I've survived, and even succeeded (by some, maybe most, measures) through my first year of full-time freelance web development.
I have some clients, who came onboard very early on in my professional and personal development as a freelance dev, and who are still being billed at their original rates. I notified these clients at the beginning of November that I am working to bring all rates "on par" across the board.
Even clients who are currently receiving the benefit of your older, lower rates will agree to the economics of paying a competitive price for the same quality of service that you provide to your highest paying clients. The dialog that began in November has proven fruitful in terms of developing a strategy to get all of my current, ongoing clients to agree to the new rate structure.
Bottom line: Have too much work, or too many "potential clients" hounding you for proposals? Raise your rates. Want to keep your clients? Give them notice well ahead of time, then raise your rates.
I have some clients, who came onboard very early on in my professional and personal development as a freelance dev, and who are still being billed at their original rates. I notified these clients at the beginning of November that I am working to bring all rates "on par" across the board.
Even clients who are currently receiving the benefit of your older, lower rates will agree to the economics of paying a competitive price for the same quality of service that you provide to your highest paying clients. The dialog that began in November has proven fruitful in terms of developing a strategy to get all of my current, ongoing clients to agree to the new rate structure.
Bottom line: Have too much work, or too many "potential clients" hounding you for proposals? Raise your rates. Want to keep your clients? Give them notice well ahead of time, then raise your rates.