I had a client once tell me my rate was "surprisingly affordable."

That's not a compliment. That's a polite way of saying I was charging less than market rate and he knew it.

That conversation stuck with me. I'd spent years freelancing and never built a systematic way to price projects. I just... guessed. I'd look at what I charged last time, add a bit if the project seemed hard, subtract a bit if I needed the money, and quote it. No framework. No data. Pure vibes.

The result? I was chronically undercharging on technical projects and occasionally overcharging on simple ones. I couldn't predict my income. I felt awkward every time pricing came up.

The Four Things I Was Getting Wrong

After actually analyzing my past projects, I found four mistakes I kept repeating:

1. Anchoring on time, not value

I was charging €50/hour for work that saved clients €5,000/month. The math didn't work in my favor. The client doesn't care how long it takes — they care what it's worth to them.

2.…