Charge the most for the thing that feels easiest to you. It’s easy because you’re exceptional at it, which is exactly why other people can’t do it and will pay for it. Price the result the client walks away with, not the 40 minutes it took you.
You know the move. A client asks for the thing you could do in your sleep. You quote low, because it only took an hour and charging more would feel like daylight robbery. Then you spend the weekend on the thing you’re average at, billing three times as much, because it took ages and suffering feels billable.
Why it’s harder than it sounds
“Charge what you’re worth” is lovely advice with one tiny flaw. Nobody ever feels worth it. Least of all on a Tuesday, with a client asking for “a quick tweak.”
The real trap is effort. Most of us price by how hard something felt, and so do our clients. Harvard Business School researchers called this the labor illusion. In their experiments, published in Management Science in 2011, people preferred websites that made them wait while showing the work being done over sites that gave identical results instantly. Same answer. Slower. Rated higher.
Now apply that to you. Twenty years of practice makes the hard thing look effortless. The client sees 40 minutes. You see 40 minutes. Nobody sees the twenty years. So the work you’re best at becomes the work you charge least for. Brilliant system. Truly. (It isn’t.)
What actually works
Make a list of what comes easy
Write down the things people thank you for that you barely noticed doing. The proposal you knocked out in an hour. The problem you spotted in the first five minutes of a meeting. The “how did you do that so fast?” moments. That list is your price list. Start there.
Listen for the repeat compliment
One business coach calls these “green lights.” When the same praise keeps turning up from different people, that’s a signal about where your value lives. If three clients this year said “you made that so simple,” simplicity is what you’re selling. Price it like a product, not a favor.
Stop charging by the hour for your best work
Hourly pricing punishes you for being good. The faster you get, the less you earn. Charge for the outcome instead: the launch, the hire, the deal closed, the problem gone. The client is buying the result. How long it took you is your business.
Show the working
If effort makes people value things more, don’t hide yours. Walk clients through what you checked, what you ruled out and why. Mention the years of projects that taught you to spot the issue in five minutes. You’re not padding. You’re making the invisible part visible, so the price makes sense.
Raise it on the next new client
Don’t wait for a dramatic all-client announcement that needs a stiff drink and a cardigan. Quote the new number to the next new inquiry. If they say yes without blinking, that was your old number talking. Go again.
Hear it from someone who’s done it
Andrea Engstrom is a business coach and the author of Bold Confidence, and she was blunt about this when Serena said she’d heard the “it’s easy, so I shouldn’t charge much” line from several women that week. Andrea’s answer: it’s “exactly what you should charge the most for because it is probably not what comes easy to other people.” Jump to 14:22, or listen on the episode page.
FAQ
How do I know my worth?
Stop asking what you’re worth and ask what you’re unusually good at. Look for work that comes easy to you and hard to the people around you, plus the compliments you hear on repeat. That’s where your value is, and it’s far easier to price than “worth.”
How do I value myself in business without feeling arrogant?
Talk about results, not about yourself. A line like “my clients usually fill the role in weeks, not months” isn’t bragging. It’s information they need to say yes.
How do I raise my prices without losing clients?
Start with new clients, then give existing ones fair notice and a date. Some may go, and the ones who leave over a fair price rise were usually the ones asking for “a quick tweak” every Friday.
Should I charge hourly or by project?
For the work you’re best at, charge by project or outcome. Hourly suits work where the scope is unclear. For your zone of genius, it’s a pay cut for being fast.
The full conversation also covers people pleasing, old money stories and betting on yourself. Listen to the full episode.