I started freelancing out of college. Took a job, raised my prices, took a job, raised prices, etc. until I felt friction in the market. Then, I got hired by

I started freelancing out of college. Took a job, raised my prices, took a job, raised prices, etc. until I felt friction in the market. Then, I got hired by one of my clients and asked to find someone to fill my former shoes as a freelancer. I was charging $90 an hour. They were relying on firms like the Creative Group who have the ability to charge 100% markup on the people they hire out. As a result, I realized the people I was competing with at that rate could barely tie their own shoes. I decided in that moment that I was pricing myself into the wrong league and need to raise my prices considerably if I ever get back into freelancing. Thanks to this post, I'll be billing by the week. =) On a related note, there's room for massive disruption in the contract labor space. It's not hard to come up with a service that provides a lot more value within the current economics of that market. I'm not sure contract labor is a business I'm passionate enough about to start, but if anyone wants that have a chat about it, let me know.