Those clients are golden, Devon! Wish we all had the same kind of client.

Amen, amen. Yes, they do talk to each other. A decade or so ago, I revised some guy’s website home page for just $100. It was an hour to complete and it was easy money.

He referred me to his mother’s company. Mother and her business partner got on the phone with me and went over the details of what was a pretty sizable project. They asked how much I’d charge. I gave them a fair price — $1500 for 15 hours of work.

Her response: “My son said you were cheap.” Turns out she thought I’d do ALL of that work for $100!

That was my wake-up call.

Also, remember that clients talk to each other, especially local ones. (If you’re working remotely with people who interact, they still might meet up and talk at online or IRL conferences). If one of them is getting away with underpaying you, the others will try the same, and then it’s harder to raise rates.

Yep! If we look at it as them insulting us, it makes it easier to say no.

That’s a smart client. They know they’re not paying well, and they allow you to earn a living elsewhere and make them secondary. Wow. That’s a great side gig, so to speak!

I’ve used the argument that these don’t pay minimum wage, but that doesn’t move the most desperate, particularly when ANY money looks good (overdue bills might make me rethink my principles!). But when it’s obviously a mismatch, I can’t let the pretense continue. In one case, I had to tell someone I really liked “Oh, that’s too low. I can’t make that work.”

They were fine with it (why wouldn’t they be, particularly when they start out with a bit of an apology). There should be no hard feelings in these cases. Should be. Not always the case. And when there are hard feelings, that’s my sign that I’ve definitely made the right decision!

Brilliant way to re-focus the argument, Lori.

I have one of those lower (but not low enough to be insulting) paying clients that’s easy to work for. The editors there know that because their rates are low—and they pay about 60 days after invoice—that I can’t prioritize their work above better-paying clients. So they tend to give me long deadlines so I can fit their assignments in between better-paying projects.

With the example you gave, I’d probably try to stifle a laugh in response. Researching and writing four 1,000 word articles per month would take up at least half my billable hours, meaning the combined $800 fee wouldn’t come close to keeping me above the poverty line. BEFORE taxes. Even if they could negotiate a higher rate, that single client would take up so much time that there wouldn’t be enough time left to seek or do better-paying jobs.