Lessons

Days booked, and how long a day runs

What it is

How many days you worked across twelve months, and the true length of one of those days.

Why it matters

Day rates hide inside them. A rate that looks strong across an eight-hour day looks very different across a thirteen-hour one, and event and production work is rarely eight hours.

The method

Count the days you were actually booked in the last twelve months. Then the honest length of a working day, door to door. Multiply, and that is the year's hours.

Example

Danish worked 200 days at about 11 hours. That is 2,200 hours for PKR 2,400,000 — PKR 1,091 an hour. His day rate had told him a much better story.