A few years into freelancing, I had a client who always paid on time, gave clear briefs, and never pushed back on revisions.
He was, by most measures, a great client.
There was just one problem.
He had set my rate three years earlier, and I had never changed it.
Not because he pushed back when I tried.
I had never tried.
Every time I thought about raising it, I told myself the same things.
He's loyal. It's stable. Don't risk it.
Then he referred me to someone.
The new client asked for my rate and I said the same number I had been saying for three years.
He didn't flinch.
He just said yes.
And somewhere in that moment I realised what I had been doing.
I had been charging my most loyal client (the one who valued me most) the rate of someone who didn't yet know what they were worth.
The irony is that loyalty is a reason to raise your rate, not a reason to keep it flat.
A client who keeps coming back isn't going to disappear over a rate increase.
They already proved they want to work with you.
I raised my rate with him the following month.
He said it was fair.
– Moritz
Tiny tactical tip:
Go through your active clients and note when you last raised your rate with each of them. If it's been more than 12 months, pick one ideally the most loyal one) and plan to raise it on the next project. You don't need a big announcement. Just a new number on the next proposal.