Ask HN: How to move beyond “freelancer”?
The most profitable advice I've gotten for charging good rates comes from two sources:<p>1. Jim Camp's negotiation book, "Start with No": <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Start-No-Negotiating-Tools-that-ebook/dp/B003EY7JEE" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Start-No-Negotiating-Tools-that-ebook/...</a>
One key takeaway: You can refuse to compromise on your rates, provided that you can afford to walk away if necessary.<p>2. Patrick McKenzie's (patio11's) advice for moving beyond the "freelancer" title, in particular <a href="http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/" rel="nofollow">http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-pro...</a> and <a href="http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/09/17/ramit-sethi-and-patrick-mckenzie-on-getting-your-first-consulting-client/" rel="nofollow">http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/09/17/ramit-sethi-and-patrick-...</a><p>I used these strategies to double my daily rate as an Ember.js consultant from $1k to $2k, and it was a fairly straightforward exercise in the end.