They're not rejecting you. They're rejecting the price.

“But they're not rejecting you, the price is being rejected,” Melinda said boldly into the camera after Chris Do asked her to advise her younger self.

For a long time, a no felt like rejection. Like, somehow, I wasn't enough. In many ways, I'm not, but that's a lesson for another day. During my first year freelancing, I did a thousand things except write. I taught English online, I tried my hand at designing social media content. Working 16-hour days (sometimes more).

Why? Fear.

I was scared. I was afraid that no one would pay me to write for them. Later, I was afraid that no one would pay me to write for them at my rates.

My plan after quitting my job was to teach English online while building a freelance writing portfolio and landing more steady work. But I failed every interview I did that month – for teaching English to kids online! Something I'd done for years. I had the credentials, I had the experience, I live in an English-speaking country! On paper, I should have nailed every one of those interviews, but I didn't. And I panicked.

In my heart, I was afraid that if I couldn't get a job teaching, then clearly would I never land a gig writing, right?

Clearly, I was wrong. But my confidence was still gone.

It's hard to not settle for less when you have no evidence that better work will come. It's tough to leave the 20 jobs that will get you half-way to your goal and to pursue three jobs that will get you to your revenue goal at your set price when you've never done that before.

Believing in yourself, believing that you can do it when there's a mountain of evidence saying the opposite, takes strength. A strength you can only find in the pursuit.

There are books and courses and videos and blog posts with step-by-step instructions of how to make 5-figures in your first month as a freelancer. I know, I've consumed them all. But they can't help you if your trust is broken, if your confidence is shattered, if you don't believe you can.

Last month, I opened an email from a potential client and the words “I can't afford your rates right now” crushed my heart. I did the one thing you should never do, I negotiated against myself by lowering my rate twice, and I still didn't get the job.

The oh-so familiar feeling of failure washed over me. Then, from somewhere inside, a whisper came. Slowly, it came from my heart through my lips to my brain. “They're not rejecting you, they're rejecting the price.”

Let's be honest, Adidas are expensive to some people. That doesn't make them any less valuable. The CEO isn't crying because people think the brand is pricey. And neither should you, dear one.

Pricing is a big part of niching.

Pricing is in the DNA of that ideal client avatar you've been working on for so long.

Your ideal customer is someone who needs your services and is willing and able to pay what you ask.

It may not feel that way when leads are few and far between, but don't settle. Instead, work on your case studies, master your craft, network and get your name out there, so the right crowd, the right people know that you exist.

Keep your head up. You've got this.

Oh, if you wanna see that video with Melinda and Chris, check it out here: How to Run a Creative Business.