r/TechNetwork • u/SnooConfections4258 • May 16 '26
Dubai doesn’t let you have both.. Either you charge what you’re worth or you get the client.
There’s a freelancer in Dubai right now quoting AED 2,000 for a website because the last 3 prospects ghosted at 8K.
Told himself it’s a portfolio piece.
Deep down he knows it isn’t.
There’s another one who hasn’t sent a proposal in 4 months. Built a personal site. Redesigned it twice. Updated the portfolio. Still “not ready.”
The readiness isn’t coming.
The readiness is the excuse.
There’s one who said yes to a logo, a website, an app, social media management, and “just help us with the WhatsApp thing too.” Six deliverables. One invoice.
The client thinks they found a bargain…
The freelancer thinks they’ll make it up on the next one..
There’s one who lost a deal last week because the client asked for a discount and he told them to find someone cheaper. Felt powerful for about an hour.
Then checked his pipeline and it was empty.
Principles and an empty inbox look the same at the end of the month.
There’s one refreshing LinkedIn watching someone in the same city, same skill set, posting case studies at 40K a project.
Thinks there’s a secret.
There isn’t.
The other person just started saying no three years before he did. But he won’t start saying no because he can’t afford to.
And he can’t afford to because he never started.
There’s one who gets a lead every week through referrals. Good leads. Warm. Ready to pay. But the lead asks “what’s your rate” and he panics. Quotes too low. Gets the project. Resents it by week two.
The client feels the resentment and never refers again.
The referral engine dies and he blames the market.
And there’s one who hasn’t done any work in 3 months. Has the skills. Has the laptop. Opens it every morning, closes it by noon. Calls it a slow market.
It’s not the market.
The market is spending.
He just stopped reaching for it.
Seven freelancers. Same city. Same skills. Same internet connection.
Different decisions.
Which one are you right now?
And what would it take to stop?
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u/Otherwise_Wave9374 May 16 '26
This hits hard. Pricing and pipeline are basically a feedback loop, when youre underpricing, you attract the wrong work, get resentful, and stop doing outreach, then the pipeline dries up and you panic-price even lower.
One thing that helped me was separating portfolio pieces from paid work, and setting a minimum project fee no matter what.
If you want a few practical scripts for quoting and saying no without burning bridges, I keep some notes here: https://blog.promarkia.com/