I Asked My Client For A 10X Raise

And what it taught me about negotiation as a freelancer.

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

I write blog posts for a client who gives me tons of interesting work.

But the money is so less, that it feels like a dead-end.

I end up exhausted every day, with no time left for pursuing any other side hustles or even enjoying my hobbies.

I didn’t want to quit the gig because of the amazing networking opportunities it brought. But I didn’t want to keep working at this pace for such a small amount.

And so, I asked for 10x the amount he paid me.

It was terrifying. My heart was thumping in my chest.

I didn’t want him to think I was greedy.

I didn’t want him to fire me for asking too much.

Every instinct in my body told me to let it go and settle for less, but I knew it was important for the client to know that the pace was not sustainable.

The client didn’t give me 10x more money as he was on a tight budget. But guess what happened?

He made my current work 1/10th of what I was doing.

This gave me time to build other income streams and enjoy my free time.