I completley understand why a professional logo cost as much as it does. But I am just starting out with a very small company and I do not have the $2000 to spend on a logo. I don’t even know yet, if the business will succeed or not – of course I say it will, but I am sure all the other businesses which started out and folded within a year thought the same thing. What is someone like me to do ? I have been reading through design processes, looking at good and bad logos and I just hope I can come up with something suitable. I wish there was a way to pay according to the company success, which may well mean paying the designer over a couple of years. I know the logo is going to stay with me for the lifetime of the company and thats why it is so hard to design it and so scary to make the final desicion. Also as I am just starting out, the business goal or target market may still change. What if in a year I find that certain things sell better than others or that a completley different target market than what I expected buys my products ? It’s not that hard to revise my business plan, but I am not sure how well it goes down with clients if you change your logo.
This is not a rant against the price you charge for a logo, considering how much work goes into them, I think they are very reasonable, it’s just a very big “sigh” from someone who wishes she would have the money for a professional logo….

I usually try to find out what the market will bear in their area. A little online research will help with this. I look for industry standards in their area as well. There are some great salary surveys out there from places like Aquent, AIGA and RGD. I do not take jobs from freelance sites either although I have signed up for a few just to get a feeling of what is out there. Never sell yourself short. Trust your gut instinct on projects that come your way. it will probably be right, in my experience. talk to the potential client at least sometimes what they are asking for is not necessarily what they need. Finding clients like that takes work and experience. Hope this helps.

Thanks!