Client in Phoenix said they'd give me a shoutout on their Instagram with 3,000 followers. Told them my landlord doesn't take followers for rent. Has anyone else had people get mad when you say no to this stuff?
They literally said making a logo is like assembling a sandwich, so I asked if they'd pay a chef $10 for a turkey club. Has anyone else gotten a comparison that made you laugh more than it annoyed you?
The social media gig wouldve paid better but the logo client said itd be quick, now Im stuck explaining why their hand-drawn circle counts as a finished design, has anyone else taken the easy cash and regretted it?
Ngl, I've been freelancing for 3 years and never hit that number before November. A client in Austin tried to talk me down from $75/hr to $50/hr last month and I actually stuck to my price for once. Has anyone else noticed that hitting a specific income goal makes you way more confident saying no to lowball offers?
I thought I was fine with just spellcheck. But last month I sent a proposal to someone and they pointed out three typos... it was so embarrassing. For forty bucks a month it catches everything before I hit send. Has anyone else spent money on something small that saved you from looking dumb in front of a client?
She said I should just match those rates to get more jobs... I tried explaining turnaround time and quality but she kept bringing up how her friend got a whole book proofed for $50. Has anyone else had family treat your rates like they're negotiable?
I was at a coffee shop near South Congress and overheard a client bragging about paying a designer $20 an hour for logo work like it was a flex. Am I the only one who thinks we should be defending our rates instead of acting like cheap work is a win?
He cornered me at the laundromat in Bushwick and kept saying how easy it would be, like I was asking for too much. I told him my rate is $75 an hour and he laughed, so I walked away. Anyone else have a family friend or neighbor try to use that connection to get a deal?
I bought this fancy template from a popular site last month because it looked SO clean in the demo. Took me three whole evenings to customize it and the images kept breaking on mobile. Then I found out the coder hid a monthly fee for updates that wasn't in the listing. Anyone else get burned by one of those 'one time purchase' templates that turned out to be a trap?
Last month I was talking to this guy about writing blog posts for his ecommerce site. He liked my samples and everything, then hit me with the classic "your rate is a bit steep for my budget." I held firm at $50 because I know my work is solid. He goes quiet for two days then comes back and says he found someone for $25 an hour. I checked out that writer's portfolio and it was full of typos and broken links. I just let it go and moved on. Three weeks later he emails me asking if I can do a rush project because the cheap writer flaked. I quoted him $75 this time and he actually paid it without arguing. Has anyone else had a client come crawling back after trying to lowball you?
I got tired of people asking me to match some random quote from a guy who works out of his van for $40 an hour. So I added a line that says all quotes are based on a written scope of work and any change to that scope triggers a new price. Last week a guy tried to talk me down from $150 to $100 and I just pointed to that line and said sorry, that's the rate. He actually hired me anyway. Has anyone else found a simple contract tweak that saved them from haggling?
I was sitting in my home office last Tuesday when a long-time client said they'd pay the full $1,200 after I finished the site redesign, even though our contract clearly said 50% upfront, and I had to decide whether to walk away from the project or hold my ground and risk losing the gig - has anyone else had clients try to rewrite your payment terms mid-project?
Back in 2019, my uncle who used to do graphic design in the 90s told me to always quote clients 50% higher than what I actually want. He said they'd negotiate down and I'd still get my number. So I tried it on a web design project for a local coffee shop in Portland. I quoted them $1,800 when I would have been happy with $1,200. They didn't even counter. They just said no thanks and ghosted me. I heard later they found someone on Craigslist for $400 who made a terrible site. So I lost the gig and they got a bad product. Has anyone else had advice from old timers that just doesn't work anymore?
I took my 2015 Honda to a shop in Austin last Tuesday for a simple brake pad swap, and they quoted me $185 per hour for labor... I was floored. The mechanic actually said "that's just the going rate around here" when I asked why it was so high. Am I wrong for thinking $185 an hour is a total cash grab for something that takes 45 minutes?
I used to just throw out random numbers for web design projects and hope for the best. Last month I tried that free calculator from the Freelancers Union and realized I was undercharging by like $400 on every single site build. Has anyone else tried one of those tools and had their mind blown?
I switched to flat fee pricing back in April to try and land bigger contracts. Seemed like a good idea until a client kept asking for revisions on a $1,500 web design project. I ended up working 60 hours on something I budgeted for 20. Charged hourly for my next three clients and made $400 more on average with way fewer headaches. Has anyone else gone back to hourly after giving flat fees a shot?
I had a client push back on my $200 hourly rate twice before they finally agreed, and when that invoice cleared for the full $5,000 I realized their haggling was just a test to see if I'd fold.
My buddy Dave who does web dev kept telling me to add a 50% rush fee for any project under a week. I thought he was being greedy and figured I'd just lose work. Last month a client asked me to turn around a 40 page editing job in 3 days. I said sure for my normal rate, pulled two all nighters, and then they asked for revisions. I was exhausted and underpaid. Finally tried Dave's advice on the next rush project and the client didn't even blink. Now I kick myself for all those late nights I could have charged double for. Anyone else have advice they ignored forever?
Everyone wants the agency in Chicago with the $10k budget. I landed them. Three revisions in one day. Emails at 10pm. They wanted me to match a style guide from 2018 but make it 'fresh.' Felt like I worked 80 hours for that check. Has anyone else had a high paying job that totally wrecked your schedule?
I had this one gig last week where a lady wanted me to rewrite her entire website copy, do a full blog calendar, and fix her email sequences. She offered $25 an hour and said I could work from home (which I already do, so that wasn't a perk). I told her my rate is $65 minimum for content work like that. She came back saying she could "find someone on Fiverr for $10" and that my price was "unrealistic for a beginner." I've been freelance writing for 6 years now (started part time while plumbing to pay the bills). I just said "good luck with that" and moved on. Has anyone else had a client try to use the Fiverr threat like that?
I had a regular client who always paid $50 an hour and I was scared to ask for more, but when they dropped me for someone charging $35 I realized my work was worth that $15 difference. Has anyone else had a lowball situation actually make them rethink their pricing for the better?
She said I should charge half what I do since I don't have a degree, and it stung way more than any client lowball ever has. Has anyone else had family undermine their pricing like that?