There's another interesting dynamic in play with this. The higher the rate you charge a client, the more they respect you. They don't resent higher rates - if they ever get to the point of resentment they will choose to no longer engage you (or never engage you in the first place), so ongoing resentment never enters into it. And that's as it should be - a consultant can't effectively work with a client who resents them.

Re confidence: yes, you do need to be confident of your abilities. You also need to be confident enough to walk away if the agreement isn't to your liking, without animosity - it's just business. They need to be aware that you're willing to walk away.

It's helpful if you have other active clients paying the same (or higher) rate.

Never burn bridges - it may be that they won't initially engage you because they think your rate is too high. They can research the market themselves, and the results may be:

a) They find someone else at a lower rate. You've learned that what you wanted to charge that particular client for that particular work is too high
b) They can't find a better deal elsewhere, so they gladly pay your asking rate. You've learned that what you've charged may actually be too low
c) They find other options (maybe less expensive but not as good), so they ask to negotiate your rate

If you burn bridges, options b) and c) are off the table. And if their new hire doesn't work out or they need more help than anticipated, those won't be possible, either.

You sometimes see something similar in software/solutions sales. Maybe you have a solution for small business and you license it for (say) $5K per customer. You then have an opportunity to pitch it to a medium or large business. The presentation goes well and the potential customer seems interested but also somewhat bemused. As things are breaking up you chat with a staff member and they remark "You're the third vendor we've talked with so far, and the other guys have been asking $25K to $50K". Your solution may be as good, or even better, but because you charge so "little" (for a medium or large business), they don't take you seriously.

Some organizations even have policies where the least and most expensive proposals are automatically discarded.

>It all depends on the many factors; one of them is a confidence. Let me present another example. From the world of tennis.
>Most tennis coaches of recreational players charge from $50 to $100 per hr. A lot of them, IMHO, are not worth it. They may have been good players but do not know how to teach. And yet I know a coach who charges from $200 to $300 per hour for his lessons. He is confident that what he offers is 2-3 times better than other coaches. In his opinion, I guess, the student learns more in 1 hour than if they take 3 lessons from a "cheap" coach.
>What I am trying to say is that you may want to show them (or convince them) that you can deliver 2-3 times more from your work than someone who charges $35.
>
>>Hello Dmitry,
>>
>>So far I've never seen a director that evaluated precisely how many hours it would take to complete an assigment.
>>
>>During development there are always surprises ;-)
>>
>>I understand what you mean with doubling what I will be asking for. That would be logic if I got around 35$ in the past. But hardly justifiable if it was 50$ per hour for example.
>>
>>Regards
>>
>>
>>>Hi Denis,
>>>
>>>Many people here gave you a good advice. My input is as follows:
>>>Whatever number you have in mind, double it. Then start negotiating from the higher number.
>>>Another thing to keep in mind is, if you will be paid 40 hours a week regardless of what you do. Or they will give you an assignment and tell you how many hours. This makes a difference since often time (at least in my case), you may spend more hours on a "project/assignment" than they pay you. You have to account for it.
>>>HTH.
>>>
>>>>Hello all,
>>>>
>>>>I've ben offered a consultant job with VFP.
>>>>
>>>>Considering that the demand is much higher than the offer how much per hour am I worth?
>>>>
>>>>Also considering that I used to work there for almost 2 years, so training should be minimal.
>>>>
>>>>I have a number in my head but I'd like to have your feedback.
>>>>
>>>>Regards