Ask HN: How much do you earn on average through software freelancing?
I used to charge $50 USD per hour, but I kept upping my rates. Soon I charged $100 per hour, and then $125 hour. The highest I ever got for programming&#x2F;consulting was $150 USD per hour, but I don&#x27;t charge that anymore. I&#x27;ve moved on to day rates.<p>Now I bill around $800 per day, but I only work about 6 super-focused hours, and I use the Pomodoro method every day. My clients are happy because I get a lot of work done, and I&#x27;m happy because I have to work less.<p>This is just doing general PHP dev work (Codeigniter and Laravel frameworks), and if I specialized, and if I focused on the ecommerce or finance industry I could probably make more. Most my clients are in the Rocky Mountain West, and so far I have more work than I can finish.<p>So if you want to increase your earning potential you should:<p><pre><code>  1. Specialize and master a niche.
  2. Network like your business depends on it. 
  3. Give free seminars and teach everywhere you go. 
  4. Label yourself as a consultant.
  5. Don&#x27;t be just a programmer. Work with businesses and fix their problems. 
  6. Know your worth, and don&#x27;t be afraid to charge what you&#x27;re worth. 
  7. Anchor your costs against how much value you&#x27;ll make your clients.
  8. Keep raising your rates until you can&#x27;t get any work. 
  9. Work half as much as you used to. 
  10. And finally, spend time on things that matter like family, learning, and having fun.
</code></pre>
Or you can keep competing against bottom-barrel programmers on upwork, and spend the rest of your life working for peanuts. Totally up to you.