New ask Hacker News story: Ask HN: How to charge on first freelance gig

Ask HN: How to charge on first freelance gig
6 by mavsman | 4 comments on Hacker News.
tldr; I've read lots of things about freelancing and how much to charge but all I can think of are excuses for why this circumstance is different. I'm thinking of doing some websites updates for a friend. I've done some work like this (Wordpress) a while ago but it's been a bit and it was pro bono at the time so I didn't even do any sort of invoicing. I'm mainly worried that I'll have to overcharge because I'm rusty so I've been tossing ideas around in my head. I estimate the time it will take me for each requested item of work I've been given but then what if it takes twice as long? Do your clients ask you to timebox certain tasks (i.e. if it takes you x hours to do it then give up)? If you can't finish a task in that time, do you still charge for that work? As an software dev at a big 5 tech company, I'd imagine my rate should be well above $100/hour but since this isn't my wheelhouse and it would be a first time, I'm more inclined to do $50/hour (despite people saying not to discount your rate).

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