Just saw another freelancer say you need to work weekends to survive, and that's totally wrong.

I've been fully booked for 6 months by setting firm boundaries and charging 20% more, which actually made clients respect my time more. Anyone else find that raising their rates improved their work-life balance?

3 comments

3 Comments

lewis.drew2mo ago

That's a solid point about boundaries, but isn't it a bit of a chicken and egg thing? You probably had to build up a certain reputation or portfolio before you could confidently charge that 20% more. For someone just starting out, saying no to weekend work might mean saying no to paying rent, right?

miles542mo ago

Yeah that's a real tough spot to be in. I read something about how some freelancers will take the weekend work early on, but they charge a higher emergency rate for it, like time and a half. That way they're still getting paid more to set a boundary, even if they can't say no yet.

holly_williams1mo agoMost Upvoted

I've been there. Took every terrible project for the first 18 months just to stay afloat. Had a client once who wanted changes at 11pm on a Friday, I did them because I needed that $200. It sucks. Eventually I started charging double for anything outside regular hours and that actually helped. The clients who needed the rush work paid up, the ones who didn't respect my time moved on.