Every freelancer starts out undervaluing their work
I don't get why people are so keen on the per-hour model. This puts a lot of pressure on you to be fully productive and count hours like a lawyer. It also makes you think you're losing money when you're not billing, and the customer likewise feels the time/money pressure.I've negotiated fixed-price deals where I'm quite certain I can get the job done in x number of weeks, based on having done something similar before. And that's a quite leisurely x weeks, where I'm not really feeling any uncertainty about any part of the project (ie I know what APIs will be used, business logic seems simple, research is done already). At the same time setting a leisurely schedule also means if there is something unexpected, you can spend a bit more time solving it. Or take a break when you're ahead.Regarding the customers, being choosy appears to be very important. Anyone who mentions outsourcing to (somewhere cheap) is politely moved on. Anyone who doesn't grasp what they're after (a social network, with an iOS and Android app, and videos, and ...) is quoted a longer timeframe. Customers also need to be made aware of the importance of feedback, as in the agile model. That way they always get what they asked for, and you don't waste time on what didn't come to mind.