My brother said I should raise my rates and I finally listened

He's not even a freelancer, he works a regular job. We were talking last week and I told him I was stressed about a $500 project taking forever. He just looked at me and said, 'You're charging what? For all that work?' That hit different. I always thought low rates would get me more jobs. But he pointed out I was working for less than minimum wage after all the hours. So I raised my rates by 30% for new clients. My first quote at the new rate got accepted today. No haggling. Just a yes. It feels weird but good. Has anyone else had a moment like that, where someone outside the grind saw your value clearer than you did?

2 comments

2 Comments

johns181mo ago

Wait, you were doing a whole project for just five hundred bucks? That's insane. Your brother was totally right to call that out. It's wild how someone outside the bubble can see the math so clearly. Good on you for making the change and getting that first yes.

johnson.lee1mo ago

Honestly, my friend was doing logo design for like fifty bucks a pop. Her dad, who runs a hardware store, saw her working all weekend and just asked what her time was worth per hour. She did the math and it was bad. She doubled her rates the next month and still got work.