> Unfortunately, once you 'sell' yourself for $15 an hour, no one will want to pay you more than that for subsequent projects.
In my experience, this isn't true. I only freelance part-time now, but I've managed to raise my rate by $10/hr for each separate client I've landed in the past 3 years. Granted, I haven't raised my rates on any of my long-term clients in that time. But the evidence I have (and what I've read) suggests that above a certain price point, many clients have a much higher ceiling for per-hour rates than you'd expect, and that the clients who are strongly price-sensitive are often the ones that you'd as soon not take on.
In my experience, this isn't true. I only freelance part-time now, but I've managed to raise my rate by $10/hr for each separate client I've landed in the past 3 years. Granted, I haven't raised my rates on any of my long-term clients in that time. But the evidence I have (and what I've read) suggests that above a certain price point, many clients have a much higher ceiling for per-hour rates than you'd expect, and that the clients who are strongly price-sensitive are often the ones that you'd as soon not take on.