Everyone says to raise your rates after a year, but I cut mine and booked 4 new projects.
I dropped my design fee from $75 to $50 an hour for my first 3 months in Austin, and it got me the portfolio pieces I needed to land bigger contracts. Has anyone else found that starting lower actually builds momentum faster?
Forget the hourly rate debate for a second. You're really paying for a local network. That low intro price is like buying a ticket into a new city's word-of-mouth circle. Those first few clients in a new place talk to EVERYONE. The portfolio is great, but the local referrals you just bought for $50 an hour are the real gold. You can't get that from a cold email at a higher rate.