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c/abq-local-freelancers

25

evan_grant70•5d ago

Went from quoting jobs on napkins to using Google Forms last month

I used to scribble estimates on whatever paper was handy, usually a napkin from Flying Star on Central. Then a client laughed at my handwriting and said it looked like a ransom note. Now I use a Google Form template with line items, and I save about 20 minutes per quote. Anyone else switch from chaos to a system like that?

7

adam414•8d ago

Just realized I was underselling my packages for years

Tbh, I had this moment about 3 weeks ago when a client straight up told me my rates were too low. I was doing these social media packages for $400 a month, thinking I was being fair and getting steady work. Then this one business owner said, 'Wait, you do all that for what I pay my nephew?' and I felt pretty dumb. It clicked for me that I was pricing based on what I thought people would pay, not what the work was actually worth. I bumped my rates to $650 after that and only lost one client. Now I'm kicking myself for all the money I left on the table over the last 2 years. Has anyone else had that wake up call where you realized you were selling yourself short?

23

troyc17•8d ago

Tried Upwork vs local referrals for 3 months straight. The winner was obvious.

I spent 3 months hustling on Upwork and landed maybe 2 small gigs paying $300 total, while last month alone I got 4 clients from just talking to people at the Flying Star meetups. The difference was real trust built face to face versus competing with 50 randoms online. Has anyone else found that local connections blow past online platforms for steady work?

22

the_jessica•9d ago

Picked up a tip at the Freelancers Union meetup last month that saved me 3 hours on invoicing

I was at the monthly meetup over at Flying Star on Central, and this older bookkeeper named Patricia showed me how to set up recurring invoice templates in Wave. I had been manually typing out every single invoice for the last two years. It took me maybe 15 minutes to set up, and now I save about 3 hours a month. Has anyone else found a simple tool change that cut down their admin time that much?

21

juliaa65•16d ago

Update: That 'always get a deposit' advice paid off big time

A guy on this forum told me to never start a project without 50% down. I thought it was overkill but I tried it with a big website build last month. Client paid the deposit, then ghosted me 3 days in. I still got $750 for the work I did do up to that point. Has anyone else actually had a client vanish after paying a deposit?

7

kevinallen•17d ago

Hit $10k in a single month freelancing and it felt surreal

I just wrapped up July and somehow landed $10,350 in freelance writing projects. It's the most I've ever made in one month after three years of grinding in Albuquerque. Most of it came from one retainer client in Santa Fe who needed a bunch of blog posts and a case study. Has anyone else here hit a weird milestone like that where the money just feels unreal?

15

emma_lee22•17d ago

Chat with a waitress at Golden Pride made me rethink my whole pricing system

She said she charges $8 for a plate of enchiladas because people will pay for what they see as fair, not what you think your time is worth, and it hit me that I've been underbidding my graphic design packages by like 40% because I'm scared to ask for what I'm actually worth.

26

logan271•19d ago

Saw a huge shift in a freelancer's portfolio over just 4 months

I noticed this web designer I follow went from basic template sites to these really polished custom layouts. What changed was they started charging more and that forced them to only take higher budget projects. Has anyone else seen their work improve after raising their rates?

8

kevin_williams•19d ago

My visit to the Sawmill Market food hall made me think about workspace options

I went to Sawmill Market last Tuesday to meet a potential client for coffee. While I was there I noticed how many freelancers were camped out with laptops in the middle of the afternoon. It got me thinking about why so many of us prefer those public spaces over actual coworking memberships. The noise level was pretty high and I saw two people struggling to hear video calls. Has anyone else found a good middle ground between working from home and paying $200 a month for a desk downtown?

25

casey342•20d ago

Threw away $150 on a bad website designer last spring

Hired a guy from a Facebook group to build my freelance portfolio site for $150 flat. He sent me a template that looked like it was from 2005 and then ghosted me when I asked for edits. Anyone else get burned by a cheap web person in ABQ?

10

charlieh74•20d ago

Hit $5k in a single month for the first time and it changed my whole pricing strategy

I used to think charging $25 an hour for graphic design was fair in ABQ. Then I landed a 3-month retainer with a Santa Fe nonprofit that bumped me to $5,200 in October. Seeing that number in my bank account made me realize I was leaving money on the table with my old rates. Has anyone else had a milestone that made them rethink what they charge?

20

the_cameron•21d ago

Finally figured out the difference between Upwork and local gigs for me

I spent like 6 months chasing Upwork bids and barely made $200. Switched last month to just hitting up local coffee shops and gyms for dental hygiene content, landed a $500 retainer with one spot. Anyone else find local beats remote for steady work?

1

mason.drew•21d ago

That one Monday I had three clients ghost me in four hours

Last month I had a Monday that was brutal. I had three separate clients just stop responding. One was a logo job for a local food truck, $450 total. I had already sent them three rough drafts. Then a website copy job for a realtor in Rio Rancho, $600. They said they loved my samples on Friday. By Monday afternoon, radio silence. The third was a guy who owed me $200 for some product photos I took at his shop. I still haven't heard back from any of them. Has anyone else had a stretch like that where people just vanish?

10

samreed•23d ago

The 'hourly rate trap' I keep seeing new freelancers fall into here in ABQ

I've noticed a lot of folks in this group posting about how they're struggling to make ends meet, and almost every time it's because they're charging by the hour. I had a web design client last year who took 30 hours on a simple site because I kept getting scope creep emails asking for 'one more thing.' If I'd charged a flat $1,500 for the whole project instead of $50 an hour, I would have made way more and not felt rushed. The problem is that hourly billing punishes you for being fast and good at your job. Has anyone else switched from hourly to project-based pricing and seen a real difference in their bottom line?

9

casey268•24d ago

The debate between flat rate and hourly pricing for local freelancers has me second guessing everything

So I've been going back and forth on this for months now. I was at a networking thing at that new coffee spot on Central last week and got into it with a graphic designer who swears by flat rate pricing for everything. She says clients like knowing the exact cost upfront and it makes her look more professional. But then I talked to a web developer who does all hourly and he claims flat rate just leaves you eating the cost when a project goes sideways. I've been running my own little handyman gig on the side and I've tried both. Last month I quoted a bathroom reno flat rate at $800 and it took me twice as long as I thought because the tile was a nightmare to remove. Lost money on that one. But when I do hourly I feel like clients are watching the clock and it makes me rush and mess stuff up. Anyone else torn on this or figured out a good middle ground?

3

rowanw91•25d ago

My laptop screen went black right before a big meeting at Zendo

It happened last Tuesday, right as I was pulling up my presentation for a potential new client. The screen just flickered and died, leaving me scrambling. I had to run to the library on Central to finish the work on a public computer. Has anyone else had tech fail at the worst possible moment around here?

0

kelly_rivera•25d ago

Charged a flat rate for a big website job and lost money on the extra hours.

Did a full site build for a Nob Hill shop last month. Quoted $2,000 flat. Took me almost 90 hours with all their changes. Did the math after. Made less than $22 an hour. The invoice getting paid was the tip off. Felt bad seeing that number. How do you all price bigger jobs to actually cover your time?

8

noahwood•25d ago

Sat in the Sawmill Market for two hours and saw something about how we work

I was trying to get some writing done there yesterday and ended up watching people. In that time, I saw at least five different people clearly working on laptops, but they were all just sitting alone. It made me wonder, why do we all go to a busy place just to work by ourselves? Maybe we should set up a real coworking spot for freelancers here in town, somewhere you can actually talk shop. Has anyone tried meeting up with other local freelancers to work together, even just once a week?

16

max_schmidt77•27d ago

Stopped by that new coffee shop on Central and saw a sign for a 'freelancer discount'

I was at The Brewed Awakening yesterday and they had a little chalkboard offering 15% off for anyone who shows a client invoice. It got me thinking, why don't more local spots do something like that for us? What other places in town have you guys found that actually try to help out freelancers?

13

skyler_johnson32•28d ago

Got so tired of chasing late payments from a big downtown client

Started putting a simple 15% late fee clause in my contracts after the third month they stalled. The next invoice got paid on time, no fuss. Anyone else found a contract tweak that actually works here?

8

robin896•28d ago

The day a client paid me in homemade salsa

Last Tuesday, I finished a website for a local chili shop. The owner was thrilled, but his card got declined. He looked at me, dead serious, and said 'I got something better.' He came back with 12 mason jars of his 'award winning' salsa. My car smelled like cilantro for three days. Has anyone else gotten a weird payment instead of cash?

11

henry_park78•29d ago

El Pueblo Woodworking vs Shelly Landscaping for a backyard pergola?

Hey fellow ABQ freelancers. I'm finally upgrading my backyard so I can work outside when the weather is nice, and I want to put up a solid pergola to block the glare on my screens. I've narrowed my quotes down to El Pueblo Woodworking and Shelly Landscaping. Has anyone here used either of them? Shelly seems to do a lot of general yard stuff, while El Pueblo is specialized. Would love to hear your experiences and pros/cons before I make a deposit!