Raising your rates isn’t optional in this game.
It’s something I’m REALLY glad I learned right out of the gate from great coaches who immediately taught me not to settle for what I thought
were good rates.
That $30, $50, even $60 an hour average? A 30-40% tax rate will eat
that up in no time.
I’ve made a lot of progress raising my rates (pushing my average earning
from $50 to between $150 and $200 an hour in a couple of years). I could sit down and tell you some long drawn out story, but honestly it really came down to four basic steps.
- Refining my niche
- Improving my skills
- Testing and making notes
- Rinse and repeat
We go over all this stuff twice a year in the self-eval in the BlackFreelance Academy, but I want you to point out something critical to you right now.
The niche comes first.
Let me tell you, as a writer, I could’ve spent THOUSANDS getting generally “good”. I could’ve gotten certifications even whole degrees in journalism and communication…and not seen a
fraction of the return I saw from just listening to my niche and tweaking my skills as I went.
Refining your niche is an art. If you’re feeling stuck, spend some time with the free niche resources, but always remember you can shoot me a question or concern whenever you want.
Megan