Tbh the 'charge more' advice is overrated when your market can't support it

I was in Akron last year telling a local restaurant owner my rate and he laughed. Raising prices works if you have the clients, but sometimes you just need to grind at the local rate till you build a bigger name.

3 comments

3 Comments

fionanguyen7d ago

Wait, you really changed my mind on this one. I used to be all about "charge more or die," but seeing how local markets actually work in real life made me realize it's not that simple. Sometimes you just gotta play the long game.

the_rowan6d ago

100% agree with you and @fionat55 on this. I tried raising my rates too fast when I first started out in a small town and it backfired hard. Had to drop back down and rebuild trust with people before they were willing to pay more.

fionat556d ago

The long game is real. I was in a smaller city for years and tried the whole "raise your rates" thing. Ended up losing half my clients and barely scraping by. Sometimes you gotta accept that the local economy just cant support those numbers yet. Building a rep takes time and you cant skip the grind. Once you get those word of mouth referrals and a solid portfolio, then you can start inching up. But rushing it when the market aint ready will just hurt you in the long run.