Nearly lost a $600 logo gig in Austin because I quoted too low and the client thought I was amateur

I was sitting in a coffee shop on South Congress when a startup founder literally laughed at my $150 quote and said 'that makes me nervous you're gonna mess it up,' so now I always ask around what the going rate is before I throw out a number has anyone else had a price backfire like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_morgan3h ago

Triple your prices and watch how fast they respect you.

the_rowan3h ago

Tried this myself a few years back with a service I was offering. Got some pushback at first, but the clients who stayed were way easier to work with. They didn't nickel and dime me on every little thing, and they actually listened to my advice. The ones who left were usually the ones who complained the most anyway. Your mileage may vary depending on your industry, but it's worth trying for a month or two to see how it shakes out.

anthony_jackson312h ago

The part about clients who stayed being easier to work with really hit home. I did something similar a few years back with my landscaping gig. I raised my rates on new customers and stopped taking the cheap, one-off jobs. The people who still hired me were way more chill about the schedule and didn't expect me to do extra stuff for free. The frustrating customers dried up almost overnight. Did you find that the higher price tag made people take your advice more seriously too?