In chapter 2, the book focuses on what to charge, the common excuses made and why the excuses are wrong. I share them freely here with the hope that it gets you thinking as well as inspires you.

It is better to have a low-paying client than no client at all
If you want your business to work, you have to be able to charge clients enough money to make it worth your while.

A low fee will help you win business over clients who charge more
Being the low bidder is a prescription for disaster. You have got to believe that you are going to help your clients and that your work is worth the money you charge. You are not in a commodity business.

Since you are just stating out, you can’t charge that much
How long you have been consulting should have little impact on how much you charge. What is more important is how well you solve the problems of your clients.

If you start off with a low fee and do good work, you will be able to raise your rates
This is a common misconception. Imagine you start by charging $20,000 for a project. Next year the client asks you to do the same project again and you want to double your fee, not happening. Why? You initially told them what it was worth based on what you charged the first time.

The last one goes to the heart of saying “only charge enough to pay bills and staff” because of a recession.

Each person has their own strategy for their business but I certainly will never again provide a low-ball quote just to “get in the door”. I believe it is far smarter to simply state the real price and offer a 10-20% first-time customer discount or state your price and be prepared to focus on only the clients serious enough to pay

One secret I came across in all these years:

That alone is reason enough NOT to under-charge for your services because it only makes it worse when your realize the headaches you are giving yourself for a pittance.

You thoughts? David Mullings