My old boss told me to never work for less than $50 an hour, but my first big client offered $35

When I started freelancing as a copywriter last year, my former manager gave me that advice. He said taking lower rates would trap me and make it hard to raise them later. I held out for months, turning down a few jobs that paid less. Then, a marketing agency in Portland offered me a steady 20 hours a week at $35 an hour. I was scared to say yes, but I really needed the money. I took it, and that client ended up giving me so much repeat work and referrals that my income doubled in six months. Now I think starting lower to get your foot in the door can actually work. Did anyone else have a hard rule about rates that they ended up breaking?

4 comments

4 Comments

adams.river29d ago

Totally get that, and valcampbell's story nails it. Sometimes the long term relationship is worth way more than the first check. I broke my own rule for a local brewery that couldn't pay my full day rate for a website. I did the small job, they loved it, and now I handle all their digital stuff every single month. That steady work from bending the rule once built my whole business. What was the hardest rule you had to let go of?

daniel_carter29d ago

My buddy's "no revisions after sign-off" rule cost him a big client, but like @valcampbell's friend, he learned to be more flexible on small stuff.

jordan51129d ago

Honestly, it's about reading the client too. Some people will take a mile if you give an inch, but good ones remember the favor.

valcampbell29d ago

Honestly, my friend had a hard rule about never taking less than $100 for a logo. She turned down a local coffee shop that only had $60. That shop ended up getting popular and hired her again for all their new stuff, like menus and t-shirts. She made way more from them later than that first $40 would have been.