"The biggest thing I’ve learned about pricing and packaging is that my time is valuable, and as I’ve increased my rates, the quality of my clients has increased. I find my current clients respect and value my work more now than when I was charging less. Bundling my services together has also been a surprisingly useful tactic for retainer clients.

In addition, creating better contracts with very specific deliverables, inclusions, and timelines has made all the difference in setting clear expectations and keeping projects on target. Because I offer many different types of services under one umbrella, it's taken a lot of work to create clear guidelines for myself regarding pricing, but it's made a big difference in getting paid on time and keeping clients coming back.

Also, saying NO has been one of the most beneficial things for my business. Rather than pitching jobs to clients and hoping they'll hire me, I spend a lot of time interviewing them when they inquire about my services. I make sure we are a good fit to work together, and I will step away if I get a sense that it would not be. I no longer do trades, and while I have a friends & family discount, I am very selective now about who I will take on as a client. It's given me more energy for my existing clients and increased the value of my projects with them."