* If you don't mind dealing with recruiters, cwjobs.co.uk will happily email you a steady stream of PHP contracts at the £350+/day range.
* The big publishing companies seemed to be hiring both fulltime and contract staff in perpetuity. I'd follow up at PHP London, as they seem to hang around there.
You should be going to PHP London anyway, with business cards (side rant: not a single freelance developer I've met at a meetup has had a business card on hand. The same developers complain about how hard it is to find work. Don't be one of these developers).
> This put me off raising it higher
I know the feeling. There are clients in the world that can afford higher rates, but it's hard to remember this if you get turned down a few times in a row.
If you're nervous about raising your rates, I would suggest that you try raising the quote by £50 at every interview you go to. If it's too expensive for the client and you really need the work, you can always invite negotiation.
Other than that just stick to your guns, and remember that there are economic situations that clients can be in such they can afford to pay quadruple your daily rate without raising an eyebrow.
If you'd like to grab a beverage sometime and talk shop, details are on my profile :)
In this market, you really, really really are not too expensive.
Some concrete sources for PHP work:
* http://hackerjobs.co.uk/ - Quality of clients that advertise there is generally high.
* If you don't mind dealing with recruiters, cwjobs.co.uk will happily email you a steady stream of PHP contracts at the £350+/day range.
* The big publishing companies seemed to be hiring both fulltime and contract staff in perpetuity. I'd follow up at PHP London, as they seem to hang around there.
You should be going to PHP London anyway, with business cards (side rant: not a single freelance developer I've met at a meetup has had a business card on hand. The same developers complain about how hard it is to find work. Don't be one of these developers).
> This put me off raising it higher
I know the feeling. There are clients in the world that can afford higher rates, but it's hard to remember this if you get turned down a few times in a row.
If you're nervous about raising your rates, I would suggest that you try raising the quote by £50 at every interview you go to. If it's too expensive for the client and you really need the work, you can always invite negotiation.
Other than that just stick to your guns, and remember that there are economic situations that clients can be in such they can afford to pay quadruple your daily rate without raising an eyebrow.
If you'd like to grab a beverage sometime and talk shop, details are on my profile :)