Reduce rate when learning on the job?

Question

Is it standard to reduce your rate if it means you're learning a new skill for the job? E.g. I am soon to be taking on some animation work for a client of mine. They did originally ask if I knew of any animators but I said I'd be happy to give it a go myself and that I'd just need to do a bit more practice beforehand (I'm a graphic designer who has a little motion experience).

I was thinking of capping my cost at a certain amount, or working for a reduced rate.

Would that be pretty standard to account for the extra time it will take me to produce it? I feel it wouldn't be right to bill them my usual rate otherwise it would work out a lot more costly for them to go with myself over someone more experienced.

Answer 1

Don't charge the client at all for the time you spend learning how to produce their deliverables.

Do charge the client your regular hourly rate for the time you spend working to produce their deliverables.

You offered to learn how to do this. In that case the burden is on you to spend your time, not the clients time, on how to produce the end result.

If a client asks me to learn something new in order to produce a deliverable then the cost burden is on them and I bill the client for that time. If I offer to learn something new in order to produce a deliverable than the cost burden is my responsibility.