. But I have no idea as a forum Admin. Because it's not just to build something, it's to maintain it.

 

[Cedric]

The first step is to get a clear overview of what tasks need to be done. If there’s a lot on your plate, consider using a project management system to keep things organized.

You have several options for how to structure your fees: you could charge per project, set a weekly or monthly rate, or go by the hour. Which approach makes the most sense is something you’ll want to discuss with your friend. Key points to consider are how much they’re willing to invest, your minimum rate, and the estimated hours you’ll need to spend on the setup and ongoing management.

For context, I typically charge around $30 per hour for setup and general management work. This isn’t highly specialized developer work, so you don’t need to set an overly high rate. If the setup (e.g., board installation, domain configuration, and general settings) will take roughly 10 hours, you could consider it a project in itself and discuss a project fee. For example, if the total comes to $300 but your friend’s budget is closer to $250, you could work with them to find a middle ground.

For ongoing management, you could charge hourly or set a weekly or monthly rate based on the time you’ll dedicate. And remember, you can always adjust your rate once you’ve had some time to gauge the workload.

 

[Tracy]

Would $250 a week be too much to ask?

Of course, you'd probably be expected to be active daily.

Yeah.. I would not ask that for server admin duties for a month... which albeit not as intensive is more impactful if it is not done correctly.
Ultimately there is the need to detail what those duties entail.
If it was simple back end maintenance I could see $50-$75 a week as long as there was no content creation required and the site was fairly standard and you were not required to get involved in moderation.

For context, I typically charge around $30 per hour for setup and general management work.

You are cheaper than I am (but I also have priced myself high enough to discourage folks wanting to pay it since I really no longer desire to do it).
Even at the period that I was actively involved in doing server maintenance, my hourly rates for Linux was $50, my Windows rate was $75 (I hate Windows Sever) and my AS/400 was $135 ($200 if certain needs entered the requirements). All those encompassed a 2 hour minimum and no travel time (that was extra at $30 an hour).
And yes, I made good money when I was doing it.... but ultimately age and a lack of desire pushed me to price myself out so I didn't have to say no to a client. Even now I still have the occasional client willing to pay due to past interactions. I really need to raise my rates to discourage that or simply tell them I'm retired.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Just don't undersell yourselves folks.

If you have a skill or a trade and you're good at it, show your worth by charging a fair amount for both you and the forum.

My suggested price might be a little much, but I always go for the higher end.

I earn $1,000 a month as a Community Manager for a paid online community.

 

[Mike30]

Just don't undersell yourselves folks.

If you have a skill or a trade and you're good at it, show your worth by charging a fair amount for both you and the forum.

My suggested price might be a little much, but I always go for the higher end.

I earn $1,000 a month as a Community Manager for a paid online community.

If one put together the set of skills learned through the years(over 18 years in my case), countless of hours in front of a monitor, countless of hours learning all sort of things. Add on top of that, the responsibility that carries such positions, Still, $1000/month I feel it's still nothing. That's why I don't even consider to build a website for anyone for less than 3k. I repeat, even if it's a static website with 5 pages. My face/name it's in it, so I am responsible for it. It's more of my commitment than the actual thing that I value most. If they become my client, they can be sure I am committed to solve/improve their business overall, and that, that it's not cheap.

 

[AWS]

I used to charge $75 an hour to manage Windows Servers. That was 20 years ago. Managing them meant I kept the sql, exchange, web and ldap servers all online and functioning. It was a 24/7 job at times.

I don't know what the rate would be now a days.