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I finally raised my freelance rate after a client said 'that's it?' on a call in Portland
I sent out an invoice for $450 for a 10 hour project to a repeat client in Portland and he paused on the call and said 'that's it?' which threw me off. I had been pricing by gut feel for two years, never asking anyone what they charged, just guessing low because I was scared of silence. Turns out he had budgeted around $1,200 for that scope and was bracing for more. I went back through my old invoices and saw I had undercharged him by roughly $3,000 across four jobs. Do you all ask clients for their budget range up front, or do you quote first and let them push back?
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adam4148h ago
Why would you ever ask a client what their budget is before you give them a price? That just hands them all the power and tells them you are pricing based on what they can pay, not what your work is worth. You got lucky here because the guy was honest, but most clients will just say "oh we were thinking around $400" and now you are stuck at that number forever. The real fix is not asking for a range, it is quoting what you actually want to make and walking away if they say no. If you had quoted $1,200 up front and he balked, fine, then you talk, but at least the number starts at your value and not their wallet. Chasing budgets just turns you into a used car salesman guessing at what the guy across the table can afford.
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