Ok, so you want to drive a luxurious BMW, because it's charming, fast and reliable. But then you want to pay the same price of a Fiat Panda, asking to have same maintenance costs and fuel consumption. Are you kidding?
Not really, this is what happens daily in the software industry. Customers want the same level of services, regardless of the price. So they buy a cheaper, open-source solution from an emerging technology shop, but then they ask for a free PoC, like they are used to get from big vendors.
In terms of consulting, it's more or less the same (or even worst). You should have years of experience, able to manage a team and drive the development of a project from its foundations to the end. But your rates should be the same as those of a kid just out of college.
This policy has almost destroyed the freelance market in Italy, but I can see the symptoms in other countries.
Somebody once wrote: "if you pay peanuts you'll get monkeys". That's valid for both software products and developers.
The Vendor Client Relationship In Real World Situations [VIDEO]
Good luck.
