Raised my rate by 30% last year and lost half my steady work

I bumped my hourly from $50 to $65 for web dev back in March. Three of my regulars dropped off within 2 months, said I was too pricey now. Turns out staying lower kept me busy but the higher rate just narrowed the pool. Anyone else had a rate hike backfire like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan_hart3810d ago

Raised mine to $55 and got crickets for two months straight.

faithpatel10d ago

Flat out ignored the whole timing thing, right? Bet you raised it right when everyone was cutting back for holidays or end of summer. Tbh, the market has these weird waves nobody talks about - January and September are usually dead for price hikes. Ngl, I'd drop it back down for a month, test the waters again, and watch the calendar before you raise it next time.

fionamurphy10d ago

Yeah I read somewhere that pricing psychology is weird like that, $50 is some mental barrier people have in their heads. Maybe test at $48 or $52 and see if that changes anything.