c/first-gig-pricing

The coffee shop quote that made me question my rate

Stopped into a shop in Rapid City last month and overheard a guy telling the barista he charged $15 for a logo while my last quote was $400. It got me thinking about how we all just pull numbers out of thin air for our first gigs. How do you actually figure out what you're worth when there's no baseline?

2 comments

juliaa65•3d ago

Underpricing my first logo job by $150 taught me a quick lesson

My first freelance logo gig last spring, I quoted $50 because I was terrified of scaring off the client. They took it in like 20 minutes, no haggling, and I spent 3 days on revisions that should've taken one. A buddy in Austin told me, "You're not selling time, you're selling the headache you remove," and that stuck. Now I start at $200 for any logo, even for small shops, and I lost exactly zero jobs since. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize your old rate was just fear talking?

2 comments

mason.drew•3d ago

The invoice template typo that exposed my pricing math

I quoted a logo package at $75 flat and realized after sending it that I forgot to factor in the 3 revision rounds, which took 5 extra hours. The client's reply of "looks good, thanks" made me see I was basically paying them to work with me. Has anyone else caught their rates being off only after the invoice went out?

2 comments

vera_green69•5d ago

Paying $75 for a contract template was worth every penny

I see people here saying to just copy a free template from the internet for your first gig. I tried that and got burned when a client wanted changes that weren't covered in my scope. I finally paid a lawyer $75 for a basic freelance contract template specific to my service. The section on revision limits alone saved me from doing two extra rounds of unpaid work. Has anyone else found value in paying for paperwork upfront instead of winging it?

2 comments

fisher.jessica•6d ago

Found out my local competitors are charging 3x what I quoted for web design

I was scrolling through the Denver Freelancers Facebook group last night and saw a guy post his rates at $150 an hour for the exact same Squarespace work I was doing for $50, and now I feel like an idiot for underselling myself from day one - how do you even figure out what the real market rate is without constantly stalking other people's posts?

2 comments

jana509•7d ago

Found a pricing stat that floored me: most new freelancers undercharge by 40%

I was reading a Freelancers Union survey from 2023 and it said newbies set rates 40% below market on average. That hit me because I quoted $15 an hour for my first gig in Portland and the client actually said 'are you sure?' I started wondering how many of us leave money on the table without even knowing it. Has anyone else found a number like that that made you rethink your whole pricing?

2 comments

flores.mark•10d ago

Vent: quoted $50 for a logo and now I'm in over my head

A buddy asked me to make a logo for his landscaping company last week. I said $50 figuring it would take an hour or two. Five revisions later and he wants me to learn vector software I've never used. Now I'm stuck at my desk at midnight trying to figure out how to make a weed whacker not look like a snake. How do you guys figure out what something's actually worth before you say a number?

3 comments

angela728•12d ago

Charged $50 for my first logo back in 2012, felt like a scam artist

I landed my first freelance gig through a friend's dad. He needed a logo for his landscaping company in Detroit. I spent 3 hours in Photoshop and asked for $50, thinking that was a lot. He paid me $200 instead and told me I was underselling myself. Has anyone else had a client basically set your price higher than you asked for?

2 comments

adam186•14d ago

Accidentally underbid a resto job and learned my lesson the hard way

3 comments

craig.olivia•15d ago

Spent 3 hours on a logo color tweak that took 10 minutes to bill for

I landed my first logo gig for a small coffee shop in Portland and thought I had the pricing figured out. But I spent almost 3 hours messing with the shade of green they wanted because their brand guide wasn't matching on my screen. Ended up charging them $150 for the whole thing but only billed for 45 minutes of that work. How do you guys handle time spent on stuff like color matching that takes way longer than expected?

2 comments

lisas78•16d ago

Lost $300 on a logo contest site before I figured out proper pricing

Last spring I put up a $50 logo contest on one of those design sites thinking I'd get a bargain. Ended up with 47 submissions that all looked like clip art garbage. After wasting two weeks and $300 total on revisions with three different designers, I finally just paid a local freelancer in Portland $400 cash. She nailed it in one round. Anyone else burn money on those cheap contest sites before realizing you get what you pay for?

2 comments

drews55•17d ago

Should you pitch a flat rate or hourly for your first editing job? I went back and forth for weeks.

I tried flat rate on a 2,000 word article for a small blog and made $50 an hour, but the next project took twice as long and killed my profit. Has anyone else found a solid rule for when to pick one over the other?

3 comments

lisas78•20d ago

Charged $50 for my first freelance logo and the client came back with 2 more jobs

I figured lowballing would get me in the door but I didn't expect them to come back for business cards and a flyer at the same price lol. Anyone else have luck starting cheap or did it just trap you in low rates forever?

2 comments

henryr45•21d ago

Priced my first illustration gig at $50 and learned the hard way

I quoted a small business owner $50 for a logo design because I was scared to ask for more. Turns out they paid the next guy $300 for the same thing a week later. How do you get past the fear of setting a price that actually covers your time?

2 comments

wadejenkins•21d ago

Undercharged my first graphic design gig in Austin by $200 because I forgot to count revision rounds

Last month I quoted a logo job for $150 flat and then the client asked for 6 revisions over 3 weeks, so now I always add a line for 'up to 2 revisions included' in my price sheet, anyone else forget to cap those changes?

2 comments

rowanw91•22d ago

My first freelance logo gig went from $50 to $500 in 6 months, here's what changed

Back in January I landed my very first logo job through a Facebook group. I charged $50 because I was terrified of asking for more. The client was a buddy who owned a food truck in Austin, and he basically let me do whatever I wanted. Fast forward to last month and I did a full brand package for a local coffee shop for $500. The difference was simple: I stopped guessing and started showing past work. I created a simple one-page PDF with 3 of my best logos and explained my process step by step. That PDF made people take me way more seriously, and they stopped haggling on price. Has anyone else seen a big jump in what they could charge just by changing how they present themselves?

3 comments

lisab32•23d ago

Rant: Underpriced my first gig and it snowballed into a nightmare at a house in Austin

I quoted $500 for a full fence job last month and ended up sinking 60 hours into fixing old posts and rotten wood for free because I didn't build in a buffer. Has anyone else had a first price come back to haunt them like that?

3 comments

kelly_rivera•24d ago

A friend told me I was charging way too little for product photos and it stung at first

I started doing product photography for local makers in Portland about 6 months ago. My first gig was $50 for 10 photos and I thought that was fair. A friend who runs an Etsy shop said she pays $150 for the same thing and asked why I was giving my work away. I sat down and figured out my time plus editing was taking me like 4 hours per batch. I bumped my rate to $120 for 10 photos and actually got more serious inquiries after that. Has anyone else had someone close to them call out their pricing like that?

3 comments

jamesc79•27d ago

Took a client's lowball offer and it actually worked out somehow

I had this web design gig back in March where this small bakery owner offered me $350 for a whole site. I was ready to walk away but my buddy told me to take it just for the portfolio piece. Spent about 12 hours on it total and the site got them like 40 online orders in the first month. Now they refer me to other businesses and I've gotten 3 bigger jobs from their connections. Has anyone else had a cheap first gig that ended up paying off way more than the actual money?

3 comments

kelly.margaret•27d ago

Why nobody talks about how long contract reviews actually take

I landed my first freelance gig two months ago and spent what I thought was a solid hour going over the contract. Figured I had it nailed down, sent it back, and the client came back with changes that took me another three hours to work through. Turns out I missed a clause about ownership of drafts that basically gave them everything I sketched before the final product. That single fix took me four days of back and forth emails because their lawyer was slow to respond. I learned the hard way that a quick 30 minute read is never enough, especially when you're new and don't know what to look for. Has anyone else burned way more time than expected on contract stuff for their first gig?

3 comments

cora_west5•27d ago

Should I charge per project or per hour for my first logo design?

I just got asked to make a logo for a local coffee shop and they said my hourly rate of $40 seemed high, but when I quoted a flat $200 they accepted it right away. Now I'm worried I might have left money on the table if the revisions take forever. Anyone else struggle with choosing between hourly and project pricing for that first gig?

3 comments

michael803•1mo ago

That Tuesday I invoiced wrong and lost $400

Last month I had a logo gig for a coffee shop in Austin and I quoted $800 flat not thinking about revisions. They hit me with 6 rounds of changes over 3 weeks and I ended up working for like $12 an hour. How do you guys build revision limits into first time pricing without scaring off the client?

3 comments

mitchell.thomas•1mo ago

The $15 Stapler That Fixed My Pricing Panic

I was undercharging for my first freelance graphic design gig because I was scared to ask for more, then I realized I was treating my work like a cheap stapler instead of a heavy-duty one. I tried raising my rate by 50% on the next project and actually got a YES without any pushback. Has anyone else had that moment where a small object or thing made you see your pricing differently?

3 comments

garcia.cameron•1mo ago

My first logo design went from $50 to $500 in 6 months flat

So I landed my very first freelance gig designing a logo for a local bakery in Austin. I charged them $50 because I had zero clue what I was doing and just wanted a portfolio piece. Fast forward 6 months later, I got a referral from that same bakery owner to a tech startup. I asked for $500 on a whim and they said yes without even negotiating. What changed was I had actual examples of work to show, so I didn't feel like I was guessing anymore. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize you were pricing yourself way too low at the start?

3 comments

lilyt23•1mo ago

Week one freelancing: I charged $50 for a logo and $500 for a website - which was the bigger mistake?

Last Tuesday I had a bad day where a $50 logo client asked for 12 revisions, then Friday a $500 website client paid extra for a rush job with zero changes. Which price point do you think caused more headaches for a first gig?

3 comments