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Rant: I read a blog post that said most new freelancers charge 40% less than they should
I was looking up pricing tips on a site called Freelancer's Union and they had a survey showing the average first-timer undercharges by that much. It made me think about my first wiring job where I basically worked for parts cost. How do you even start to figure out what the right price is without that experience?
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carr.luna6mo ago
That "worked for parts cost" line hits hard because we all start there, right? But that survey is talking about a huge gap, not just being a little low. So how do you bridge it before you have real jobs to look back on? I looked up what full time employees in my field make, broke that down to an hourly rate, and then doubled it to cover my own taxes and sick days. It felt crazy high at first, but then you realize a company pays that much for an employee anyway.
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the_oscar6mo ago
Yeah, my first quote was basically an apology.
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sagejackson4mo ago
That thing you said about "basically an apology" really hit me. I used to think being super low on the first quote showed you were honest or something, like you weren't trying to rip anyone off. But I read that post about the gap and it finally clicked that you're not helping anyone by being cheap, you're just working for free and devaluing the whole trade. It took me a while to shake that mindset because I thought customers would be scared off by a fair price. Now I see that lowballing just makes people wonder what's wrong with you, not thank you for being cheap. I had to get burned a few times to realize that if you don't respect your own time, no one else will either.
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