You're pricing your projects wrong

You're pricing your projects wrong

Author: The Happy Startup School November 24, 2021 Duration: 40:21

Most projects a priced based on people's time.

The proposal, as well as containing lots of justification for choosing you as a supplier, is essentially a shopping list of project member's time and how much their hourly rates are.

This is helpful in terms of being transparent and making feel the client is informed.

But IS it really helpful?

More information doesn't necessarily mean more power.

Unless your client is empowered to make a choice and believe that the price you're giving them is worth paying then it doesn't matter how granular and transparent you are about your pricing it won't help them.

In the end you're providing a number and your client needs to able to make sense of that number and explain it to others.

Also, when it comes to doing work that includes some inherent uncertainty, such as creative work or developing an innovative app, then defining price based on time isn't necessarily helpful either.

More than anything clients want certainty about what they're going to get and what they're going to spend in order to get it.

And they want to avoid any regrets about how much they spent (i.e. they want to feel good about spending more money).

They want definite outcomes without feeling like they've been conned.

They want solutions and good feelings.

How does you project pricing help create these?


For freelancers and founders who believe their work has genuine purpose, the conversation around money can feel like the most awkward part of the job. The Happy Pricing Podcast, from The Happy Startup School, steps directly into that discomfort. It operates from a simple, radical premise: pricing shouldn't be a silent calculation of fear or greed, but a clear, confident dialogue about shared value. This isn't about racing to the bottom to please clients or inflating rates to exploit them. Instead, each episode focuses on building the practical capability to have those necessary, often avoided, financial conversations. You'll hear real strategies for articulating your worth in a way that feels authentic, ensuring the exchange is equitable and that you are properly compensated for the impact you create. The discussions move beyond theory into the nuanced reality of running a purpose-driven business, exploring how to structure fees, negotiate with clarity, and ultimately create arrangements where both you and your clients feel good about the investment. Tuning into this podcast means re-framing pricing from a transactional headache into a core component of your professional integrity and happiness. It's for those ready to move past anxiety and into a practice where everyone truly shares in the value being delivered.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 75

The Happy Pricing Podcast
Podcast Episodes
3 years of Happy Pricing in 25 minutes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:11
Carlos and Ben wrap up their Happy Pricing podcast series with a look back on what they’ve learned, and take a moment to think about what’s next.LinksJoin the Happy Pricing courseListen to Peripheral Thinking, Ben’s podc…
How to deal with your customer saying no [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:38
What's the first thing you do when a potential customer tells you that they don't want to work with you? Run and hide? Here's how it went…You've had a great conversation. You've explained to them what you do and how expe…
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Duration: 38:39
When you’re working for yourself or running a small business, navigating challenging times can feel like being a little boat on choppy seas. Your job is to keep the boat float until calmer waters come.You're feeling naus…
Selling to and pricing for corporate clients [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:52
How would you sell and price an immersive retreat experience for people in the corporate world?What would we need to do to be confident and clear about the value and the cost?There have been similar discussions within th…
Why pricing matters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:17
Carlos was watching a webinar from the "6 figure side hustle" people when he heard them talk about some really interesting pricing principles."People aren't logical. They're psychological."And so there are simple things…
How to be financially free [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:49
Alexlouise is a money success coach and author of Rock Solid Money Maker. She joins Carlos and Ben to talk about financial freedom. They cover what it means for her and what she believes you need to think and do to achie…
Would you buy a course for £96,000? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:46
Ben and Carlos reflect on the pricing of the Do Lectures’ latest course, the Secrets of Small Magical Events – a course to help you run events that benefit your business rather than burn you out.For over 15 years, David…
How to ask for money without feeling greedy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:53
Recently one of the Happy Startup community members approached Carlos with a challenging situation. They are owed several thousands of pounds for work they’d done for their client but the client said they were unable to…
How to price products vs services [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:40
Tom Nixon is a coach who helps founders create purpose-driven companies. He's also the founder of Maptio, an online tool that helps fast-changing organisations visually map how their teams are organised and evolve.And he…
How to price a client-friendly retainer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:23
If you’re a coach, consultant or agency one way to be able to guarantee some steady income is to work on a retainer basis.But what does that mean from the client’s perspective? How do you generate the commitment from cli…