That friend who said I should double my hourly rate was right

My buddy Dave kept telling me for like a year that I was way too cheap at $35 an hour. I finally bumped it to $70 in March and figured I'd lose half my clients. Lost exactly two out of fifteen, but my income actually went up since the remaining ones took me more seriously. Has anyone else done a big rate jump and seen the same thing happen?

2 comments

2 Comments

jennybailey9d agoMost Upvoted

That line about "they took me more seriously" really hit home for me. I used to be the person who thought raising prices would scare everyone off, like it was some kind of scam. Then a client straight up told me they were hesitant to hire me at first because my low rate made me look inexperienced. I doubled my own rate last fall and lost maybe one client out of ten, but the ones who stayed started treating me like a professional instead of a bargain. Honestly I wish I had done it years ago instead of being scared.

caseywalker9d ago

I mean, idk, sometimes cheap rates are the only way people can afford to hire you though.