|
|
| | Keep losing freelance work | |
41 points by plate-it on July 13, 2009 | hide | past | favorite | 37 comments
|
|
| I have a day job, but I'm looking to break into doing some freelance programming. However, I keep losing potential jobs because my price is too high. I have been saying my price is $50 an hour, which I don't think is unreasonable considering my experience. Should I lower my rate, is there somewhere I should be looking for work? |
|
Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact
|
A friend told me how his father had been in a similar situation. He was offering a superior service that was, in many cases, lower than what the prospects were already paying. After being turned down repeatedly he finally asked why. He was told that he couldn't possibly be able to deliver the quality promised for the price he was asking. The low price created a perception of lower quality-- lower than what people were willing to accept for that price. So, they'd tell him it was too expensive or they just weren't interested.
I doubled my rate and not only got more work but better work. You could try it. The worst that will happen is people will still say no and you can always let them negotiate down a bit. Still, like others have said, it depends on the going rate where you're doing work.