304. Today I priced myself out of a potential project

I didn’t do it on purpose, I just quoted my usual rate and the potential client indicated that it was beyond their budget. It happens.

There’s a temptation to simply lower my rates so that I can take on the project as it could be a very interesting project. But the gap is too large and I’d be operating at a loss.

Of course some income is better than no income but it’s a fairly mid to longterm project so if I accepted it I’d have to turn down any potential future projects that can pay my usual rate. If it had been a short project I may have adjusted my rates because as I mentioned it has the potential to be really interesting work.

I also think that it’s worth keeping in mind that there is nothing wrong with charging what you’re worth and that some people are willing to pay and some aren’t (simply because they are unable to). This is something that I’m only now beginning to feel comfortable with.