How to Charge More, Without Doing More Work
This is a systematic approach to increasing your prices WITHOUT adding more services, more people, or more time. The secret lies in understanding where your services sit on the Value Matrix.
The Value Matrix
The value matrix is based on two key dimensions:
- Information — the amount of expertise required to deliver desired results
- Labor — the amount of time required to deliver desired results
By understanding the value of your services on this matrix, you can charge significantly more for your work.
The Four Quadrants
Low Information, High Labor — "Where Offers Go to Die"
The bottom right corner represents services like lawn mowing that don't require much expertise but require significant effort. This results in a low market price point and isn't scalable.
Freelancer (Low Information, High Labor)
Freelancer work isn't scalable as it requires continuously piling on more work to grow revenue.
Training Programs (Moderate Information, Low Labor)
Training programs offer a way to transition from trading time for money to trading information for money.
DFY Agency (High Information, High Labor)
Done-for-you agencies have friction scaling because they require growing through people.
Consulting (High Information, Low Labor)
Consulting works best when you have intimate experience solving a very painful problem for clients. This is the sweet spot — high information, low labor.
The Optimal Position
The ideal position is high information and low effort — getting paid premium rates for your expertise rather than your time. This can only be achieved when you hold information about solving very painful, expensive problems.