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#37 Don’t use the wrong measuring stick for your success…

I wanted to share a new way to measure success in your freelance business, as I've been guilty of using the wrong measuring stick for success, and it had a negative effect on every part of my life...

  • What happened when I used the wrong measuring stick.
  • My theory on how much money is enough…
  • How to avoid being a dick on a jet-ski

I used to mindlessly chase revenue goals,

My wellbeing was directly tied to how many sales I made, or the size of my clients.
I suppose it’s better than tying my ego to the size of other things 🥒
(certainly, there’s enough people like that about already ) 🤣

3 years ago my goal was to make enough money to match my full-time job and quit.
By the end of that year my Design Hero income had doubled my full-time wage.
Another year later I was earning more in some month than I had in a year in my 9-5
I’d have called that a huge success.
And yet…

I don’t think I was any happier earning £20k/m than I was only earning £2k/m
In fact there were times where I was miserable,
My fulfilment systems in my design agency hadn’t caught up with my offer and sales skills yet, so I was exhausted and burnt out.

Fame and riches should only ever be seen as fortuitous side effects. But they are more likely to come if you focus on developing what is under your control: your talent and efforts
– Derren Brown, happy

This is the problem with monetary goals:
When you reach them you won’t suddenly decide to pack up your tools and go home.
You’ll set a new, higher goal and keep on striving.

blog 37 success on social media

Goals are important to keep us motivated, but that’s all.
Goals don’t lead to happiness and fulfilment.
So make sure you set the right goals.

Here’s a belter from “Happy” by Derren Brown (yes, the magician).
His book is life-changing, and introduced me to Stoicism as a life and business model.

My happiness seems to me no more attached to what earn (once past that watershed point of not having money troubles) than it does to my wallpaper. And know more than my fair share of wealthy people and they’ll tell you the same. Money, fame and success exist on the other side of that line in the realm of external indifferents: nice to have, but outside of our jurisdiction. They may be rewarding by- products, but they will never prove gratifying if they are chased directly.
– Derren Brown, Happy

 

This was an important stage of my life as I shifted from monetary goals to more purpose led goals.
I had been chasing monetary goals as a measuring stick, because I was seeking external validation of my worth or abilities.
Once you realise this and switch to internal validation it’s much easier to be happier with where you are.

I quickly realised the oldest cliches are the most true:
more money won’t make you happy
(after a certain point, of course 🙂)

Money buys security.
it buys stability
it buys options.

But I have a feeling (let me know if I’m wrong, you can email me)…

I think most freelancers would be just as happy
with £5k/m
as they would with £50k/m

The goal with my business is to make enough money  to sustain my ideal lifestyle.

Now,
“enough” is different for everyone.

But if you don’t decide what ‘enough’ looks like,
you will always be chasing more, more, more.

I never want to be one of those poor lost souls,
posting pics of the fancy car,
‘accidentally’ flashing the rolex,
Playing desperate status games so others can see my “success”.

We can smell your desperation,
and you’re not fooling anyone.

Here’s a few snaps from Instagram when you search for #success.

I feel especially sorry for the one dude who obviously didn’t get the memo,
and turned up to the jetski orgy in a Porsche👇🏻

fake success

You don’t have to play the status game

I still have ambition.
I still have goals.
I still strive for better and work hard for more.

It’s just that I had a peek behind the money curtain,
I didn’t like the look of the party in there,
So I’m taking my attention elsewhere.

In other words, I have different priorities.

For me,
being successful means something very different than boasting about revenue…

Your revenue means nothing.
Tell me about your profit.
Still meaningless.
Tell me your profit ÷ time…
We’re getting somewhere.
Now tell me how much spare time you have.
Finally, tell me how you spend your spare time.

Now you have a clearer picture of your success!

Success in a lifestyle business
is measured by freedom.

blog 37 freedom

Remember….
Life is short.
Then you die.

I believe in writing things down.
So I got this tattooed on myself recently as a constant reminder.
True fact.

So why did you start your business in the first place?
Was it to make £1M?
Or was it for freedom?

Don’t fall into the trap most freelancers do…

Most people start a business for freedom,
get overwhelmed chasing money,
then try to fit in life around what little time remains.

Please,
design your life first,
then grow a lifestyle business around it!

lifestyle design workshop for freelancers

I'll walk you through 6 systems you can use to build a freelance business which puts life first

Subscribe for instant access to my guided lifestyle design workshop for freelancers.

Subscribe for instant access to my guided lifestyle design workshop for freelancers

💡 Key Insights for solopreneurs

Focus on your purpose first, build your lifestyle around that,
2️then focus on money for stability,
then free up your time..

🛎️ Daily reminder for solopreneurs

Success in a lifestyle business
is measured by freedom.

💥 How to take action in the next 5 mins

If this attitude strikes a chord with you, I’m running a workshop for freelancers to show them how to quit that ratrace,
to design a more fulfilling lifestyle,
and reverse engineer it into a free flowing daily schedule
that allows growth without burnout

😍 Something I'm grateful for this week
Picture of Nicholas Robb

Nicholas Robb

Founder, Design Hero
Author of Life by Design

Ready to...
 Win your freedom? Put life before work? Grow a solo business? Redesign your life? Systemize your business? Gain back time? Quit the rat race?

I'll audit your solo business with you 1-1.
I'll show you simple systems you can use
to redesign your business for maximum profit & freedom

Book call
Nicholas Robb, Founder of Design Hero, solopreneur and author of Life by Design

More issues of Life by Design about Motivation or Money

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#47 The power of a one year promise

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#28 Plan in years, act daily – Goals to Actions workshop

  • Lifestyle Design, Motivation
Mar 14, 2024

#19 why my motivation hit rock bottom right now

  • Motivation
How to start freelancing from scratch
Feb 22, 2024

#16 How to start freelancing from scratch – A roadmap

  • Growth, Motivation
Jan 05, 2024

#9 The dark side of success they don’t tell you about

  • Boundaries, Mindset, Motivation
Nov 17, 2023

#3 selfish reasons for starting a solo business

  • Mindset, Motivation

FAQs from solopreneurs about Motivation or Money

If I may offer something that helped me:

The diagonal of your life:

Stop trying to wrestle your life into submission.

Focussing on the end results and struggling harder will just result in burnout.

Set a general direction, create habits which steer you in that path,
but let go of controlling the exact trajectory.

stoic diagonal of life direction of your life

 

Here’s a few tools which helped me:

I feel like I don’t have the qualifications. Like I don’t really know what I’m doing. I’ve never worked for a company doing any of the things I offer. I see plenty of people who are successful with less qualification than me, but I also see a lot more. I guess I’m comparing myself. – Alana, webflow designer

As someone who’s burned two degrees, qualifications are overrated!

Best to learn is by doing.
Sometimes that means selling stuff you are not sure how to do yet.
But you’ll figure it out!

It feels uncomfortable and scary, which is never nice but that uncomfortable feeling just means your in the growth zone.
It’s easy to compare yourself to others If your on social media you can’t avoid it.

But remember everyone has their own pace,
And most of the stuff you see on social is the cherry picked highlights anyway.

It’s always hard then you get a little win which gives you the energy to keep at it.

SEO Pricing Structures

In terms of SEO pricing and structures, everyone has their own approach. Personally, I’ve worked with SEOs who charge varying rates and have different structures.

Generally, I prefer to charge a flat monthly fee. It’s the simplest way for clients to understand. Introducing one-off costs and hourly rates can confuse clients and lead to constant back-and-forth discussions.

I typically set a fixed monthly budget. In the first month, I focus on on-page optimizations. From the second month onward, I concentrate on link building. However, I do let clients know that some of their budget may go towards on-page adjustments throughout the ongoing process.

Communication is Key

It’s crucial to communicate to clients that SEO is a long-term strategy:
It’s not a quick fix or something where budgets can fluctuate monthly based on their bank balance.
I usually require a minimum three-month commitment.
This helps manage expectations since many clients might expect results immediately and may not understand that the work takes time to produce results.

While you can’t enforce contracts strictly, having this structure provides a foundation for your work.
I usually charge a flat monthly fee via direct debit, with an invoice sent out each month.

Reporting and Performance Tracking

Clients also receive a monthly report via Loom.

I track keywords and their domain authority, which are good indicators of performance.
Remember, traffic can vary due to seasons, weather, and personal preferences, so traffic isn’t a reliable indicator of performance.

Setting Rates for SEO

SEO pricing and rates can vary widely. You’ll find both cheap and expensive SEOs.

Your comfort level in charging will depend on your experience.
If you’re new and lack confidence in your results, it’s reasonable to charge less.
Many gurus advise doubling your rates, but if you’re still learning, it’s better to charge what feels right until you build confidence in delivering results.

For example, I’ve reached a point where I can confidently charge £££ if I believe I can generate significant leads for a client.
If you’re still learning, treat it as a paid learning opportunity and charge less.

Minimum Charges

My minimum fee for SEO services starts at £800 a month.
This is for basic packages, including some on-page tweaks and ongoing link building.
Lower budgets, like £200 or £300 a month, often attract clients who lack the long-term mindset needed for SEO.
They tend to quit after a short period and may request refunds, so I avoid those lower-budget projects.

However, if this is your first project with someone you know and trust, it might be fine to negotiate a lower rate.

Understanding the Value of Your Work

When budgeting, consider your time and expertise.

How valuable is your time?

The insights you provide can significantly impact a client’s strategy.
For instance, if a client is spending £2,000 on Linkbuilding without guidance, they might not achieve good results.
However, spending just 10 minutes analyzing their keywords can deliver £100’s of value,

So your rate for strategy can be in the hundreds of £ per hour.
Whilst lower value activities like actually implementing the onpage changes you’ve suggested may be charged lower.

SEO Pricing Strategies

For link building, consistency is key.
You can source links from various platforms like Fat Joe or Fiverr,
or link from your own personal network of sites.
Determine your link costs and add a markup for administration and profit.
If you’re unsure about a client’s potential, consider charging a one-time fee for necessary on-page work before starting link building.
The main thing is to communicate clearly with your clients about what you’re doing and why.

Client Communication and mindset

Transparency is essential, especially when results may not show immediately
Regular check-ins and updates—bi-weekly, for example—can help maintain client trust.
Explain any lack of movement in rankings and discuss what to expect moving forward.

Ultimately, for SEO, a client’s satisfaction with your communication and the work being done often matters more than immediate results.

Calculating Value

Estimate the potential ROI based on keyword rankings, traffic, and conversion rates.

If you’re struggling to figure out your pricing as a freelancer, assess

  • how many leads your client gets
  • what that lead is worth over a year
  • How many more leads can you get them
  • Work that backwards to how much you can charge.

 

For instance, if you can rank position 1-3 for a keyword with 1,000 monthly searches,
you could get 10% of that traffic.
If the website  converts 10% of that traffic into paying customers,
then you could get the client an estimated 10 monthly customers every month.

If a customer is worth £1000 over a year, then you’ve just made them £10,000/yr

This is all just very rough estimates,
But you can use these numbers to demonstrate return on investment.

Related Resources

Complete pricing guide for freelancers

Craig simpson, solopreneur

Good question. It’s a complex topic.
It spans pricing freelance services, and more abstract notions of self-esteem

I usually use value-based pricing.
So it depends on what the customer is getting back from the interaction
Vs  what I have to do to fulfil the promise.

In my design agency it’s easier as you are offering services that make people money.
So I can price based on how much money they can make from my help.
It’s usually easy to do some napkin sketch math on this depending on the services or products they sell and the number of customers they have vs the no of customers they will get.

This can be a lot or a little, depending on the business.

In LBD it can be trickier.
A lot of coaches just teach stuff to help you make more money.
But my whole programme is about realising that money means little after a certain point,
And helping people to build the kind of lifestyle that they want,
And organising their business around freedom first.

So the stuff I teach has benefits which I feel are more valuable than just money,
But are intangible and harder to define.
Things like

  • lack of stress
  • Clarity
  • Purpose
  • Free time
  • Etc.

Different people place different value on different things.

Phase 1 is lifestyle design. It’s about designing the ideal lifestyle for that person, and reverse engineering it into actions they can take daily, and providing them with systems for consistency to make sure they take those actions whilst avoiding overwhelm..
Intangible stuff. But this is the foundation growth (both personal and business) is built on.

Phase 2 is stability. This part of programme deals directly with helping freelancers increase their profit, for a safety cushion and stable income,
So if in doubt I can relate the value of my services back to how many clients they will gain, how much more money the can get  by increasing their prices

Phase 3 is about freedom. systems to help freelancers automate the fundamentals of their business so they can spend their time working ON the business, and get back their valuable freedom.

The end result is a scalable lifestyle business built around an intentional life.
Which I think is pretty valuable.

Everyone will do these mental calculations in their head when they meet you.
The calculation is a balance of the result, your authority, your trustworthiness, what people are willing to pay for that result.

In the end,
Your price is how much OTHER people think you’re worth 🤣
Your worth is how much YOU think you’re worth.
Your value is how much your product pays off.

For myself, I try to tie my worth based on people I’ve helped and what they say about how I’ve helped them,
Not how much money I make.
I fear a lot of people never disconnect income vs self-worth
If you can start judging your worth for yourself, instead of what others think.
It makes your self-esteem more sustainable.

The only way to stay consistenyly motivated is by focussing on the doing instead of the outcome. I do this through my consistency review systems. I review on macro and micro scale daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly. Here’s a link to my process and  consistency system for Solopreneurs.

No, a lifestyle business is a business model for entrepreneurs who value their freedom above all else.
It differs from traditional businesses models, such as the startup model, in several key ways:

Most people start their own business for freedom, get overwhelmed, put all their time into it, then fit life around whatever time remains.
This is because common culture promotes the startup model, where endless growth is prioritized at all costs.
The goal is to pump revenue as high as possible, with little regard for the people IN the business, and revenue is one of the only measures of success.

Success = your revenue.

For the entrepreneur, it’s a recipe for burnout.

If your goal is freedom,  Then you need to build a lifestyle business.
A LIFESTYLE business is a business designed to prioritize profit and freedom first.
A lifestyle business is intentionally small, lean, and leveraged with little overheads.
A lifestyle business aims to put your life first and integrate your business into your lifestyle.

If you want lifestyle business, don’t use the wrong measuring stick.
A lot of people try to measure success by revenue.

In a lifestyle business, revenue means nothing.
Tell me about the profit.
That also means nothing, tell me your profit ÷ time.
Now we’re getting somewhere…
Now tell me what you do with your spare time.

Now you have a more accurate picture of your “success” in a lifestyle business.

A lifestyle business is the ideal model for a solopreneur who wants to have an intentionally designed lifestyle outside their business.  🙂

 I prepared an email for long-term clients that we’ve talked about.

Going to be honest, it took me almost 2 hours to figure and calculate everything out, haha.

Oh man, that’s too much time! I totally get how long drafting careful emails takes though. If I have a tough client sometimes it can take me like an hour to draft something careful, so I try timeboxing it to constrain the time!
I’ve made some edits to your email, as I’m looking at it from the outside,  I hope you take this as constructive feedback and discard what you don’t feel comfortable with.

After

Hi XXXX,

It’s YYYYY

We’ve been working together for 2 years, I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work with the whole team,
I feel we’ve now reached the point where I intuitively know and understand your needs for YYYY

Which saves a lot of back and forth on briefs and admin etc.
Over the last 2 years my client roster has grown,
I’ve picked up new skills,
but many of my favourite long-term clients are still on outdated legacy rates.

 

I’m going to be moving away from Upwork, to focus on growing my motion design agency.
I plan to continue improving my output to be better than ever, and even offer more services in future.

This means I will be transitioning to retainer packages,
So I’m reaching out to my favourite long-term clients,
To see if you are interested in continuing to work with me.

The way we work together day to day won’t change,
But working on a retainer will mean I spend less time on admin,
So I can spend more time on delivering even better results and value for you.

My new retainer package is going to be a super simple packaged service which includes….

✅ X of explainers
✅ X no of revisions per project
✅ 24hr response time
🎁 Brand new seamless comms system
🎁 Stress-free project management on Clickup

As a solo agency owner, the number of clients in my roster will be limited to X in 2024.
I am reaching out to existing clients first to offer this package at the flat rate of £X/m, as I would love to keep working with you.

I realise this is a change from our current working patterns,
And I really hope we can continue working together under my new package.
Just let me know if you have any questions,

Otherwise can we schedule a call to discuss setting up our new agreement? 🙂🙂🙂

Kind regards, YYY

The best way to do it is by asking some probing questions during the sales call.

This is why sales calls are so important because you’re gathering data. You’re establishing your authority and you’re selling all on a sales call.

I just need to jump into a call, scope out your project, and figure out where they’re a good fit.

If you’re selling digital marketing, it’s pretty easy because you can ask them what’s their revenue what’s their digital marketing budget   If you can’t do that, you have to ask things like,

where do you picture this business in three years?

How many customers do you have a month?

What are the customers worth to you?

In terms of the rule of thumb, have in your head the minimum amount that you want. Make it a number that you’re comfortable with but always have a minimum rate of what you want for that project.

Usually what I do during the sales calls is to preempt that objection This kind of comes back to authority and operating from a position of surplus but that’s why we do these things.

I’m not the cheapest, but I do provide the best value.

If you want to work with me, it might be expensive, but here’s the results we provide.

Show them and obviously, you’ve got to deliver those results.

Value-based pricing only works if you’re delivering value. That’s why value-based pricing always beats hourly pricing.

I would strongly encourage you to not do hourly payments and I’ll explain why:
When you’re paid by the hour, you’re punished for being good at your job.
As you get better and more experienced you’re going to do things more quickly than someone with less experience.
eg. I can write a blog post 10 times as fast as my VA because I’ve been doing it so long.
Imagine, Lewis Hamilton, the F1 driver, do you think he gets paid more or less if he finishes the race faster?
Always switch to value based pricing for design services.

In a lifestyle business, as a solo business, you only have a certain number of hours in a day.
And if you are working on an hourly based pricing, there’s a very low ceiling to how much money you can make in the number of hours of the day you have.
You can only put your hourly rate up so much.
Or work more hours is the other option, which no one wants to do.
So really, I would encourage you to move to what’s called value-based pricing.

This means you work out your prices based on the value that you deliver, instead of the hours you work on it,
which means that your price is different depending on every client.

You only have a certain number of hours in a day.
And if you are working on an hourly based pricing,
there’s a very low ceiling to how much money you can make in the number of hours of the day you have.
You can only put your hourly rate up so much or working more hours is the other option,
which no one wants to do.

So really I would encourage you to move to what’s called ‘value-based pricing‘.
So if they make more money from that website, you’re providing more value to that customer.
So why would you not charge more?

So that’s where value-based pricing comes in.

Obviously, every service is different, but basically, you need to be working out a way to charge by the value that you’re offering that customer.

The best way to do this is by packaging your services into an offer that sells.

My basic rule of thumb is:

Will the client make money from it, or save time from it?
Then charge for it.

But l’d also say you have to balance it. If it’s something that takes you little extra time, but adds value for your clients, consider throwing it in.
But as a bonus!

Make sure they know what it would normally cost.
I see a lot of freelancers going the extra mile, And no-one even knows how big a deal it is.
It’s likely this “little thing” actually took you years to learn.

But if you want to offer a high ticket service and charge more than your competition you have to get used to giving away the kind of value for free that others are charging for…

Working by itself has its advantages. But teamwork is something that suffers.

Any design is usually improved by input from multiple different perspectives, which can be hard to find when you work for yourself, by yourself.

Peer feedback is really important because it’s hard to see the trees when you’re thick in the forest.

You start second-guessing your own design choices, or worse,

become blind to your own mistakes and become stagnant.

Embrace Constructive Criticism

No-one is perfect.

You’ll make mistakes.

You’ll miss things, and even the best output is still based just on your own perception of reality.

Designers will start with the exact same brief, and come up with a completley different design.

Criticism is the way we get better.

So first, ditch the defensiveness and embrace feedback and criticism.

You don’t need to action every bit of feedback you receive, it’s your design, and you have a thought process that (hopefully) makes sense.

But every piece of feedback has the potential to either improve the design,

or pen new avenues of thought.

How to get peer feedback when you work alone

Here’s a few techniques I use to combat this as a solopreneur.

“The Pause”

If you’ve hit a wall, leave it, sleep on it.

Your brain will continue to work on things at rest,

You’ll come back to it with fresh eyes and all sorts of new ideas.

“The Time Machine”

After I finish a project, I always go backwards.

I reread the brief to make sure I’m on point.

It’s easy to wander throughout the creative process until your way off brief.

“The Doppleganger”

I self-critique my own work from a super critical point of view.

Do a bit of roleplaying, I put myself in different shoes…

  • The client
  • A designer
  • The audience.

I like to put myself into a specific frame of mind, and approach the design in a few different roles.

Ask myself some hard questions as…

  • “what is the first thing the client is going to say”
  • “what would Jane say about this?”
  • “what would they change?”
  • “What are they going to  criticize?”
  • “What’s missing?”
  • “How will they use this?”

Usually, this brings my work up a notch, preaddresses issues and skips a few rounds of revisions or bouncebacks.

Partner up

Find someone else in your niche, and swap about, ask and offer feedback when needed.

You will people in the same situation and stage as you on social media or other community groups.

I guarantee they’ll have the same problem and would welcome the chance to trade ideas and inspiration.

This a big solopreneur move which will help you stop seeing your peers as competitors, and start seeing them as partners or colleagues.

It doesn’t just stop at design.

I have a selection of peers I like to trade ideas with once a month.

It takes 5 minutes per person

I like to find…

  • someone at the same level doing the same thing
  • someone ahead doing what I want to be doing
  • someone whos playing a different game.

Having an echo chamber like this leads to so many breakthroughs, and is beneficial for all parties.

Here’s some questions you can ask:

Monthly Review Questions

  • What was your goal last month?
  • What are your biggest wins? 
  • What have you failed to take action on?
  • Biggest “Aha” moment? 
  • What are you struggling with the most? 
  • What have you improved the most? 
  • What’s your focus for next month? 

Summary

Just because you’re a solopreneur, it doesn’t mean you have to work alone.

You can have partners without having business partners.

You have access to an  unlimited number of designers at your fingertips on social media, and in online communities.

Constructive criticism is something to embrace, not fear.

Always tricky!

Pricing formula

As a rule of thumb do a rough calculation of how long you think each stage of the project will take then add 20% for safety and another 15% for admin and communication.

There isn’t a formula sometimes you have to know how much the project will cost you so you aren’t operating at a loss, then throw a price at it

If you have a well defined offer:

1/4 or 1/3rd value of promise

If you haven’t done it before.

My policy is if you have less experience, treat it as being paid to learn and go cheaper.

Don’t try to charge high ticket prices if you aren’t confident of the results.

Long term relationships are more important than a quick buck.

Pricing Risks

The honest answer is if you’re doing a project which involves something you haven’t done before it’s a risk.

You have to make a best guess.

Sometimes you’re going to lose because it took more than you thought to provide a result.

But now you know how to do it next time.

Your estimates will get a lot more accurate to the point where when someone approaches you with a problem you know how to solve it and you know how long it’ll take to solve it. with more and more experience it’ll get easier to provide an accurate calculation.

frantic freelancer → systematic solopreneur

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Nicholas Robb, Founder of Design Hero, solopreneur and author of Life by Design

Life by Design

systems for solopreneurs

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