There are so many tangents to go off on, but let me pick this one thing to comment on:<p>Read Justin Jackson's story about the Mayor vs. the Ad Agency<p>Whichever price model you chose, you must learn early which clients are just wasting your time. There are no hard and fast rules, often it's just a gut feeling, but here are the mistakes I used to make & how to try to avoid them:<p>1) People who want to discuss their site for an hour or more on skype are not proper businessmen.<p>Look for people who's time is money - they have some key questions for you, they don't just want to "chat" about their idea. People who just want to chat - get your hourly rate mentioned early. If you tell them "I charge X" and they still want to talk a bit, then go with your gut, but don't talk more than 15min. with anyone without giving some indication of the price.<p>2) Don't lower your price unless you are repeatedly being rejected at that price level BY THE TYPE OF CLIENT YOU WANT.<p>That second part is important - your price will screen out the little projects you aren't really after. Don't worry if it is doing that job. But others will reflexively ask for a better deal, and won't push back hard if you don't budge. $10/hr less at "full-time" costs you $20,000 year that you'll never earn back.<p>What always seemed to happen to me was, the moment I agreed to a lower rate, someone would come along who was willing to pay full rate, and now I'm massively stressed trying to do everything.<p>3) Ask to see any specs and/or designs early - offer to sign an NDA right up front<p>This is to let you see how prepared they are, how professional they are, and if the work is defined well enough to be able to offer a weekly rate. Weekly rates are great, but they can be a harder sell for certain types of work.<p>4) Weekly rates are NOT risky if you define the number of hours/amount of work you can reasonable expect in a week.<p>Project rates are dangerous. Weekly rates just mean, "Of course I can do that! You understand that will cost X, correct? Would you like to cut something else out, or just approve the overrun?"<p>Weekly rates DO mean you need to be professional - you are promising 40-50hrs of actual work. For that reason I often go hourly to keep my personal flexibility.<p>4) Don't run out an "prepare yourself" for the techs you'll need for this project before signing the contract.<p>This is for the younger folks starting out, mostly back-end developers. Create a career learning plan of technologies you want to improve at, and use down time to study those. Don't jump around to new languages/server tools/whatever that a potential client mentions & never get good at anything.<p>To a point that's ok, when you really ARE new and need to get familiar with what is out there & being used, but get away from that habit quickly. If it looks useful, schedule it in your Career learning plan & visit at the appropriate time.<p>I know there's plenty more, but I think those are solid enough that I feel comfortable offering them to people.<p>Good luck!