my 12 best freelance pricing insights

My CPA sent me a 54-page organizer to fill out.

It’s officially tax season. Yay.

Misery loves company, so for those of you based in the U.S., I’ve got 7,250 words about losing less money to freelance taxes. Scroll down to get that link.

For those of you more focused on the making than the losing, I spent 4,547 words unpacking my 12 best freelance pricing insights:

1. Get closer to the money if you can.
2. Better questions lead to bigger proposals.
3. Time is never what clients buy.
4. Focus on small, incremental gains.
5. There is no right or perfect price.
6. Heroism is a bad business model.
7. Freelancing is predictably unpredictable.
8. Pushback on price reveals one of three problems.
9. Projects that pay the most don’t always pay the best.
10. Leadership sometimes means being a wet blanket.
11. Don’t assume saving money is the client’s #1 priority.
12. Authority, guts, and confidence determine what you can charge.

The full article is waiting for you here.

As for that less savor business, taxes, my anti-strategy for years was to do the minimum and hope for the best:

• I stuffed receipts into file folders and envelopes: “I’ll deal with you later.”
• I wasn’t systematic with tracking and categorizing business expenses.
• I was erratic with quarterly estimated payments.
• I didn’t do any bookkeeping to speak of.

Most years, I owed Uncle Sam a fat sum, plus penalties, and I’m telling you, being disorganized and undisciplined wasn’t worth it. Getting behind on estimated payments wasn’t worth it.

Waiting for the hammer to fall isn’t worth it.

I finally learned my lesson, and in recent years, tax season has been something approaching pleasant. Hello, tax refund!

I published a MASSIVE blog post that can answer some of your questions and relieve some of your stress.

That said, the blog post is not tax or financial advice. Hire a tax professional. It's some of the BEST money you can spend.

Check it out the post.

And for all the need-it-but-not-going-to-read-it folks in the crowd, here's a tip: scroll down to the very end and you can get my freelance taxes checklist.

May April be your kindest month, whatever T.S. Eliot says.

How do you escape the charging hourly trap??

Start offering productized services.

The right ones help you stand out from other freelancers, increase the perceived value of your work, and earn more in less time.

Use my worksheet to get started.?

About Austin L. Church

Hi, I'm Austin, a writer, brand consultant, and freelance coach.

I started freelancing after finishing my M.A. in Literature and getting laid off from a marketing agency. Freelancing led to mobile apps (Bright Newt), a tech startup (Closeup.fm), a children's book (Grabbling), and a branding studio (Balernum).?

I love teaching freelancers and consultants how to stack up specific advantages for more income, free time, and fun. My wife and I live with our wrecking balls and two cats in Knoxville, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains.

You can learn more at?FreelanceCake.com. You can also connect with me on?Twitter.