July 3, 2025 • 11 mins
Are you charging what you're actually worth, or just what you think people will pay?
In this episode, Carly and Joe finally tackle the pricing conversation solopreneurs can’t afford to avoid. From ditching the hourly mindset to channeling your inner Alex Hormozi, they explore how to set prices that reflect your value, not your self-doubt. Tune in for hard-earned lessons, pricing psychology, and why bargain-hunting clients might be costing you more than they’re worth.
Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business. So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, be sure to check out LifeStarr Intro!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carly Ries (00:00):
Pricing your services as a solopreneur can
feel like throwing darts in thedark, especially when you're
just starting out. In thisepisode, Joe and I dive
headfirst into a topic thatwe've danced around for ages.
How to actually set your pricesand raise them confidently. From
charging based on value, nottime, to navigating client
objections and using pricing asa positioning tool, we unpack
(00:22):
the mindset and strategy thatsolopreneurs need to avoid
burnout and stop living invoiceto invoice. Plus find out why
low paying clients are often thehardest and what a $10,000
hammer teaches us about worth.
This one's a must listen foranyone still undercharging.
You're listening to the AspiringSolopreneur, the podcast for
(00:43):
those just taking the bold stepor even just thinking about
taking that step into the worldof solo entrepreneurship. My
name is Carly Ries, and mycohost Joe Rando and I are your
guides to navigating this crazybut awesome journey as a company
of one. We take pride in beingpart of LifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects of solosolopreneurship that has
(01:04):
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork.
And if you're looking for a getrich quick scheme, this is not
the show for you. So if you'reeager to gain valuable insights
from industry experts on runninga business the right way the
first time around or want tolearn from the missteps of
(01:26):
solopreneurs who've paved theway before you, then stick
around. We've got your backbecause flying solo in business
doesn't mean you're alone. So,Joe, we've had a few guests on
recently that I feel like we'vekind of alluded to pricing.
We've talked about itspecifically in some of our
episodes, but it made me realizeI don't think we've ever
actually talked about pricing asits own topic on the show.
(01:49):
We've been around the bush withit a little bit. I think it's
really important forsolopreneurs to get right, and
they're not gonna get it rightthe first time. I really think
that it's something that youhave to learn through experience
of what to price. But let's sayI mean, what are your thoughts
on setting your price andgetting it to a point where
(02:10):
you're not just living paycheckto paycheck and scrambling?
Joe Rando (02:14):
Well, first and foremost, I really think and it
comes back down to something wedo say all the time on this
show. It's about niching downand solving a very specific
problem or set of problems for abunch of people to have those
problems and see you as thesolution. Because if you come in
and you say, I'm a writer andI'll write stuff for you. Now
(02:36):
you're basically that kind ofpure and simple freelancer
selling time for money.
Right? so you're a writer, so Ineed a writer, so maybe I'll
hire you to write things. But ifyou come in and you say, I am a
copywriter for top performingsocial media posts, or I will
(02:56):
help you write your memoir sothat your children and
grandchildren and greatgrandchildren will know your
story, or something wherethere's a really specific need,
pain point, whatever it is, andyou position yourself as the
solution, now your rates are alot higher. Right? You're not
trading time for money anymore.
You're trading solutions formoney. So I think that's one of
(03:18):
the things that you need to doto really get to that point of
being able to charge what you'reworth. I think that's a step
one.
Carly Ries (03:25):
I think it's a mindset thing. I think you need
to chart the person that we weretalking to that made me think we
should do this episode is theywere saying chart, like, think
of what you think you're worth,and then add 10%. So that it's
not like you're shooting for themoon, but you're charging more
than than you think you should.But that also accounts for
(03:46):
technology that you need topurchase. I mean, you're not
just billing for your time. youhave software you need to use.
You have taxes you need to pay.You have buffer time that things
are gonna take you longer thanyou think they will. And even if
we are on a retainer model, youstill have to factor in how long
things are gonna take to setyour prices. And so go just
above what you think that is tostart, and then I think you can
(04:07):
always scale from there.
Joe Rando (04:09):
So there's this old joke, and I can't remember it
exactly. I don't know. I thinkit was you know, an engine on a
navy ship, and it wasn'tworking, and nobody could make
it work. And everybody wastrying to fix it. And this one
guy comes in, he says, I can getthat working for $10,000.
And they said okay. If you canfix it, we'll give you $10,000.
(04:31):
And he walks in and he takeslike a hammer, and he just
whacks it at this certain spot,and boom, the engine starts
moving. And they said, $10,000to smack a thing with a hammer a
couple of times? He goes, no.
You're not paying me forsmacking it with your hammer.
You're paying me for all theexperience it took to know where
to smack it. And that's whatyou're really dealing with here.
You know, you're not justgetting you paid for the hour
(04:53):
that you work or the projectthat you do. It's the thousands
of hours that went into makingyou the expert that you are,
that you didn't get paid for, ormaybe didn't get paid a fair
wage for, or whatever it is thatyou're now charging for.
And you need to keep that inmind, because it's not just
about that hour you put in, it'sabout the fact that there were
probably a thousand hours thatlet you do that one hour
(05:16):
effectively.
Carly Ries (05:17):
That is such a good point. And I also the other
thing I wanna bring up is wehave read Alex Mosey's books,
along with millions of otherpeople who have read those
books. Maybe I'm making themillions of them up, but I don't
think I am. I think that's true.What does he say about pricing
that appeals to you?
Joe Rando (05:35):
Well, I mean, first
and foremost, he says and hesays a lot of things about
pricing. One of the ones I readthe other day was, that the less
your customers pay, the moreproblem they are. And I gotta be
honest, I've had that experiencein my life where my last
startup, we had created anenterprise software company, and
(05:57):
we had customers spendinganywhere from 4,000 and change a
year to $700,000 a year for oursoftware and systems. And it was
true that some of those smallercustomers, you know, the one,
two seats, maybe three seats,were sometimes such a big pain
(06:20):
in the neck, especially on a perdollar basis compared to the
ones that we're spending a lotof money. And it's just got to
do with, they don't have as manysystems in place and that kind
of thing to deal with stuff, sothey're always putting it on
you.
And there's only so much asolopreneur can typically do in
(06:40):
that department. I mean, you'renot gonna necessarily be selling
$700,000 a year softwarepackages to Fortune 25 companies
as a solopreneur. Maybe you are.Good. Good for you. Awesome. But
the idea that, sometimes thosebargain hunters are the worst.
And charging a little extra andhaving a few people say, no,
(07:01):
That's too much, isn't bad.
In fact, if you don't have a fewpeople balking at your price,
you're probably priced too low.
Carly Ries (07:08):
Yeah. And if you are priced too low, you'll just get
overwhelmed because you'll getso many of those bargain hunters
that you were talking about. Andit's just a one way ticket to
burnout and not liking thebusiness that you've always
dreamed of running, which is areally big bummer.
Joe Rando (07:22):
Most solopreneurs need to charge more than they're
charging. But you need toposition it right. Otherwise,
you just look like, maybe youlook like I'm a writer, but I
charge twice. What do thewriters charge? And people go,
no.
I'm not gonna pay double for noreason. But give them a reason,
and, you know, now they'll do ithappily.
Carly Ries (07:41):
Yeah. Absolutely. And I mean, this is kinda like
setting your initial price, Ifeel like what we're talking
about. But this also applies toupping your prices for current
clients too. Because if you'reproviding the value that you say
you're gonna provide, and evengo a step further than what you
say you'll provide, they'llwanna stay with you.
I mean, the guy with the hammer,he likes to I mean, hopefully
(08:02):
they'd still hire him for otherprojects because it may have
taken a few minutes to use thathammer to fix the problem. But
if you provide the value, one,they're probably gonna wanna
stick with you. But they'll alsorefer you to others and you can
charge that higher price pointto others. So I think it scares
people to raise prices, but youshouldn't be scared if you're
providing what you say you'regoing to. And obviously, like
(08:24):
you were saying, you don't needto triple prices on a client
that you've had for a while.
But just do a little incrementalincrease, and people understand
they're probably doing the samething.
Joe Rando (08:33):
Well, the thing that we need to remember, and this is
where my gray hair comes inhandy, is that we've had a long
spell up until a few years agoof very low inflation. And it
was hard to raise prices becauseinflation just didn't feel like
a thing. I was a kid back in theseventies when inflation went
crazy. And, raising prices waskind of just expected. And so
(08:59):
now we're back there with we'vegot this inflation thing going
on again.
You know? And so it's a loteasier for people to go, yeah. I
guess they're raising prices toobecause the eggs are more
expensive and you know, I'mpaying more for my gasoline or
whatever it is at the time. But,it's just a function of it's an
easier time to raise prices nowthan it was, say, in 2018 or
(09:22):
something when inflation wasrunning at two and change
percent.
Carly Ries (09:25):
And like you were saying, a more necessary time.
Joe Rando (09:27):
That too. Yes.
Carly Ries (09:28):
Just for cost of living, you probably should be
raising your prices because itis going up. Joe, any other
parting words on this topic?
Joe Rando (09:37):
Well, I think an important thing to do, and this
goes back to Hermozi's thing, isto kind of, position your
product in a way that you'resolving these very clear pain
points for a group of peopleand, try to make it a pretty
narrow group of people. But thenalso anticipate the reasons that
they think it won't work forthem and be able to very quickly
talk to those those things thatmaybe make them say, no. It's
(10:00):
not gonna work for me, and andwhy it will. And address their
concerns with reasons that theythink it might fail or might not
work. And have that right inyour back pocket as you're,
creating your website or yourlanding page or a video or, a on
one sales pitch, whatever it is,you know, understand that from
the perspective of the buyer,they're looking to get rid of a
(10:23):
pain point or two.
They're looking for somebodythat they feel confident can do
that for them. And you need tobe able to basically say, I'm
the one for you. I can do this.And yes, I know you're worried,
but here's why it's gonna work.And here's why your worries are
not you know, why I'm gonna makesure those worries aren't gonna
come to fruition, and it's gonnabe alright.
And if you can give people thatlevel of comfort in what you do,
(10:46):
which is why I suggest narrowingdown, because you wanna know you
can do that. Right? Now you'vegot a situation where you can
charge a lot more money, andpeople will be happy to pay it.
Carly Ries (10:57):
well said. I think that's a great place to stop,
and I just think it's such goodfood for thought for people that
are considering raising theirprices or just where to start in
the first place. So listeners,thank you so much for tuning in.
As always, please share thisepisode with a friend. Subscribe
on your favorite podcastplatform, including YouTube, and
we will see you next time on TheAspiring Solopreneur.
(11:18):
You may be going solo inbusiness, but that doesn't mean
you're alone. In fact, millionsof people are in your shoes,
running a one person businessand figuring it out as they go.
So why not connect with them andlearn from each other's
successes and failures? AtLifeStarr, we're creating a one
person business community whereyou can go to meet and get
advice from other solopreneurs.Be sure to join in on the
(11:39):
conversations atcommunity.lifestarr.com.
Pricing your services as a solopreneur can
feel like throwing darts in thedark, especially when you're
just starting out. In thisepisode, Joe and I dive
headfirst into a topic thatwe've danced around for ages.
How to actually set your pricesand raise them confidently. From
charging based on value, nottime, to navigating client
objections and using pricing asa positioning tool, we unpack
(00:22):
the mindset and strategy thatsolopreneurs need to avoid
burnout and stop living invoiceto invoice. Plus find out why
low paying clients are often thehardest and what a $10,000
hammer teaches us about worth.
This one's a must listen foranyone still undercharging.
You're listening to the AspiringSolopreneur, the podcast for
(00:43):
those just taking the bold stepor even just thinking about
taking that step into the worldof solo entrepreneurship. My
name is Carly Ries, and mycohost Joe Rando and I are your
guides to navigating this crazybut awesome journey as a company
of one. We take pride in beingpart of LifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects of solosolopreneurship that has
(01:04):
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork.
And if you're looking for a getrich quick scheme, this is not
the show for you. So if you'reeager to gain valuable insights
from industry experts on runninga business the right way the
first time around or want tolearn from the missteps of
(01:26):
solopreneurs who've paved theway before you, then stick
around. We've got your backbecause flying solo in business
doesn't mean you're alone. So,Joe, we've had a few guests on
recently that I feel like we'vekind of alluded to pricing.
We've talked about itspecifically in some of our
episodes, but it made me realizeI don't think we've ever
actually talked about pricing asits own topic on the show.
(01:49):
We've been around the bush withit a little bit. I think it's
really important forsolopreneurs to get right, and
they're not gonna get it rightthe first time. I really think
that it's something that youhave to learn through experience
of what to price. But let's sayI mean, what are your thoughts
on setting your price andgetting it to a point where
(02:10):
you're not just living paycheckto paycheck and scrambling?
Joe Rando (02:14):
Well, first and foremost, I really think and it
comes back down to something wedo say all the time on this
show. It's about niching downand solving a very specific
problem or set of problems for abunch of people to have those
problems and see you as thesolution. Because if you come in
and you say, I'm a writer andI'll write stuff for you. Now
(02:36):
you're basically that kind ofpure and simple freelancer
selling time for money.
Right? so you're a writer, so Ineed a writer, so maybe I'll
hire you to write things. But ifyou come in and you say, I am a
copywriter for top performingsocial media posts, or I will
(02:56):
help you write your memoir sothat your children and
grandchildren and greatgrandchildren will know your
story, or something wherethere's a really specific need,
pain point, whatever it is, andyou position yourself as the
solution, now your rates are alot higher. Right? You're not
trading time for money anymore.
You're trading solutions formoney. So I think that's one of
(03:18):
the things that you need to doto really get to that point of
being able to charge what you'reworth. I think that's a step
one.
Carly Ries (03:25):
I think it's a mindset thing. I think you need
to chart the person that we weretalking to that made me think we
should do this episode is theywere saying chart, like, think
of what you think you're worth,and then add 10%. So that it's
not like you're shooting for themoon, but you're charging more
than than you think you should.But that also accounts for
(03:46):
technology that you need topurchase. I mean, you're not
just billing for your time. youhave software you need to use.
You have taxes you need to pay.You have buffer time that things
are gonna take you longer thanyou think they will. And even if
we are on a retainer model, youstill have to factor in how long
things are gonna take to setyour prices. And so go just
above what you think that is tostart, and then I think you can
(04:07):
always scale from there.
Joe Rando (04:09):
So there's this old joke, and I can't remember it
exactly. I don't know. I thinkit was you know, an engine on a
navy ship, and it wasn'tworking, and nobody could make
it work. And everybody wastrying to fix it. And this one
guy comes in, he says, I can getthat working for $10,000.
And they said okay. If you canfix it, we'll give you $10,000.
(04:31):
And he walks in and he takeslike a hammer, and he just
whacks it at this certain spot,and boom, the engine starts
moving. And they said, $10,000to smack a thing with a hammer a
couple of times? He goes, no.
You're not paying me forsmacking it with your hammer.
You're paying me for all theexperience it took to know where
to smack it. And that's whatyou're really dealing with here.
You know, you're not justgetting you paid for the hour
(04:53):
that you work or the projectthat you do. It's the thousands
of hours that went into makingyou the expert that you are,
that you didn't get paid for, ormaybe didn't get paid a fair
wage for, or whatever it is thatyou're now charging for.
And you need to keep that inmind, because it's not just
about that hour you put in, it'sabout the fact that there were
probably a thousand hours thatlet you do that one hour
(05:16):
effectively.
Carly Ries (05:17):
That is such a good point. And I also the other
thing I wanna bring up is wehave read Alex Mosey's books,
along with millions of otherpeople who have read those
books. Maybe I'm making themillions of them up, but I don't
think I am. I think that's true.What does he say about pricing
that appeals to you?
Joe Rando (05:35):
Well, I mean, first
and foremost, he says and hesays a lot of things about
pricing. One of the ones I readthe other day was, that the less
your customers pay, the moreproblem they are. And I gotta be
honest, I've had that experiencein my life where my last
startup, we had created anenterprise software company, and
(05:57):
we had customers spendinganywhere from 4,000 and change a
year to $700,000 a year for oursoftware and systems. And it was
true that some of those smallercustomers, you know, the one,
two seats, maybe three seats,were sometimes such a big pain
(06:20):
in the neck, especially on a perdollar basis compared to the
ones that we're spending a lotof money. And it's just got to
do with, they don't have as manysystems in place and that kind
of thing to deal with stuff, sothey're always putting it on
you.
And there's only so much asolopreneur can typically do in
(06:40):
that department. I mean, you'renot gonna necessarily be selling
$700,000 a year softwarepackages to Fortune 25 companies
as a solopreneur. Maybe you are.Good. Good for you. Awesome. But
the idea that, sometimes thosebargain hunters are the worst.
And charging a little extra andhaving a few people say, no,
(07:01):
That's too much, isn't bad.
In fact, if you don't have a fewpeople balking at your price,
you're probably priced too low.
Carly Ries (07:08):
Yeah. And if you are priced too low, you'll just get
overwhelmed because you'll getso many of those bargain hunters
that you were talking about. Andit's just a one way ticket to
burnout and not liking thebusiness that you've always
dreamed of running, which is areally big bummer.
Joe Rando (07:22):
Most solopreneurs need to charge more than they're
charging. But you need toposition it right. Otherwise,
you just look like, maybe youlook like I'm a writer, but I
charge twice. What do thewriters charge? And people go,
no.
I'm not gonna pay double for noreason. But give them a reason,
and, you know, now they'll do ithappily.
Carly Ries (07:41):
Yeah. Absolutely. And I mean, this is kinda like
setting your initial price, Ifeel like what we're talking
about. But this also applies toupping your prices for current
clients too. Because if you'reproviding the value that you say
you're gonna provide, and evengo a step further than what you
say you'll provide, they'llwanna stay with you.
I mean, the guy with the hammer,he likes to I mean, hopefully
(08:02):
they'd still hire him for otherprojects because it may have
taken a few minutes to use thathammer to fix the problem. But
if you provide the value, one,they're probably gonna wanna
stick with you. But they'll alsorefer you to others and you can
charge that higher price pointto others. So I think it scares
people to raise prices, but youshouldn't be scared if you're
providing what you say you'regoing to. And obviously, like
(08:24):
you were saying, you don't needto triple prices on a client
that you've had for a while.
But just do a little incrementalincrease, and people understand
they're probably doing the samething.
Joe Rando (08:33):
Well, the thing that we need to remember, and this is
where my gray hair comes inhandy, is that we've had a long
spell up until a few years agoof very low inflation. And it
was hard to raise prices becauseinflation just didn't feel like
a thing. I was a kid back in theseventies when inflation went
crazy. And, raising prices waskind of just expected. And so
(08:59):
now we're back there with we'vegot this inflation thing going
on again.
You know? And so it's a loteasier for people to go, yeah. I
guess they're raising prices toobecause the eggs are more
expensive and you know, I'mpaying more for my gasoline or
whatever it is at the time. But,it's just a function of it's an
easier time to raise prices nowthan it was, say, in 2018 or
(09:22):
something when inflation wasrunning at two and change
percent.
Carly Ries (09:25):
And like you were saying, a more necessary time.
Joe Rando (09:27):
That too. Yes.
Carly Ries (09:28):
Just for cost of living, you probably should be
raising your prices because itis going up. Joe, any other
parting words on this topic?
Joe Rando (09:37):
Well, I think an important thing to do, and this
goes back to Hermozi's thing, isto kind of, position your
product in a way that you'resolving these very clear pain
points for a group of peopleand, try to make it a pretty
narrow group of people. But thenalso anticipate the reasons that
they think it won't work forthem and be able to very quickly
talk to those those things thatmaybe make them say, no. It's
(10:00):
not gonna work for me, and andwhy it will. And address their
concerns with reasons that theythink it might fail or might not
work. And have that right inyour back pocket as you're,
creating your website or yourlanding page or a video or, a on
one sales pitch, whatever it is,you know, understand that from
the perspective of the buyer,they're looking to get rid of a
(10:23):
pain point or two.
They're looking for somebodythat they feel confident can do
that for them. And you need tobe able to basically say, I'm
the one for you. I can do this.And yes, I know you're worried,
but here's why it's gonna work.And here's why your worries are
not you know, why I'm gonna makesure those worries aren't gonna
come to fruition, and it's gonnabe alright.
And if you can give people thatlevel of comfort in what you do,
(10:46):
which is why I suggest narrowingdown, because you wanna know you
can do that. Right? Now you'vegot a situation where you can
charge a lot more money, andpeople will be happy to pay it.
Carly Ries (10:57):
well said. I think that's a great place to stop,
and I just think it's such goodfood for thought for people that
are considering raising theirprices or just where to start in
the first place. So listeners,thank you so much for tuning in.
As always, please share thisepisode with a friend. Subscribe
on your favorite podcastplatform, including YouTube, and
we will see you next time on TheAspiring Solopreneur.
(11:18):
You may be going solo inbusiness, but that doesn't mean
you're alone. In fact, millionsof people are in your shoes,
running a one person businessand figuring it out as they go.
So why not connect with them andlearn from each other's
successes and failures? AtLifeStarr, we're creating a one
person business community whereyou can go to meet and get
advice from other solopreneurs.Be sure to join in on the
(11:39):
conversations atcommunity.lifestarr.com.
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