Hi,

 

Would you trust someone selling lobster tails for $1?

 

Lobster has been my favorite food since I was 5. I liked it so much that when my parents forgot some tails my grandmother bought me, I bawled in the backseat until they turned around and drove 20 miles back to get them. I love lobster, but someone selling it for less than the price of a soda? I’m probably gonna keep it moving.

 

The same thing goes for your freelance rates. Are there some people who are going to be happier if you’re charging less and even encourage you to do that? Of course. It benefits them.

 

Are there also people who will see low rates and wonder if you provide quality services? Definitely, and they’re the ones you should be most concerned about.

 

Building Trust Through Rates

So this isn’t something you just do randomly or right out of the gate.

 

 

You’ll probably need to spend a few months charging lower rates while you build up your portfolio and confidence. After that though, it’s time to switch things up.

 

This is where you really need to talk to other people and start stalking other freelancers’ pages. I remember back when I was scared to charge $100/hr, I did a search on Upwork and ran across a White guy’s profile and he was charging twice that — with less experience and education.

 

That flipped a switch in me. Two switches actually.

 

One, I learned to turn off my employment conditioning around what I was worth. Second, it turned on the switch that told me my prices were part of my marketing. They were a sign. A signal. They told the world that I was (or wasn’t) offering a quality service, so I knew I never wanted them to be too low.

 

What about you? What trust switches can you flip on your prices today?

 

 

Megan