I haven't posted here in a LOOOONNG time but I had a random thought I had to share somewhere
I was once interviewed by a client who wanted me to work for him full time - give up my self-employment as a consultant to work exclusively for him.
At the time I thought this was great - I'd be rolling in the cash - this was a big company (I thought) so they could afford to pay me lots!
He asked what my hourly rate was. At the time it was $50/hour - about average for my industry.
He then went on to say that if I make $50/hour - 8 hour day - 5 days a week - I must be making a couple thousand dollars per week. Was that the case?
No it wasn't - I was spending a good part of the time doing non-paid promotions as I was still trying to build my business.
So then he asked me to figure out what my "actual" hourly rate was. Turns out it was closer to $20/hour once I factored in all the non-paid stuff I was doing to fill out my week.
He then offered me $20 per hour to work for him full time.
At the time it seemed fair - the way he spun it made sense to me.
But I'm here to tell you it wasn't. I should have followed my gut and stayed at my regular rate. What I did was devalue myself.
I've since learned not to do that. I rarely take less than my normal rate - I only do it where there's the potential to earn a larger amount for less work. In other words, rather than make X number of dollars per hour, I make XXX number of dollars per week/month/year depending on the client. It still works out to be the same hourly rate - just spread out over a greater period.
My point is this - don't devalue yourself. You know what you are worth. Promises are just that - promises. In my experience they never turn out the way you want them to.
The guy I ended up working at $20 for promised me it would be "6 months at the most" and then there'd be a substantial raise, profit sharing, etc etc. None of that ever materialized. I did get a slight bump in pay, after I asked for it - after about a year.
Unfortunately I worked like that for almost 2 years until I realized that I would never realize the promises he made. The company was always broke according to him, which is why there was no profit sharing. That's also why I never got any raises.
So after 2 years I started to slowly built up my client base again. Even though I said I wouldn't, I had to - I was living paycheque to paycheque and that's no life to live.
That's why just after my 3rd anniversary with the company I no longer worked there. I had developed enough of a client base that I could afford to work for myself full time again. Sure it was tight for a couple months but you know what? My first full time month of self employment I made double what I made working for him. And I've never looked back.
Now when I compare my current self employment salary to what I was making there - usually within 4-6 months I've already made more than what I made in a whole year working there.
All because I chose to listen to his spin and devalue what I knew to be my own true worth.
I was once interviewed by a client who wanted me to work for him full time - give up my self-employment as a consultant to work exclusively for him.
At the time I thought this was great - I'd be rolling in the cash - this was a big company (I thought) so they could afford to pay me lots!
He asked what my hourly rate was. At the time it was $50/hour - about average for my industry.
He then went on to say that if I make $50/hour - 8 hour day - 5 days a week - I must be making a couple thousand dollars per week. Was that the case?
No it wasn't - I was spending a good part of the time doing non-paid promotions as I was still trying to build my business.
So then he asked me to figure out what my "actual" hourly rate was. Turns out it was closer to $20/hour once I factored in all the non-paid stuff I was doing to fill out my week.
He then offered me $20 per hour to work for him full time.
At the time it seemed fair - the way he spun it made sense to me.
But I'm here to tell you it wasn't. I should have followed my gut and stayed at my regular rate. What I did was devalue myself.
I've since learned not to do that. I rarely take less than my normal rate - I only do it where there's the potential to earn a larger amount for less work. In other words, rather than make X number of dollars per hour, I make XXX number of dollars per week/month/year depending on the client. It still works out to be the same hourly rate - just spread out over a greater period.
My point is this - don't devalue yourself. You know what you are worth. Promises are just that - promises. In my experience they never turn out the way you want them to.
The guy I ended up working at $20 for promised me it would be "6 months at the most" and then there'd be a substantial raise, profit sharing, etc etc. None of that ever materialized. I did get a slight bump in pay, after I asked for it - after about a year.
Unfortunately I worked like that for almost 2 years until I realized that I would never realize the promises he made. The company was always broke according to him, which is why there was no profit sharing. That's also why I never got any raises.
So after 2 years I started to slowly built up my client base again. Even though I said I wouldn't, I had to - I was living paycheque to paycheque and that's no life to live.
That's why just after my 3rd anniversary with the company I no longer worked there. I had developed enough of a client base that I could afford to work for myself full time again. Sure it was tight for a couple months but you know what? My first full time month of self employment I made double what I made working for him. And I've never looked back.
Now when I compare my current self employment salary to what I was making there - usually within 4-6 months I've already made more than what I made in a whole year working there.
All because I chose to listen to his spin and devalue what I knew to be my own true worth.
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