Dear Freelancers,
stop “charging your worth”.
A letter dedicated to all the unhappy freelancers out there & a letter I wish I could have read in 2017.
This was written for the freelancer that feels like there’s more to their story…
That there’s a sequel, a part 2 that you’re not being told that is crucial to getting to what you want…
You’re right to think that.
There’s an unspoken conversation that we are not having about pricing in online business, and I want to dive into that conversation today.
And if you’re like I was back in 2017, you’ll sense that this pricing issue is affecting you before you know what it is.
It usually starts as a small whisper telling you that whatever you’re making now is not sustainable nor realistic for you to truly create the life you want.
“Ummm…. I’m not sure this $ math is working out?”
Slowly but surely, that whisper turns into something more urgent and persistent.
“Is this…. really it? Just desperately trying to land clients over and over and STILL not making the kind of money I want to be making?”
Your intuition wants you to realize that if you keep applying the same client and pricing principles for the next year, or 2 or 3, you’ll never leave your freelance hamster wheel.
“There must be something I’m missing. What am I doing wrong?”
This honest letter is going to talk about exactly why this is happening, why a lot of business advice online (e.g. “charge your worth”, “raise your rates”, “hustle harder and get booked out”) is unhealthy and harmful… and what to do instead.
Back in 2017, I “should” have been happy.
Back in 2017, I was finally, finally, finally(!) working online.
On the surface, I was doing everything I had wanted.
I was doing The Online Thing:
- I was serving clients.
- I was making enough $ to pay for rent and groceries.
- I could work from my bed, my couch, wherever really.
The harsh reality is: I was headed for burnout, drowning so quickly in client work let alone enjoy any of my newfound “freedom”.
The harsher reality is: Despite working 40+ hours and desperately hunting for clients non-stop, I was still stuck at the dreaded $2K a month ceiling.
The harshest reality is: I had accidentally recreated the 9-5 for myself but worse – because at least the 9-5 implemented boundaries for me.
I had recreated a hamster wheel for myself. A new cubicle. An imaginary cubicle.
And a deep and quiet part of me felt unfulfilled and restless.
That part of me was keeping me up at night, murmuring: “This can’t be it. This feels wrong. Are you happy with this?”
For a long time, I told that little voice to hush, to be quiet, to be grateful with what we had.
That was a mistake.
So if you have similar whispers keeping you up at night, then good.
Because we need to have a conversation about money.
More specifically, we need to talk about all the bad advice you’re getting about making money online and why this bad advice is ironically the precise reason you are not making more money.
I know talking about money is weird. I know it’s taboo. I know it may be uncomfortable. I know a lot of us carry around money mindset baggage.
But regardless, we have to address the virtual elephant in the room.
Because I don’t know about you but I don’t care about making lots of money just for the sake of having lots of 000’s in the bank or to flash paper bills on Instagram.
Parading a cherry red lamborghini is not interesting to me, drowning in bikini babes on a superyacht is not interesting to me, swimming in a big pool of cash Scrooge-McDuck-style is only mildly interesting to me.
So if you’re like me…
Money is an enabler, a conduit to what you truly care about. Money is a means to an end for you – a paved, privileged road to the priorities in life.
Priorities that sculpt you your best life.
Whether that best life feels like:
- a sense of calm financial security when checking your bank account, or
- an overwhelming pride stemming from that empowering feeling of, “I earned all this money myself”, or
- the relief from not having to overthink an oat matcha latte splurge at your local cafe, or
- the pleasure of being able to treat your favorite people to a weekend away, or
- a sense of accomplishment when placing a down payment on a dreamy apartment, or
- the thrill of flying business class while checking off your travel bucket list.
All of these things are important.
Your best life is important.
And that’s why it’s important we talk about money and more specifically, how much you’re charging as a freelancer.
Up Next: I’ll share why I think hustle culture is so detrimental to those of us trying to create sustainable & well-paid careers, as well as pulling out the receipts (aka my income tax returns) from the past 6 years to show when things finally changed for me.
I've been mentioned in these (way too cool for me) places...
The DBM Bootcamp™ is an 8-12 week Bootcamp that trains you to plan & manage digital projects, run remote teams, optimize business systems and scale digital businesses alongside entrepreneurs and business owners