I charge 5,000 Rs per hour. And Naval Ravikant’s book broke my ego.

The first time I had to think about the concept of an hourly rate was as a 20 year old hosting corporate events.

All I knew back then was making a professional-looking portfolio on Canva, finding contacts of event organisers, and calling them to ask, would you hire me for an event?

So often the answer was dot dot dot.

Rarely a no. Almost never a yes.

Just share your profile, yes this is my WhatsApp number, I’ll let you know, thanks.

And the line would go blank.

I’d take a sigh of relief because I was holding my breath. Cold calls were my test.

But I’d keep doing it because I knew it was impossible not to work. Pure maths.

And eventually it did. This time, they replied,

Hello, yes. How much would you charge for 4 hrs?

Time is money. Time makes money. Don’t make money with time. When you don’t have money, you give time. When you have time, you don’t have the money. When you have the money, you don’t have the time. Money buys time.

Pretty much sums up most of the sayings I’ve heard about time and money together.

Giving people a price for my time as a conference host at first didn’t feel like the price of me. I just tried to find a good average rate hosts were paid, ask for it, and negotiate for myself.

But internally, it made me question my self-worth each time.

And once you’ve anchored a part of your self-worth there, it’s hard to come back.

That’s why I say, doing freelance work, good freelance work, might make you unemployable.

With my full-time job after college, watching that Rs. 45,000 at the end of the month was depressing to say the least.

Not because it felt less. It was actually a pretty good salary for a fresher with no background in the field. Hey, I had negotiated and compared a lot for it.

The only thing you can’t digest is your time. 30 days gone in a flash. I’m not making the money I’m worth, I’m not learning as much as I can, I’m not having fun, I’m not healthy, and now they’ve made me this unhappy. What the hell am I doing? QUIT.

And this is how I reached the question of 5,000 Rs.

With more people knowing about my speaking skills, they asked me for a call. One-on-one training, and I had to set a price.

I may have spent an hour staring at the screen, writing different numbers and seeing how it felt.

I decide? I decide. Shit.

Since that day, it has been more than a month. And I have been paid those 5,000 for one hour multiple times. That worth felt like it was settling in.

Or so I thought. Joke’s on me.

Until I understood the true meaning of hourly rate from Naval Ravikant.

How could I set a rate of 5,000 for my hour for others when

I’d rather spend 5 hrs a day worrying about food and cooking instead of hiring a cook for 3,000 a month.

I’d rather spend 15 hrs a week editing videos, which I don’t like and I’m not even good at, instead of hiring an editor for 10,000 a month.

As a child, as a student, growing up, it’s good, even very important I’d say, to be the DIYer who would do it all, doesn’t need help, will learn and get it done.

But if that’s all you are, that’s all you’ll be.

Do it yourself? Dig your grave yourself too, since you’ll be long dead before you actually spend that time on things YOU are good at.

Too harsh? This is how I advise myself.

Naval has asked people who actually want to achieve success to double whatever rate they set, because it’s still too low. He had set a rate of 5,000 dollars for himself when he was actually worth 1,000 dollars, looking back.

Allow me to re-introduce myself.

Hi! I’m Hitika. My time is worth 10,000 Rs per hour. Of course, I will spend time with you and read a book. My joy and learning are worth well above 10,000 Rs. But that broken lamp, that dirty balcony, that Amazon return and reply email, I’d rather throw it away, pay for someone else, or forget it exists. Because my mental peace, my energy, is worth 10,000 Rs, and it is not.

Delegate, delete, or do it. Only options at the present moment.

Trust me, no, actually I’m making myself believe it. Even a moment of doing nothing, being bored, will spark an idea worth much more than 10,000. Or give me the mental health and space that when it comes time to work, I’ll be red-cheeked and grinning to do it. Doing it better than I would have exhausted by all the things I didn’t want to do before.

I’ll hold myself to that standard. I hope you do too.

Might make this a regular thing. Sharing my learnings and ideas this way is worth the 10,000 Rs to me.

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