If you’re new to freelancing, it can be a little overwhelming and confusing. There’s so much to think about and so much to set up. You need to ensure you’re doing the right things and not wasting your time and money on the wrong things. You also need to ensure you’re starting as you mean to go on, especially when it comes to business and pricing.

Recently I was chatting with Emma Cossey over on my podcast. She’s the go-to resource for everything when you’re new to freelancing. Emma’s passionate about taking away the fear around being a freelancer and ensuring you have everything you need to build a business that suits you and your personality.

The essentials new freelancers tend to overlook

Two essentials often get overlooked by new freelancers - terms and conditions and business boundaries. Terms and conditions don’t need to be full of legal language. They can be a list of boundaries and expectations between you and a client, simply...

There are loads of pricing myths out there in the online world. From pricing low when starting out right through to only being able to price per hour, these myths only serve to keep you stuck at a money ceiling of your own making. 

So let’s bust 5 of the most popular pricing myths coaches and consultants, in particular, come up against.

Pricing myth #1: Pricing is a one and done thing

Prices change all the time, and it’s never a just once done kind of thing. After my recent podcast chat with Osmaan Sharif, I started putting my prices up after every 5 clients. When it comes down to it, pricing really is just trial and error. 

The only way you know if something is the right price is a) if it earns enough for you, and b) whether somebody’s prepared to pay for it! If it’s perceived to be too expensive or not provide enough value, people won’t buy it.  

You must think about where your products and services fit in your process and how you...

Moving from hourly billing to fixed pricing is a big step towards pricing more effectively in your business. There’s a real fear that if you move from hourly billing to fixed pricing, you’re not going to charge enough. But when you’re billing per hour, you’re only billing for the hours you work - and that doesn’t cover everything!

Why hourly pricing isn’t the best option for you

One of the big problems with hourly pricing is you’re not billing for everything. There’s the time you’re thinking about the task, the initial client set-up call and emails, the background research work you may do. 

And there’s another big issue. If you’re used to doing the work, you’ll naturally get quicker at it. If you then charge per hour, your billable hours may end up going down for each client you work with! Check out the podcast I recently did with Jonathan Stark for more details on how value-based pricing can help you bring...

Following an email last week on this topic, I decide to expand on when you should work for free.

Generally, I don't agree with working for free. When someone asks to pick your brains, or grab a coffee, you are giving away your time and expertise for free and you should be looking to offer a power hour for this. If you need help with this, my Creating and Pricing your Power Hour masterclass may help.

Be careful of expressions like "it will be good exposure for you" or "it will raise your profile".

Ask yourself:

1. Is this something my paying clients would expect to pay for?

2. Is it part of my core offering that I would give away for free?

3. Is this audience one I can't get in front of normally?

4. Does this actually raise my profile and have me down as an expert?

5. Is this going to be a lot of work and no reward?

I've done this quite a lot over the last 6 months and have done podcast interviews and have been in Janet Murray's membership a lot. It has gained me new clients and it has...

Do you price by the hour? Or do you price based on your hourly rate?

Pricing by the hour really undermines how efficient you are and how quickly you can get a result. If you can get the same result in less time, why should you be paid less for it?

You have to work out what the value is to the client of your work. For example, if you are in HR, can you deal with employee disputes quickly and efficiently with minimum stress on each side? That's worth a lot of money to a client.

Are you saving someone time, money, or providing peace of mind? An accountant might save all three, but the main pain is making sure you are paying the right tax and not missing anything.

Think about the problem you solve and what results you get for the client. Why should they hire you and not someone else?

Ask clients different questions when you talk to them. Not about what they want doing but about why they need it - why now? Why you? What are they looking to get?

This is tricky to start with but with...

When it comes to pricing, everyone wants a deal. But that doesn’t mean you should discount your prices. Pricing is as much about confidence as it is about finances. If you’re confident about your pricing, you’re more likely to appreciate the value you give to your clients and less likely to be hasty over discounts. 

If you’re looking to increase your confidence around pricing, here’s a few things to bear in mind.

Pricing is about confidence

You have to be comfortable with the prices you set. If you’re not, it’ll show in your sales pitch and reflect on how visible you are. A lot of this is down to confidence - confidence in your pricing and your abilities. If you don’t think you can deliver what you’re promising, it doesn’t matter how low or expensive your prices are. 

But it’s also how others perceive your pricing too. Price too low and your ideal clients may worry about the value of service they’ll...

Do you track your hours? Unless you provide an hourly-based service (such as administrative assistance or transcription and editing services, for example), it’s highly probable that you don’t. However, when it comes to improving your working practices and charging your worth, it’s something you really should consider. Here’s why.

Do you need to track your hours?

It’s so easy to get sucked into spending a whole load of time on a project or task that isn’t that important. Maybe you find yourself working too many hours and need to know where to cut down. And just maybe you have no clear idea on how to price your products and services, simply because you don’t know how long they took you to create. 

Tracking your hours is crucial to your business efficiencies, working practices and your working routine. It helps you know several important things about your business and how you work, including:

• Where you’re spending your time.
• How...

As a topic, pricing is one that often leads to the most heated conversations amongst business owners. However, it’s also an area that a lot of people struggle with and have questions about. But if you want your business to grow and earn you a decent wage, pricing is something you need to consider and talk about. And if you’re still looking to price by the hour, it’s a conversation we need to have!

Last week we looked at one of the biggest pricing dilemmas - the importance of putting your prices on your website. Now, we’re going to look at why it’s so essential that you don’t price by the hour and what other options are available to you.

You need to know how much per hour it costs you to run your business

No matter how you price your services and products, It helps to know your hourly rate. Primarily, this is so you can accurately reflect the time spent on something and factor that into your pricing decisions. It isn’t a figure that you share...

As a topic, pricing is one that often leads to the most heated conversations amongst business owners. However, it’s also an area that a lot of people struggle with and have questions about. But if you want your business to grow and earn you a decent wage, pricing is something you need to consider and talk about. And if you’re still looking to price by the hour, it’s a conversation we need to have!

Last week we looked at one of the biggest pricing dilemmas - the importance of putting your prices on your website. Now, we’re going to look at why it’s so essential that you don’t price by the hour and what other options are available to you.

You need to know how much per hour it costs you to run your business

No matter how you price your services and products, It helps to know your hourly rate. Primarily, this is so you can accurately reflect the time spent on something and factor that into your pricing decisions. It isn’t a figure that you share...