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I keep seeing freelancers price themselves at $20 an hour then wonder why they burn out after 6 months
A buddy in Austin tried that for his graphic design work and ended up working 70 hour weeks just to pay rent. Has anyone else noticed this cycle where low rates just make you work harder instead of smarter?
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robin8962mo ago
Right? Isn't it crazy how lowering your rates just means you have to work more hours to make the same money? I really think people forget that your hourly rate is a direct reflection of your experience and skill. When you price yourself too low, you're basically telling clients your time isn't worth much, so they'll pile on more work and tighter deadlines. It becomes this awful spiral where you're exhausted and still barely breaking even. The real trick should be charging enough that you can actually take a day off or specialize in something you're good at, not just grinding 70 hours for peanuts.
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cora8131mo ago
Yeah "it's this awful spiral where you're exhausted and still barely breaking even" - that's the part that gets me. I've watched friends in graphic design start at $15 an hour thinking they'll get tons of work, but then they're stuck doing endless revisions for clients who don't respect their time. The math just doesn't work out. Like you said, raising your rate by a few bucks means you can actually take on fewer projects but make the same money, and have room to breathe between deadlines. It's wild how scared people are to bump their prices even $5.
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finleym372mo ago
Right? Isn't it crazy how lowering your rates just means you have to work more hours to make the same money?" - that part right there hit me like a ton of bricks. @robin896, you nailed it. It's like these freelancers get stuck in this trap where they think low prices bring in more clients but they just end up drowning in projects they hate for pennies. I've seen guys in my local design meetup start at $15 an hour and they're burned out in three months, not even six. The math is so simple but nobody wants to do it - if you charge $20 and need $40k a year, that's 2000 hours of work, which is a full time job plus some. But then they add in taxes, software subscriptions, and the time they spend chasing payments, and suddenly they're working 3000 hours to make the same money. It's brutal watching people grind themselves into the ground when raising their rate by just $5 would cut their hours by a third.
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