We are a government contractor and it seems like we pay out the nose for training of all types. It's is not uncommon to pay $10K a pop for mediocre manager's training lasting 2 hours and mostly consisting of bogus group work.

I recently quit my job and started consulting for my industry as an independent consultant. Because my industry is very regulated, I have had to restrict my rate to what I know my client could bill through (they are gov't contractors and typically on cost reimbursable contracts vs. time and material). That has worked fine for me and is fairly standard. However, I have also started doing training and I am trying to figure out my pricing for that work which is typically more of a fixed price arrangement.

So, for example, I have a rate that I will charge for developing a course for a company that is 2 hours long and it includes powerpoint, trainer guide and some group exercises. I have also worked as a trainer for one company (say Company A) using their materials. I now have another client who could benefit from the training I have been doing for Company A. I'd like to escalate my rate with Company A for this type of work since I am bringing in business for them and all they are providing is the copyrighted training materials. So here's the question - is escalating my rate by 50% too much? I have no way of knowing what other trainers in my field make because it is a niche industry - but I was told by someone at Company A that my trainer rate was "very reasonable".

Thanks for helping me thing this through.