People will respect you more when your prices are twice what you think they ought to be.

Preach! I've recently had a spate of one-off gigs doing home improvement and maintenance for rich people. At first, I undersold myself. I had been doing this work for the last several years in one form or another, but only on a volunteer basis -- in AmeriCorps, or for my family-- so it was very difficult to gauge what I ought to charge for my time. I found that when I charged a minimal amount, the clients were more entitled and demanding (frequent requests to drop everything and come over; getting haggled down; etc.). But because I was consistent and punctual and worked hard, I would always get follow-up work and referrals. It got to be that I was stretching myself thin from all demands on my time. So for the next client, I practically doubled my rate. Half-exasperatedly, I figured she would look elsewhere. She didn't blink, hired me on the spot, and it's been that much more lucrative since.

Granted my n is like 6 people. But I intuit that when you charge a higher rate, the client simply respects you more. This stuff has been incredibly fascinating to me. I've recently had thoughts about starting a business doing this sort of thing. I just wish that my marketable skills didn't have such historically low ceilings (property management, basic home improvement).