c/rate-rant-roundtable

Finally raised my rate after 3 years of being scared, and it worked out fine

I've been doing freelance bookkeeping from my home office in Tucson since 2021, always charging $35 an hour because I was terrified of losing my two steady accounts. Last month I had a new inquiry and on a whim I quoted $50, fully expecting them to haggle. They said yes within a day and now I'm wondering if I've been leaving money on the table this whole time. Has anyone else found that the fear of raising rates is way worse than the actual conversation?

1 comments

fisher.jessica•16d ago

Back in 2018 I thought charging by the project was a scam

I was dead set on hourly billing for years. Then a web dev buddy in Austin showed me his books. He was pulling $1500 for a wordpress build that would have taken me 25 hours at my rate. Took me 2 more years and one nightmare client who called me 14 times in a week to finally switch. Anyone else fight the flat rate switch for way too long?

2 comments

the_hayden•17d ago

Vent: That $50 client who wanted 3 rounds of revisions on a $200 logo

I keep seeing people on here say they charge $50 for a logo and then act surprised when the client treats them like a puppet. You set the bar low, they keep pulling. I had a guy last spring ask for 3 total redesigns after I already sent him 5 concepts. He paid $200 total. I spent 12 hours on that job. After the third round I told him I'd need another $100 to keep going. He ghosted me. Who's really losing here?

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dylan_ward•21d ago

Finally figured out why my invoices were always late.

A client in Chicago straight up told me my payment terms were confusing. I had 'net 15' buried in paragraph 6 of my contract instead of saying 'Due upon receipt' in big letters at the top. Switched to a clear table format with due dates last month and got paid in 3 days average since then. Anyone else get feedback that made you redo something simple?

3 comments

iris_barnes87•26d ago

Used to charge $50 for a logo until I saw someone else's pricing breakdown

Back in 2019 I was doing logos for $50 flat on Fiverr and thought that was just how it worked. I saw a post from a graphic designer in Austin who charged $800 for a basic logo package and I honestly laughed at first. Then I actually looked at what she included - 3 rounds of revisions, vector files, brand guide, the whole deal. I started raising my rates slowly, like $75, then $100, then $150. Last month I quoted a local coffee shop $400 for their logo and they said yes without even negotiating. I still feel weird charging that much sometimes but my work got better when I had more time to spend on it. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized your old rates were just way too low?

3 comments