Do you take your customer on a pricing journey? It’s a question you need to ask yourself, both when thinking about product creation and also with your marketing. The pricing journey is something that can make the difference between turning a browser into a customer, a new customer into a repeat one, or risking losing the sale altogether.

The pricing journey

So what is the pricing journey you can take your customer on? Well, when a customer comes into your world, do you offer them a £27 pound thing or a £3,000 pound thing? There are always going to be people that want that premium top package or solution straight away, whilst others want to start low. But no matter where they start, you need to make sure your customers can see how they might work with you more. 

Get clear on your pricing

And this always starts with you getting clear on your pricing and knowing what you should charge for your services.So rather than just charging whatever you like, think about...

Do the words cash flow management bring you out in hives? Do you struggle to understand how cash flow and pricing are linked? Do you understand how critical cash flow is to your business? Cash flow is an essential aspect of your business, and you need to understand it. But if it currently makes your head spin, you’re not alone! 

So if you’re looking to better understand and manage it, keep reading, as this blog post is just what you need.

What is cash flow?

Cash flow management is basically what's coming in your business and what's going out of it. It also covers what's gone out of your business and what’s coming up and due to go out of your business. Because it’s essential to know what payments you have coming up so that you know if you've got enough cash to last you.

There's a saying: ‘Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, but cash is king’. It’s a good one to remember because, ultimately, if you don’t have cash in your business,...

Pricing is one of the big issues business owners and freelancers struggle with. Far too many entrepreneurs opt for hourly billing when they start out, only to get stuck in the cycle of charging per hour for their expertise. It’s a pricing model that limits earning potential and stunts any decent level of business growth. It also makes it difficult to outsource because you’re constantly thinking about your bottom line - it’s why I always recommend moving to fixed prices and packages as soon as possible!

But if you’re currently charging per hour, how can you move to fixed pricing?

I recently interviewed Geraldine Carter, owner of SheThinksBigCoaching.com, on this subject for my podcast. She helps Chartered Accountants with pricing and business strategy, so they can go from overworked and underpaid to nicely compensated with a regular, sane work week. So if you’re looking to stop hourly billing yourself, here’s how to switch to fixed pricing.

Pricing...

When it comes to pricing strategies, there are so many options to choose from. But as with many things, it isn’t always down to the number of choices available to you - it’s more about picking the right one for you. That’s why it’s so crucial that you think about your business and opt for the strategies that work for you, especially when it comes to pricing. 

So how can you make it easier for yourself so you’re not bumbling around trying to find pricing for your clients? You can use so many different ones, but instead of overwhelming you, I’m just going to cover the five main ones in this blog.

Pricing strategies based on an hourly or daily rate

Lots of freelancers and consultants use this. But if you’ve spent any time following me, you’ll know I’m not a big fan of this style of pricing. You should not be pricing by the hour as it punishes efficiency and always puts a ceiling on what you earn.

It is, however, often a good...

Do you know your business numbers? It’s one of those areas of business that many shy away from, but it’s a crucial element you need to understand, if you want your business to grow and be profitable. 

So why is it so important and what numbers do you need to know? 

Make informed financial decisions

Knowing your business numbers helps you make informed decisions for your business. For starters, how will you know if your business is making money or losing it? If you know your numbers you can decide if you can afford to make investments or hire a mentor.

But knowing your numbers will also help you know if you’re on track with your business and general financial goals. You can see if you need to increase your prices to cover VAT or to better reflect the value you bring to your customers. 

And if you’re at the stage where you are considering getting someone to invest in your business, you’ll have the numbers to back up why they should consider...

Cash flow is one of the most important things to monitor in your business. Without cash, you don’t have a business - and a lack of cash is one of the biggest reasons why businesses fail.

If you want your business to be successful, it pays to know what is happening financially within it!

Cash flow - the flow of money in your business

Simply put, that is what cash flow is. It’s the money in and money out of your business. That flow of money is the lifeblood of your business. You want a healthy flow of money because, if you have too much money leaving your business or not enough coming in, your business is in trouble.

And if you don’t know what’s happening with your cash flow, you can’t hope to know if your business is profitable or not either.

Why cash flow is important

Knowing and tracking your cash flow is more important in uncertain times. You need to know how long your money would last if you were ill or something happened and you lost key clients...

• Employ freelance staff where you can, rather than employ them, until you are sure you can keep them on the payroll permanently.   Employing people can work out cheaper in the long run but only if you can guarantee work.  Freelance can be more flexible.
• Make sure your marketing costs have a sold return on investment (ROI).  For example, if you are going to do Facebook ads, make sure this is factored in when you are looking at how much your offer is.  If you spend thousands on ads and are only selling hundreds in services, it’s not worth it.
• Don’t have anything on...