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scottonyc
Community Member

How many successfully completed jobs before I raise my rates?

I'm a longtime upwork client who is new to the freelancing side of the business and have completed a handful of jobs in my first week. I'm working for a rate that is much lower than my experience and skillset aligns with, as my main goal for now is to build up some positive feedback, etc. I'm willing to do this for several months if needed but wanted to get the community's input on whether or not there was a magic number (i.e., 50 completed jobs) where a profile is considered "established"  and clients would be comfortable paying my typical rate.

 

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide here. 

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melaniekhenson
Community Member

Scott, raise them right now. You're charging a pittance. That devalues your work. Customers see that rate and assume that's what you're worth. They don't want to get the kind of work they envision they'll get from an American charging your current rate (I say that because it isn't a low rate all over the globe) so they're running - that's my guess.

 

There's interesting psychology behind people tending to choose a more expensive option when it comes to certain things because deep down they're assuming higher quality and/or scarcity (hurry and get it now!). I can't remember all of them but work is one. Look for comparable IT rates on UW and go somewhere in the middle for now, that would be my advice.

 

p.s. Northeast represent! (Former New Jerseyan here...I know, I know, wrong side of the river.) Hope you guys didn't get slammed with snow this past week.

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spectralua
Community Member

No established state exists. Overloaded - increase rate. Have no proposals - decrease. Then you can found average, but it will be floating too.

Thanks, Mykola. This makes sense and I plan to follow this path moving forward. 

melaniekhenson
Community Member

Scott, raise them right now. You're charging a pittance. That devalues your work. Customers see that rate and assume that's what you're worth. They don't want to get the kind of work they envision they'll get from an American charging your current rate (I say that because it isn't a low rate all over the globe) so they're running - that's my guess.

 

There's interesting psychology behind people tending to choose a more expensive option when it comes to certain things because deep down they're assuming higher quality and/or scarcity (hurry and get it now!). I can't remember all of them but work is one. Look for comparable IT rates on UW and go somewhere in the middle for now, that would be my advice.

 

p.s. Northeast represent! (Former New Jerseyan here...I know, I know, wrong side of the river.) Hope you guys didn't get slammed with snow this past week.

Thanks, Melanie! I appreciate the advice. 

 

We've had the easiest winter in my lifetime so far. Hardly any snow or cold. It's been nice!

celgins
Community Member

Scott,

 

There is no magic number for getting established on Upwork. Over time, the quality of your work and the feedback you receive are important, and that feedback will factor into your Job Success Score (JSS). But I agree with Melanie--your current rate is way too low.

 

From Melanie: There's interesting psychology behind people tending to choose a more expensive option when it comes to certain things because deep down they're assuming higher quality and/or scarcity (hurry and get it now!).

Exactly. And think about it this way: If you were in the market to hire a lawyer to help with a civil suit, and you hear about two high-powered, Manhattan-based lawyers who specialize in handling cases like yours, would you prefer the $100/hr. lawyer or the $430/hr. lawyer? Like most people, you will assume the $430/hr. lawyer is not only qualified, but in high-demand.

 

You have a lengthly IT background, and with the Microsoft and IT certifications you hold, your rate should be a minimum of $50/hr. In fact, I just searched and almost all of the MCSE, MCITP, Azure Certified, AWS Certified, RHCT, etc. freelancers are between $50/hr. - $250/hr. Further, I'm basing my suggestion on Melanie's post 😀 and my own lengthy IT background.

 

You're worth more than your current rate; no reason to wait because potential clients are already comfortable with a higher rate.

Thanks, Clark! I appreciate the detailed response and think that I needed to hear this. I'll be boosting my rates shortly.

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