$30/h I just made that up, really I have no idea. I do have some good advice from my path so far though. I started working small jobs about 5 years ago at $10/

$30/h I just made that up, really I have no idea. I do have some good advice from my path so far though. I started working small jobs about 5 years ago at $10/h, and now I've done a few jobs at $50/h. First, focus less on nailing the perfect hourly rate, and more on steadily increasing your hourly rate as time goes on. Your portfolio and skills will grow constantly, as will your self-confidence. Second, when you increase your hourly rate, give existing clients a bit of a discount at first. This way, you can establish yourself at a new rate with new clients, and your existing clients feel like they got in on the ground floor, instead of feeling like they had the rug pulled out from under them. Finally, if there's a job you don't want, quote a price that would make it worth it. I might not want to do project x, but at a high enough rate, I'll smile through the whole thing. I've done all this in a bit of a vacuum, so I'd love to hear feedback on my experiences from older and more knowledgable HNers.