IAB
Dude I gotta step in and say these numbers just don’t make sense. Perhaps in ID wonderland they do, or if you run your own company they might but lets do the math:
$125 x 40/hr = $5000/wk
$5000 x 52/wk = $260,000/yr
How many freelance designers working 24 hours a week are pulling in 130k a year that you know of, how many designers do you know making that much period? I’ll be honest I know a few, but they aren’t working 24 hours a week. Also you cross ref. these numbers with the coroflot salary and you see how far off the mark those numbers you provided are.
Here’s the link I found: http://www.coroflot.com/designsalaryguide/industrial-designer/united-states
Lets assume since this guy has kids he’s been in the field long and worked hard and is safely above the median salary (57k provided in the survey). Lets put him at 80k, that would mean his hourly wage is around 38/hr, maybe with benefits and payroll taxes he’s closer to 50-52/hr. Now if you were his employer, would you jump at the chance to cut his hours in half and triple the expense for yourself?
Sorry for the rant, I’m just a guy that’s been reading these things and I see these numbers getting tossed around and they don’t make sense. I hear good friends of mine that are skilled designers and they keep a lot of work off their plates because they significantly overestimate what they are really worth. I get it there are expenses, but this guy isn’t paying rent on an office, he’s trying to stay at home he’ll probably write off part of his residence now on his taxes.
EDIT: I just noticed next to the coroflot ID salary survey chart, it says the avg freelance rate is 32/hr, that seems a little cheap given that you have to pay higher taxes, but it’s a far cry from even 75/hr.