Charge more
If I could only give you one piece of advice, it would be this.
Charge more.
Some clients will complain.
It will feel uncomfortable.
It might make your "hourly rate" seem astronomical.
But charging hourly is harmful for both you and your client.
Bad for your client as they does not know how much they are going to pay. And once the project has started you have them at your mercy.
Bad for you because you have no incentives to get better at your craft, learn new tools and techniques. It's better for you to work slowly.
Ultimately, it comes down to this.
Clients don't care about your hourly rate.
They only care about the results you deliver. And when you deliver them. And how much grief they have to put up with in order to get them.
Who do you think the client would prefer?
The person who charges $1000/hour and works for 10 hours to deliver a $1,000,000 result?
Or the person who charges $10/hour and works for 1000 hours to deliver that same result?
Do you think the client would even believe that someone who charges so little could deliver a $1,000,000 result? Or that someone who charges so little won't need a whole load of hand-holding, cajoling and management?
So charge more.
- Do your research.
- Know your clients, understand what they are looking for and what it's worth to them.
- Learn what stops them from buying and what makes them feel safe.
- Focus in a method of delivering what they are looking for as quickly as possible. No frills, no extras, just the results.
Look at your prices.
And charge more.