How to raise your rate as a freelancer

I wrote this as a comment in an online discussion; perhaps it deserves a wider audience.

One of the best things about freelancing, in any field, is that you can fire your clients. You are not obligated to them beyond the current assignment (or month or whatever), just as they are not obligated to you.

Build your business on this. Yes, it’s common to take a low rate when you’re just starting out; you want the clips, the experience, and some financial predictability.

But as I was taught long ago, the only way a freelancer or consultant gets a raise is if they give themselves one. Every new client gets a higher rate. Then you fire the client who pays the least. Rinse and repeat.

That is, let’s say ClientA pays $40/hr. You pitch new ClientB at $50/hr. ClientC is $75/hour. Eventually, you get so busy that you can’t service them all. So you go back to ClientA and say, “I’ve raised my rates; I’m now charging $75/hour (or $50/hr if you don’t have the nerve).” If Client A says they can’t afford you (and often they cannot), that’s okay, because you already replaced them at the higher rate. So you have given yourself a raise with zero risk.

At some point, you’ll discover that you can’t get a new client at the highest rate. That’s okay; it means you have more to learn, need more references, whatever. As the same friend advised me, “If you don’t hear ‘You’re too expensive’ 20% of the time, your rates are too low.”