I used to charge $5/hr as a freelance writer.
Why? No confidence.
There I was, a Native English speaker from Vancouver, Canada with a uni degree and years of experience writing articles, essays, research papers and short stories…
And I didn’t even have the guts to ask for minimum wage! ?
After a few months, as I started getting busier, I raised my rates, but not much! To about $12/hour or so. After paying Fiverr their 20% cut, I could’ve made more flipping burgers.
My family would laugh at me and tell me I was stupid. Chasing an unrealistic pipe dream. So many times they told me to quit. Give up.
But I never gave up on freelancing. Or writing. Or publishing online.
Worked my butt off perfecting my craft and leveling up my business skills for 13 more years.
Now I can charge 5700% more.
Thing is, I could’ve charged way more, way sooner.
But I hated and feared negotiation, selling, confrontation, rejection. So I didn’t raise my rates for a long, long, LONG time.
I played it safe and it DID. NOT. PAY. OFF.
Moral of the story, sometimes you are your own trip hazard.
More often than not, your mindset (not your skills) will hold you back from success.
Once I shifted my mindset and worked on my confidence, doors IMMEDIATELY opened for me everywhere and profits flooded in.
I just wish someone could’ve helped me unlock those mental barriers sooner…
…and I didn’t have to fight for freelance scraps for years on end.