How Debt & Desperation Led to Value-Based Pricing & Selling Strategy

Freelance Cake

Are you getting paid to uncover pains and problems your clients don't know they have? If not, you're probably in the same situation as Austin was: juggling multiple ventures, meeting with clients, and helping them get clarity around their problems (but not getting paid for that).

Discovering that his family was back in debt made Austin realize that certain aspects of his business just weren’t working. He had just stumbled on Brennan Dunn's The Double Your Freelancing Podcast, and Brennan shared an intriguing idea: project roadmapping.

Wait, you can sell project strategy on its own?!

This paradigm shift helped Austin break the relationship between time and money, get off the content and copy hamster wheel, and pivot to consulting and value-based pricing.

Freelancers have a creative skillset that gets us into freelancing: writing, graphic design, coding, you name it. However, soft skills are often just as valuable. Many clients don’t know what their real needs even are, and we can get paid handsomely to help clients get clarity, confidence, and traction.

More freelancers need to wake up to the possibilities!

In this episode, Austin shares his journey toward roadmapping, value-based pricing, and selling strategy as a standalone offer. This new path has offered more income and more time for creativity and relationships.

If you feel stuck and need help getting better leverage in your freelance business, then be sure to save this episode. Also, check out the link to the Freelance Cake coaching program below.

Key points

• Intro (00:00)
• Perfect start to their journey? Not my story (00:37)
• The deflating debt discovery at the beach (02:12)
• From $30k months to living paycheck to paycheck (07:05)
• The road trip that led me to the idea of getting better leverage in my freelance business (09:26)
• Getting paid for offering strategy for the first time (12:55)
• “Go find your most valuable aptitudes, not just your most valuable skills” (15:59)
• Do you want help getting better leverage in your business? (18:02)

Notable Quotes

"I haven’t had the Midas touch. And if we’re using mythical people, I have felt more like Sisyphus pushing a boulder up a hill."

“Go find your most valuable aptitudes, not just your most valuable skills.”

“Maybe why I really appreciate the people online who share all of the good, bad, and ugly in their stories is because my story has had some ugly too... I often find people’s failures more relatable than their successes.”

Resources

freelancecake.com/coaching

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

For specific beliefs, principles, and practices you can use right away to make the freelance game more profitable and satisfying, subscribe to Freelance Cake podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!