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Daring to charge your real rate

"If I quote that price, I'll lose the client." That fear pushes many freelancers to charge below what they need to live. Most often, this reflex comes from fear, and from a break-even point they never took the time to calculate.

Know your break-even point first

Many freelancers starting out set too low a price, for lack of knowing their break-even point. It's the rate below which every hour worked costs them money instead of bringing it in.

When you know that figure, the question changes. You no longer wonder whether you dare. You know that below it, you're working at a loss, so you don't go there. The price becomes a fact, no longer a gamble.

Where the fear comes from

• Impostor syndrome. "I'm not worth that." Your price pays for a result and a responsibility, not your worth as a person.
• Comparison. You see a freelancer at 40 francs an hour on a platform. You don't see that they may be underpaying themselves too.
• Fear of the first refusal. A client who says no to your price wasn't the right client. It's useful information, nothing more.

Your price doesn't all go into your pocket

When a client pays 100 francs an hour, you don't pocket 100. There are the social contributions (AVS, AI, APG, and the second pillar if you contribute), your insurance, your equipment, your software, your training, your taxes. And all the hours you don't invoice: quotes, exchanges, admin, prospecting.

Over a day, often only half is billable. Your rate has to absorb the other half. A price that seems high to you is, most of the time, simply fair.

Stating your price without apologising

Often, the real problem isn't the amount, it's the way of saying it. "So it would be around... well, roughly 90 francs, but we can see" sends a clear message to the client: this price is negotiable, because I don't believe in it myself.

Just say: "My rate is 90 francs an hour." Then let the silence do its work. A few habits help:

• State your price and stop there, don't fill the gap by justifying yourself.
• No "sorry", no "that's maybe a lot".
• If you make a commercial gesture, name it: "The rate is 90, I'll give you 80 on this first project." The gesture is clear, and not undersold.

When the client finds it too expensive

The discussion isn't over for all that, you have several options: reduce the scope to keep within budget, offer payment in instalments, or hold your position calmly. You can simply reply: "I understand, that's the rate for this work." Lowering your price to keep a client at all costs is often keeping a client who won't respect you.

To put a number on all this: calculate your freelance hourly rate in a few seconds.