How do I know if I'm charging enough?

Work out the true cost of delivering the work — including a fair share of overheads and your own time — then check the margin left at your current price. If it's thin, or you're busy but not better off, you're probably underpriced.

Should I compete on price?

Rarely. Unless you're genuinely the low-cost operator, competing on price is a race to the bottom. Competing on value, service and outcomes is usually far more profitable.

How often should I review my prices?

At least annually, and whenever your costs change materially. Prices that stay still while costs rise mean a margin that quietly shrinks every year.

Won't raising prices lose me customers?

Some, occasionally — but far fewer than most owners fear, and often the ones who leave are the least profitable. Testing a higher price on new customers first is a low-risk way to find out.

How to price for profit (without just guessing)

Pricing is one of the most powerful levers you have — a small change flows almost straight to the bottom line — and one of the most under-thought. Plenty of businesses set a price once, based on what a competitor charges or what "feels about right", and never revisit it. Here's a more deliberate way to think about it.

Start by knowing your true costs

You can't price for profit if you don't know what something actually costs you to deliver. That means more than the obvious direct costs — it includes a fair share of your overheads and, crucially, the cost of your time. A lot of owners discover that their busiest, "cheapest" service is barely profitable once their own hours are counted properly.

Understand your margins

Gross margin — what's left after the direct cost of delivering the work — is the number that funds everything else: your overheads, your salary, your growth. A price that looks healthy can hide a thin margin once delivery costs are in. Knowing your margin per product, service or customer type tells you where the real money is made, and where you're busy but not better off.

Price on value, not just cost

Cost tells you the floor; it doesn't tell you the right price. What a customer will happily pay depends on the value and outcome you deliver, not on your internal costs. Businesses that only ever add a markup to cost tend to leave money on the table — especially service businesses, where the value delivered can far exceed the hours spent.

The common mistakes

Competing on price. Unless you're genuinely the low-cost operator, racing to be cheapest is a race you don't want to win.
Never increasing prices. Costs rise every year; if your prices don't, your margin quietly erodes.
Discounting by default. A 10% discount can wipe out a large chunk of profit — often you'd need a big jump in volume just to stand still.
One price for everyone. Different customers value different things; tiered or packaged pricing usually beats a single flat rate.

Test, review, repeat

Pricing isn't a one-off decision. Review it regularly against your costs and margins, and don't be afraid to test a higher price on new customers before rolling it out. The fear of losing customers is almost always bigger than the reality.

Where we come in

Pricing decisions are exactly the kind of thing our advisory work and business coaching get into — using your actual numbers to find where you're underpriced, model the impact of a change, and give you the confidence to make it. If pricing is something you've never properly sat down with, it's often the single highest-return conversation we have.