#Entrepreneur

Still Trading Time for Money? Overcome These 5 Key Hurdles and Finally Stop Charging by the Hour

Still Trading Time for Money? Overcome These 5 Key Hurdles and Finally Stop Charging by the Hour

Are you sick of tracking time for your own work? Are you sick of constantly reminding your team to track time with an app like Harvest for pricing purposes?

You probably recognize that tracking time itself is a stand-alone task that eats away valuable work hours. You are also aware that trading time for money isn't a sustainable business model, and you want to stop this vicious cycle.

But... (I know there's always a *but*) you aren't sure how to go about making the change?

I also started out by selling my services on an hourly rate basis. It’s OK. We all need to start from somewhere.  Although it was nerve-wracking in the beginning, I made the switch, even with existing clients, from charging hourly to value-based (a.k.a. expertise-based) pricing. If you are wondering how I did it, wonder no more. 

In this post, I'm going to share the top 5 hurdles that keep you from making the switch to value-based pricing & what actions you can take right now to overcome each hurdle.

If you are a solopreneur reading this, you'll get a ton out of this post.  Guaranteed.  By the end of this post, you will see clear steps towards value-based pricing that will allow you to gradually make the shift. 

But this is not just for solopreneurs.  Many established, full-on service businesses with physical locations and FT employees are still trading time for money by billing based on hourly rates.  In most cases, there are legitimate reasons as to why they continue to do so. 

Even then, I always encourage them to switch to value-based pricing, as the benefit of doing so is immense.  We’ll go over that in detail later.

Here’s the good news.  Unlike 15 or 20 years ago, when there were fewer options to charge for services, we now have plenty of options we can explore.  Thanks to the evolution of internet-based services, especially SaaS/MaaS, it’s much easier for customers to accept new pricing models.

In other words, they are more open-minded.

This allows even traditional service businesses to change their pricing & billing with less resistance. 

Is Being a Generalist Bad as an Entrepreneur?

Is Being a Generalist Bad as an Entrepreneur?

If you ask me, my answer will always be, "Absolutely not."  Being a generalist is a must-have requirement for all entrepreneurs.

That’s the answer to the question.  As much as I just want to finish this post right here (as I tend to look for excuses not to write), I know I need to explain, not only how to become a good generalist, but also why it is important to be one. I will do exactly that. So, stay with me. 

Recap: Battle-Tested Tips to Create Explosive Growth in your eCommerce Business

Recap: Battle-Tested Tips to Create Explosive Growth in your eCommerce Business

Here are the take-aways from my June 19th fireside chat with Tai Odunsi (Wizker.com), to discuss his entrepreneurial journey as an eCommerce brand owner.

We experienced a massive tropical rain storm in NYC, that night. As my luck would have it, it was the biggest one yet this summer. Still, there were plenty of eager attendees who braved through the storm to witness firsthand the testimony of an author turned into an owner of a product-based brand. It turned out to be a very intimate, and special event.

How to Take the Entire December Off: A Guilt-Free Method for Service-Based Entrepreneurs

For many, December is sort of a wash in terms of operating a business. When I was in the music business many years ago, getting the last two weeks off in December was a “given,” and I don’t quite recall what I was doing during the first 2 weeks of December other than cleaning out my office and going to holiday parties or hosting one for the label I worked for.  I’m sure those holiday parties did not help in sharpening my memory… Those darn parties…

As an entrepreneur, though, it is incredibly difficult to draw a clear line to be able to say to oneself, “Okay, since no one is really working, I’m turning everything off in December.” In your mind, there is always something to do, and there is always something to fix.