Tried raising rates by 25% across the board and lost exactly one client

I see everyone saying you should raise rates gradually like 5-10% at a time so you dont spook people. Last month I said screw it and sent my whole client list a notice that my hourly was going from $85 to $105 starting April 1. I lost one client who was already kind of a pain paying late anyway. My regulars didnt even blink and one guy said he was surprised I hadnt raised them sooner. Has anyone else just ripped the bandaid off with a big jump and found it worked out fine?

3 comments

3 Comments

sullivan.quinn1d ago

Oh man, if I had a nickel for every time someone told me to ease into rate hikes like I'm testing bath water... I'd probably have like thirty cents. Lost exactly the one client who was already three weeks late on every invoice anyway and somehow thought I was his personal ATM. I actually laughed out loud when he sent the passive aggressive "I found someone more affordable" email. The rest of them just went "okay cool" and kept booking me like nothing happened. I think people respect confidence even if they pretend they don't.

adam1861d ago

Yeah but @sullivan.quinn, thirty cents ain't even enough for a gumball...

patricia_hill6018h ago

Wait hold on, did you actually go from $85 to $105 all at once? Thats a $20 jump thats like a quarter more per hour. I gotta ask were you nervous sending that email out or did you just fire it off like no big deal? Look at @adam186 over here talking about gumballs like that has anything to do with it. But honestly I think you're onto something because people who pay late are always the ones who freak out about price changes. The guy who left was probably looking for an excuse anyway and you just gave him one. I bet your regulars figured you were undercharging the whole time and were just waiting for you to realize it.