The day I 7x'd my prices (and it worked)

When I started working for myself, I charged $250 an hour for consulting work, and I was happy to have a full calendar. A year later, I was charging $1,800 an hour.

What happened between those two years totally rewired my thinking about pricing. And I hope, by sharing my story, that I can rewire your thinking too.

My big epiphany came when I started asking my customers how I was making an impact in their businesses. Their answers made me feel like a fool.

One guy said our strategy sessions had completely changed the direction of their sales and marketing efforts. Later I found out the advice led to $2M in new revenue. Another client said my advice helped cut their sales cycle from 90 days down to 30 with a simple suggestion about their target market. And another client told me I'd saved their company millions of dollars with a positioning exercise during our first month working together.

This was pretty impactful stuff to hear. Yet there I was, billing $250 an hour for "sales coaching" and feeling proud of myself for being so busy. I was busy solving million-dollar problems for hundred-dollar prices, and my clients knew it.

The moment everything shifted

When the reality of my impact set in, I knew my pricing was way too cheap. But raising prices makes anyone nervous, especially a new solopreneur. What if my busy calendar was suddenly filled with availability?

The first time I quoted my new offer, I was on a Zoom call with a healthcare tech CEO. I was about 11 months into solopreneurship, and I’d been practicing saying my new pricing out loud with my wife. I had even posted sticky notes that said "$14.4K" around my office, excited to be pumping myself up for the call. I felt like I really had it in me.

But when the moment came to say the numbers to a real human, who might actually pay me that amount, my voice cracked like a teenager.

"My strategic advisory package is...fourteen thousand, four hundred dollars for eight hours over a one-month period."

That CEO sat in silence for a moment that felt like forever. I stared into my computer camera, trying to be nonchalant Justin. But my face felt so hot. And it’s hard to sit in silence when you’re feeling like I was. Luckily, I had a Zoom filter on, so the customer couldn't see the blood rising in my cheeks. I quickly considered offering a payment plan or maybe even a discount when he leaned back in his chair.

"Is that all? How do we get started?”

Is that all??

His words changed everything about how I would view my own value moving forward.

Why I'd been hiding out at $250 an hour

When I think back to a year before that day, I was busy reviewing sales calls at 4 p.m. on a beautiful Friday in Los Angeles. My client wanted me to teach their sales reps better discovery techniques, and it seemed like good money at $250 an hour. I thought I should be grateful that any part of this wild self-employment idea was actually working out at all.

But sitting there, listening to another sales call, I was dying inside. It was a gorgeous day outside, and I was stuck inside doing something I didn’t really like.

See, that’s the thing about undercharging. It's not just about the money. It's about the kind of work you end up doing for too-cheap prices.

After helping build two different billion-dollar healthcare companies over the course of my career, I knew exactly what early-stage healthcare SaaS companies needed to do. I could see their positioning challenges, their go-to-market mistakes, and their pricing issues within weeks of working in their businesses.

But instead, I was teaching sales reps how to ask better qualifying questions. Yawn.

You know what I was really doing? I was hiding. Hiding behind hourly work because it felt safe. Hiding from bigger conversations because they felt riskier. Hiding from charging my real value because I was terrified of rejection.

So there I was, in a strange position. I was happy to be self-employed and staying busy. But I couldn’t ignore how I felt when I looked at my calendar. It was filled with tasks I dreaded and meetings I secretly hoped would reschedule.

I knew something had to change. And I had just enough confidence to reevaluate what I was offering.

The FITI method

So I started working on a simple process to figure out what I was really worth. I call it FITI, and it's exactly what I used to justify (to myself more than anyone) charging $14,400 for eight hours of work.

I tell people the FITI method is simple, and it is. But that doesn't mean it was easy.

Here’s how it works:

Feedback: I sent a simple email to every customer from the past year: "Quick question: Where have I created the most value for you? What do you wish you could get more of from me? What felt like a waste of time?" I didn't link to a survey or ask anything complicated. Just those three simple questions.

Iteration: I used the answers I got to make two lists: What clients loved (strategic analysis, positioning advice, go-to-market strategy) and what they never mentioned (sales coaching, call reviews, tactical training). Then I looked at what I loved doing versus what I didn't like doing. The overlap was pretty obvious: kill the tactical work and focus entirely on strategy.

Testimonials: I went back to the clients who reported big results and asked for specific numbers. Not fluffy testimonials about how great I am to work with. Actual metrics. Revenue generated, time saved, deals closed, etc. Because when a prospect sees "$2M in new revenue from our advisory sessions," your price becomes irrelevant.

Increase: With clear data about how I created value, a focused offer clients actually wanted, and proof that it worked, I packaged it up: 8 hours of strategic advisory per month, focused on one major growth blocker, $14,400 investment.

The messy middle nobody talks about

Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Well, here's what actually happened when I raised my prices.

The first few months were a bust. After one guy said, “That’s all? Let’s get started.” I didn't get another client.

I remember waking up each morning, doing the math. We had about six months of savings, seven if we canceled all the fun. And that negative voice in my head was getting louder.

"You're not worth the price. The first client was a fluke. Go back to $250/hour before you lose everything."

I still had an inbox filled with prospects that wanted hourly work. Safe, easy money work. One click, and I could go back to the old model and have a lot less financial pressure in my life.

But I'd tasted working at a higher level. Solving real problems vs. teaching basics to junior salesfolks. Going back felt like giving up on everything I'd learned about my value.

So I held on. Barely.

Then in month four, I got on a call with a founder who'd been referred by one of my testimonials. And when I said the price, he responded quickly:

"Only $14,400? Based on your work at Zocdoc and PatientPop, I kind of expected more. When can we start?”

These kinds of moments are the real drivers of change. Not just because of the money, but because of what happened next. He introduced me to two other founders in his network. One of them signed within a week. The other signed after a 30-minute discovery call a month later.

By month six, I had four clients at the new rate. Word was spreading in the healthcare SaaS community that I was the person who could spot that breakthrough that would transform businesses. And best of all, I was truly excited about the work I was doing.

My calendar was as full as I wanted it to be, and I was making more money with fewer clients. So I could go deeper with each one. And now I had more time to create content to help find more customers.

The bottom line

If you're doing work that feels beneath your potential, you probably know it.

Your clients already know what you're worth. They're just waiting for you to figure it out.

Start with feedback. Ask where you create the most value, and cut everything else. Collect real numbers that prove your impact. Then package your offer at a price that makes your voice crack a little.

The first person will say no. And maybe the second and third. But eventually, someone will say "Is that all?"

And when they do, everything changes.

If you found this advice useful, the FITI method I shared today is just one of 111 frameworks I teach in The Creator MBA. From pricing your expertise to building systems that scale, I show you exactly how I built a lean, profitable business that supports my life instead of consuming it.

If you're ready to stop undercharging and start building a business around your real value, check it out here.

That's all for today.

See you next Saturday.