Most people pick a price the same way
They Google what others charge
Pick something in the middle
And hope for the best
That's not pricing
That's guessing
And it's why so many people are overworked and still don't have enough to show for it
Paul Jarvis was a web designer in Vancouver
Good at his craft
Decent clients
But nothing that set him apart from anyone else
Then he made one decision that changed everything
He stopped trying to work for everyone and got very specific about who he was for
Female entrepreneurs building online brands
That's it
Danielle LaPorte
Marie Forleo
Kris Carr
He became the go-to person for that exact world
And once he was the go-to person he wasn't competing on price anymore
He was on a months-long waitlist
His rates went up
His clients got better
His work got easier
All because he stopped being one of many and became one of one
Here's the framework
THE FRAMEWORK
Stop pricing based on time
Hourly rates cap your income at your available hours
Price based on the outcome instead
What does your client have after working with you that they didn't have before
If the answer is worth $10,000 to them charging $500 because it takes you 5 hours is leaving money on the table
Become one of one
The narrower your niche the less competition you have and the more you can charge
Paul didn't just say "I do web design"
He said "I build brands for female online entrepreneurs"
That specificity made him the only real option for the people who needed exactly that
When you're the only real option price becomes a secondary concern
Use demand as your signal
Paul had a rule
If he was booked 3 months in advance for more than 3 months in a row he raised his rates by 15 to 20%
No guessing
No comparing himself to others
Just a clear, honest signal from the market
Demand is the only pricing data that matters
Lock in existing clients before you raise
When Paul raised his rates he sent a simple email
"My rates are going up but if you book work with me this week I'll honor my current pricing"
Existing clients felt respected
His calendar stayed full at the new rate
Nobody left
THE STACK
Here's how Paul actually did it
He picked one specific type of client and built everything around them
He stopped writing content for other designers and started writing for the people who might hire him
Articles on how to get the most out of a web project How to hire the right designer What good brand strategy actually looks like
He put himself in front of his buyers before they were even ready to buy
So by the time they needed someone, Paul was already the obvious choice
Then he waited until demand outpaced his capacity and used that as permission to raise his rates
No spreadsheet
No market research
Just a clear trigger and the confidence to act on it
THE MISTAKE
Pricing based on what others charge
If your reference point is what a random competitor is charging you're just guessing with extra steps
Other people's prices tell you nothing about your value your niche or what your clients are actually willing to pay
The fix is simple
Get specific about who you serve get good enough that demand outpaces supply then let demand set your price
That's it
Paul didn't 10x his rates overnight
He just stopped being generic and started being irreplaceable
See you next Friday
Meho
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