It's truly OK to start small, here's the reason why

Guys. It's OK to start small. $3/hour? Sure, why not? No experience, no skills, and no portfolio to show? $3/hour is quite alright.

Of course, you're not going to stay there for long. As you build your skills, you gain your experience, you build your portfolio, you're not going to be worth $3/hour anymore.

And it's OK to be ambitious. It's how we all got from there to here. The more proactive freelancers understand that they need to pick up new skills to land better projects, and that's alright.

When we say "know your worth"-- that's it right there. You put in the work, you're smart about your growth, but most importantly, you bring REAL value to your team. Hindi yung para masabi lang.

Knowing your worth also means you know anong tamang rate dapat ang para sa job role mo. We all want $20/hour, $30/hour or more, sure. Pero based on your experience and your knowledge of supply-and-demand, alam mo naman na hindi realistic yan. You can work towards it, though, diba? That's what's great about what we do-- we dictate our own career growth.

Let me tell you this though: if you know you bring value, you won't resort to lowballing or lowball offers. Knowing your worth also means you know when to say "no". Market's too saturated? Grow into another market, pick up a new skill. Differentiate yourself and show prospects why they should pick you and not somebody else. Or go pick a niche, dun ka magspecialize.

Again, that's something only experience and expertise can give you. So OK lang yan, guys. Go for the $3/hour jobs. Wake yourself a better freelancer. Learn something new every day. Charge more with your next project. Paunti-unti wag naman garapal. Slow and steady wins the race.

Most important takeaway: ALWAYS bring VALUE and show them your value.