When it comes to pricing, whether you're a seasoned professional or a newcomer in the design industry, the process can be daunting.
There are a few key questions that can guide you in determining appropriate prices.
In this post I will share these questions and explain why they're important.
1: What is the Value You Offer?
Pricing isn't only about your hourly rate. It's about pricing for the value you offer your clients.
This value can come in many forms, such as saving your clients money or time, providing them with a unique experience or even the reputation and brand awareness you bring to the table.
Take into account your experience, your skill set, the types of clients you work with and the time you invest in each project.
As your reputation, brand awareness and experience increase, so should your prices.
This is why well-known designers can charge more for doing the same work - they've solidified their value in the market.
Aim to become so good that clients will want that same value from you!
2: What are Your Business Costs?
Knowing what it costs to run your business is crucial.
If you don't know how much your business costs to run, how can you accurately determine if you're making a profit? It also makes pricing projects more difficult.
If you haven't done so already, now is the time to conduct an audit of your last 12 months of bank account statements to get a clear picture of your business costs.
Factor in everything from rent, utilities, software subscriptions, travel expenses, marketing costs, staff or contractors and your salary.
Once you know what your business costs to run, you can factor this into your pricing, so you know you are covering these expenses at a bare minimum.
3: Are You Targeting Low-Quality Clients?
Interior design is inherently a high-end service.
If you're attracting "budget" clients, you'll likely find it much harder to make money and may end up with projects that you won't want to share. This can hinder your ability to grow your brand and attract better clients in the future.
Identifying the right type of client is crucial for brand positioning and business success. It takes the same amount of time to attract high-end clients and deliver on their projects, but you'll end up with projects you enjoy and are proud to share, plus more money in your pocket!
Pricing is an Art, Not a Science.
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to how much to charge. You should keep putting your prices up until clients stop saying yes. That is when you know you're charging enough. But you can only do this if you provide a unique value and service that clients actually want from you.
So, How Can You Provide More Value?
Here’s how:
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Invest in upgrading your skills
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learn how to market yourself
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learn about branding
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create a sense of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) in the market place about the services you offer
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teach yourself social media
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commit to self-improvement
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and ultimately aim to get 1% better every day!
All of this is up to you, and it's all within your control. Nobody can do it for you. Only you can put in the work to make it happen!
Overall clients will pay you more if they see more value in what you’re offering them.
This is called value based pricing.
If you aren’t confident to price at the same level you see from others then it could be because you are lacking the skills, talent, credentials or experience that is needed to take yourself to the next level (and lacking in these areas can often give you imposter syndrome).
So take a proactive approach, be self-aware and work out why you don’t feel confident to charge appropriately for your work.
Then do something about fixing your weaknesses so you can actually start making money in your business.
Thanks for reading and catch you in my next post :)
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
