Very well written, I'm glad I'm following this series.
However, I don't agree with stating a number upfront, at least not always. I'm not a designer, but in my own freelance development work I've personally never minded if a number wasn't given up front because it left more room for negotiation (for both parties).
While that's anecdotal, I feel it makes sense. If a non-technical person comes to me with a budget of $2000 and doesn't know that what they're asking could be done by any seasoned developer for $500, they're maximizing their budget up.
In general, I feel you should try to not state the first number. True, many developers and designers are more expensive than this, but many will also gladly tell you a rate (usually a combination of expected project length * hourly rate for one large fee). If you are patient, you might find it's lower than your budget, in which case you benefit by not stating a budget upfront.
This is all just from the "other side's" perspective. Negotiation functions a bit differently in freelance work than it does in a salary situation, but I feel that both parties should at least have a vague idea of whether or not they can work together and what the project is before they crunch the numbers.
Great points. For me it had been hard getting developers' attention before that (looking in places other than dribbble). Even with the budget I didn't get responses from everyone I emailed.
From a bargaining perspective I agree, I would normally wait to hear the other person's number, especially when I have the option to turn them down.
In this case though I needed to get up and running quickly, and including the budget increased the chances of hearing back.
