Chris Do, an Emmy award-winning designer and CEO of Blind, dives into pricing strategies for design services. He discusses the importance of valuing creative work and how to attract high-paying clients. The conversation critiques hourly billing and promotes value-based pricing, emphasizing empathy in understanding client needs. Chris also explores how our backgrounds shape our financial mindsets and the balance between personal values and professional goals. He highlights the role of community in building confidence and suggests that ambition should focus on impact, not just income.
Analyzing past project costs allows designers to adjust future pricing effectively, ensuring they cover expenses and achieve profitability.
Many designers struggle with the guilt of charging for creative services, which leads to undervaluation and self-exploitation.
Adopting a value-based pricing model enables designers to align their services with the unique value they provide to each client.
Deep dives
Pricing Strategies Leveraging Historical Data
Analyzing past project costs is essential for setting competitive prices. By reviewing previous video or web project experiences and considering the financial outcomes, designers can adjust future pricing to ensure they cover costs effectively while achieving a profit margin. If a project proved to be financially burdensome, it serves as a learning opportunity to recalibrate pricing for similar future projects. This backward-looking analysis enables designers to make more informed pricing decisions, ultimately leading to a more sustainable business model.
Mindset Challenges in Valuing Creative Work
Many designers grapple with the emotional complexities of charging for their creative services, often feeling guilty about monetizing something they enjoy. This guilt can lead to undervaluation of their work, resulting in a cycle of self-exploitation. The podcast underscores that the desire to help others can cloud judgment, causing designers to offer their skills at lower rates. Recognizing the psychological barriers to pricing creatively is crucial for shifting toward fair compensation that reflects true value.
Shifting from Time-Based to Value-Based Pricing
The common practice of tying a designer's worth to hourly billing obscures the true value of their expertise. This episode highlights that value should not be based solely on time spent but rather on the unique needs and circumstances of each client. By embracing a value-based pricing approach, designers can better align their services with the specific worth those services hold for individual clients. This transformation allows for more meaningful conversations around pricing and empowers designers to charge appropriately.
The Impact of Money Mindset on Entrepreneurship
The relationship between personal history and money can significantly influence a designer's business approach. Designers may carry familial attitudes towards finances that shape their beliefs about earning and spending. The conversation emphasizes the importance of reassessing these perspectives to foster a healthier mindset around money-making opportunities. By cultivating a positive relationship with money, designers can embark on their entrepreneurial journeys with a clear vision, grounding their goals in both practicality and aspiration.
Creating Impact Through Entrepreneurial Success
Designers are encouraged to prioritize their financial stability as a foundation for making a broader impact. The podcast stresses that individuals should first secure their essential needs before considering how to help others. Once financial security is achieved, designers are equipped to extend their influence and contribute to their communities more effectively. The discussion illustrates how focusing on personal success empowers designers to create additional positive change in the world around them.
I teased about this recently on my social media and got a HUGE response which tells me…you’re pumped to see Chris Do on The Web Design Business Podcast and I’m pumped to share our full conversation with you!
Chris is known for helping web designers charge their worth, price value over time, get higher-paying clients, how to negotiate during a sales call and how to price for the life you want to live and somehow, we covered all of that and more in our very fast hour together.
Enjoy the full convo and head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/368
P.S. Did you know? Web Designer Pro members got early access to this conversation, completely unedited – it’s just another reason to join WDP as you get access to the private Pro Podcast feed no matter what tier you’re on! Become a member today at webdesignerpro.com
Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/368
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