Talkin’ about money is tough stuff, especially if you tend to see yourself as a designer rather than a business person. We’d love to help you merge the two sometime, if you’re interested, but for now let’s just tackle one big “businessy fear” together.

Pricing.

(AAH!)
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Qualms and Questions

When you approach this oh-so-intimidating topic, you might wonder–

Am I underpricing my work?
Am I overpricing my work?
Am I overthinking this whole thing?

Generally, the answers to these questions are, in order-

Probably.
Probably not.
Almost certainly.
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The Secret Is There Is No Secret

So, what’s the secret to stopping all of that overthinking, building your confidence,  and finally hitting a sweet spot with your pricing?

Well, tbh, there kind of isn’t one big secret. Shocking, we know! This is an ongoing journey for so many of us, and it’s one that you can start right here, right now.

Shall we?

In the time it takes to make dinner or watch roughly ⅕ of a superhero movie, you can learn enough about pricing your work to change the trajectory of your career in design completely.

Is that a little scary? Then we have no choice but to double-dog-dare you to try it.

(Chanting: do it, do it, do it!)
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Some Ideas to Get You Started

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Do you have enough time for a whole HALF of a superhero movie? Now we’re talkin’! Check out this vid that dives a little deeper into the topic and includes some more seriously helpful role-play to see these concepts in action!
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Bite-Sized Pieces

If you don’t have time for the superhero movie and only have the time to pop the popcorn, no sweat, friend! Here’s the Jiffypop version of what Chris covers in the above videos:

1. Flip “Time is Money” on its head – charging by the hour punishes you for being efficient, and that’s bass-ackwards if you ask us.
2. Remember to consider the client’s individual needs, their size, and the risk they assume when you assess the “value of the work.” Or, like Chris says, “Price the client, not the work.”
3. Clients don’t choose the “best” option; they choose the least risky option, so make yourself less risky when you’re pricing, not necessarily less “expensive.”
4. Brush up on business banter! No, for real, it’s a lot easier to get the information you need to make confident calls on your pricing when the folks you’re talking to see you as a fellow business person and not “just” a designer.

These are only a few points that pop out (Eh? Get it?), but there’s so much more to learn and explore on your journey to pricing with confidence. But, hey, so far so good, right?

Let’s test it out real quick–

Ah, em…

PRICING!

…

Not so scary anymore, is it?

Whether you’re ready to make that jump into bad*ss “business-person-ness” or want more resources for pricing with confidence, check out Business Bootcamp and take this lil’ quiz-a-row-knee to see if you’re ready to face your fears and run your business like a boss.
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