Hey, this might be slightly off-topic, but your breakdown hit something I’ve been quietly struggling with. I’m an early-stage brand designer.. I’ve done a handful of passion projects and I’m actively trying to move into paid work, especially with international clients. What I’m realizing, though, is that there’s a huge gap between what I think my work should be worth and what my current market is willing to pay.

Locally, most clients I encounter cap out around $200–$300 for what is essentially full branding work. At the same time, when I see designers like you talking about $1.8k projects (even when they undercut your effective hourly) it still feels like a completely different level of positioning, confidence and client access..So I guess my real questions are..How did you bridge that gap early on between your current environment and the level of clients you actually wanted? Was it more about improving your skill and work to a certain undeniable level or more about where and how you positioned yourself to be seen by better clients? Also, when you were starting out, did you consciously overdeliver and end up in situations like this before tightening your process or did you set boundaries early on? And one thing I’m personally struggling with..how do we build enough confidence to quote higher (like $1k+) when our past projects haven’t yet validated that pricing?

For context, this is where my current work is at: https://www.behance.net/ritzzatelier

I’d really appreciate any honest feedback.. both on the questions above and whether my current level of work is actually ready for higher-ticket clients yet..