In the beginning, you won’t know what to charge for your services.
In fact, you will charge too little. And that’s okay.
Why? Because people can tell you’re still figuring it out.
Someone out there will see your potential. But they will also know they’ll need to massage the process to get the final result they want.
And that’s actually a good thing in the beginning. It will force you to improve your methods and processes.
Over time, however, it will become apparent that you have done this before.
You have the chops. You get results. People are seeking you out.
When that happens, you’ll know it’s time to raise your rates. The market will tell you by hiring you even as you increase your prices.
You’ll also feel more confident.
You’ll know you’ve sold your services at similar prices before and did great work. It feels less scary to say a slightly bigger number than it does to jump to a new price that feels foreign to you.
I’m not saying don’t raise your rates past your comfort zone. It should sting a little if you’re doing it right.
But if you are new to the game or your roster is sitting empty, start low. Build up your roster. Let a few people make a big profit off your time.
From that base revenue—which gives you a degree of confidence in itself—you can begin to take bigger swings.
Your confidence will increase the less you need the additional money. People will sense your confidence and trust that with that, you’ll deliver on your promises. And they will usually be right.
So give it a try. Start low if you need to. There’s nothing wrong with selling a few for cheap while you build up your experience.
Just remember to raise your rates when you feel like it might be time.
(You’ll know when it’s time.)
—Kevin
P.S. I have been feeling a little generous this week and have given my workshop on How to Design Highly Profitable Productized Advisory Services away for free to a few people on X/Twitter (I’m @kevincwhelan btw).
If you want it, the link above will unlock it for you at no charge until I disable the coupon in a couple of days.
Get it while the gettin’ is good.