9. Triple your hourly rate to make more money consulting

Let’s say you already make money on the side with freelance work (see option #5). With just a few tweaks, you can triple your hourly rate.

Step 1: Raise your rates through referrals

Don’t ditch a client the second you realize you’re not being paid what you’re worth. Instead, use that client as a source for valuable referrals, then negotiate higher with your new clients. Many people make the mistake of thinking that the referrer will reveal what they’re paying you. They won’t, so don’t fall into the trap of matching (or even going lower) than your current rate.

A project manager friend of mine was getting paid $25/hour. Her client referred her to someone else, and I told her to raise her hourly rate to $50. When she said her price, the guy she was pitching didn’t even flinch. She couldn’t believe how easy it was to double her hourly rate — she never lowballed her rates again.

Step 2: Be strategic about how you package your services

Another mistake lots of freelancers make is only offering one type of service at a flat rate. Instead, offer a baseline service at an hourly rate and then offer two higher-tier options.

Offer Multiple Packages with Increasing Prices

Let’s say you’re a freelance project manager like the friend I mentioned, and you charge $50/hour for your baseline services. You could then include marketing services for $60/hour or manage the entire project for $75/hour.

You should adapt this to your industry and skills — the important point is to offer increasingly valuable options.

This works for two reason:

Your client might surprise you by picking a higher tier (many do). By offering three options, you’ve shifted the prospect’s decision from “Should I buy your services?” to “Which package should I buy?” Fascinating, right?

Implementing just one of these techniques could boost your earning power forever.

10. Make money online by starting your own business

When you crack the code of starting an online business, you can take what you love, bottle it up, and share it with the world — automatically — for years to come.

This $690 payment came while I was eating a late lunch on Friday.

My systems handled the marketing, sales, even customer support. All automatically.

And the best part?

You can do this on your own. For the first time ever (and especially in the last couple of years), you can implement systems so powerful, they let you find the right idea, build traffic, convert visitors to subscribers, and sell — all automatically, and all on your own.

Some people take years to make real money online because they focus on all the wrong things. You can avoid focusing on the minutiae. I’ll show you everything you need to get started. Click here for the 6 essential steps to making money online.

Bonus: So many of you wanted to learn more about business that I created a massive 7-part guide to making money online. From finding an idea, to your technology toolbox — it’s all covered. Get your copy now.

* * *

I’ve shown you 11 ways how to make money fast. But, as we’ve covered, it sucks to be in this position to begin with. Money doesn’t have to be this stressful.

With that in mind, I put together a special bonus for you.

No more panicking if you have enough in your checking account to pay the bills — it’s my gift to you. This system took me 10 years to perfect and it’s being used by thousands of my students successfully.

Enjoy!

Ramit Sethi

p. s. This post was updated on January 20, 2017 to bring it up to date. Let me know if you have a tactic we should add. New header image by Philippe Put

p. s.s. Still reading? You need to join my Insider’s Area FREE to find out more tactics and scripts to teach you how to make money fast: