Ditching Hourly

This episode is an anonymized question that I answered in one of my Ditcherville LIVE Q&A sessions inside of my group coaching community.  ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-to person in your space? Productizing your services so you never have to have another awkwar...

Founder of 7-Second Websites, Kevin Freidberg joined me on Ditching Hourly to describe how he has adapted The Why Conversation to better suit his personality and land nearly 100% of his prospects.  Kevin's Website Kevin's LinkedIn ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-to p...

Web3 Consultant Luke Willis joined me on Ditching Hourly to brainstorm ways to position and package his crypto/blockchain/web3 expertise. Luke's Links https://lukewillis.com/ https://thekoinpress.com/ https://twitter.com/lukemwillis ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-to...

UX content writer, Merav Levkowitz joined me on Ditching Hourly to brainstorm ways she could get away from billing hourly for ongoing maintenance and execution work. Links Merav's Website ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-to person in your space? Productizing your serv...

Author, founder, and rebel scum, Alex Hillman returned to Ditching Hourly, this time to talk about paid project discovery engagements. Alex's Links Alex's Twitter Alex's email: alex@tiny.mba The Tiny MBA by Alex Hillman ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-to person in yo...

Let’s say you wanted to start a daily mailing list… How would you come up with enough stuff to write about? My Solar System Content Model is the answer. Related articles Solar System Content Model Finding Your Sun ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-to person in your spa...

The core strategy behind my "punk" marketing approach. ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-to person in your space? Productizing your services so you never have to have another awkward sales call or spend hours writing another custom proposal? Book a one-on-one coaching...

Other than hourly billing, this is the mindset shift that has had the biggest impact on my business.  ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-to person in your space? Productizing your services so you never have to have another awkward sales call or spend hours writing anoth...

This time on Ditching Hourly I answer a question from Kenneth Taylor about how to build a solo authority business that essentially has no competition. Related links:  Positioning Definition XY Position Statement More articles on positioning The Business of Authority ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time?...

“JavaScript-in-FileMaker” expert Jeremy Brown joined me on Ditching Hourly to brainstorm which business models might make the most sense for his highly specialized area of expertise. Links We Mentioned:   integratingmagic.io jsinfm.com jonathanstark.com/fm/filemaker-to-php-translation-table ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead...

The “Expertise Expert” himself, David C. Baker, joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about the five things that happen right after you specialize. Summary Here is an AI summary of the key points from the episode: The episode is a discussion between Jonathan Stark and David C. Baker about positioning and specialization for consultants and professional services firms. They discuss the importance of...

My dear old friend Rick “Fink” Finkelstein joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about he got booked solid using fixed fees, specialization, and niching.  Related Links Fink's website Mike Fortin Liliac Guitar Player Magazine Gittler Guitar ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as th...

Longtime web developer and freshly minted trading card creator Colyn Brown joined me on Ditching Hourly to brainstorm about how to capitalize on early interest in his bluegrass trading cards. Related Links Bluegrass Trading Co. ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-to pers...

Long-time lawyer, second-time guest, and first-time SaaS co-founder Digby Leigh joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about alternative fee arrangements making inroads in the legal industry. Talking Points Pricing trends in the legal industry The three most common non-hourly pricing models for law firms The benefits of "agreed upon" up-front fixed fee pricing What types of engagements aren't a good...

Equity-Driven Design Strategist Lucy Flores joined me on Ditching Hourly to brainstorm her positioning. Talking Points The difference between a specialization and a niche The difference between a mission statement and a positioning statement Why positioning is especially important for soloists How to know when your positioning is specific enough Related Links Lucy's website ---- Do you have questi...

Is the problem you solve for your clients a “nice-to-have” or mission critical? Author, consultant, and podcast host, Ton Dobbe joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about the three requirements of any expensive problem, and how to reverse engineer these factors into a simple formula you can use to decide what to focus on in your positioning, segmentation, and value proposition. Taking Points The t...

Entrepreneur, consultant, and former hair metal guitarist Paul Klein joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about his Three Pillars of Revenue: consulting, training, and infoproducts. Making the leap to self-employment Selling your first infoproduct Using workshops to build your consulting business Niching down to grow an expertise-based consulting business Scaling up your business by getting bigger...

Java Developer Alice B. (name withheld by request) joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about what to do when the skills you’ve built over many years become less valuable to clients. The pros and cons of platform specialization The difference between horizontal and platform specialization What to focus on when your technical skills are no longer in demand How to spot a truly expensive problem Why...

Business appraiser Charlie Stanton joined me on Ditching Hourly to brainstorm how to differentiate what is typically considered a commodity service. Talking Points Pricing risk mitigation instead of cost cutting or value creation Differentiating in a commoditized market Creating productized services for a specific market Partnering with adjacent business that serve the same market Connecting with...

Outdoor brand identity designer Devin Renaud joined me on Ditching Hourly to brainstorm how to get more leads.  Devin's Links:  https://fourestdesign.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/renauddesignco/ https://www.instagram.com/fourestdesign/ ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as th...

Paul Boag, UX consultant, digital transformation expert, and OG podcaster, joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about how helping people for free is good for business. Talking Points The value of jumping on a new platform. How podcasting creates trust. How to create a good podcast. Hunting versus gardening. Expertise by association. Video-first workflow. The benefit of publishing your mistakes ins...

Sam Shepler, founder of Testimonial Hero, joined me on Ditching Hourly for a wide ranging discussion about the moving parts of productized services. Links We Mentioned Sam's Twitter Testimonial Hero Haute Stock Range by David Epstein ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-t...

Speaker, author, and entrepreneur Ryan Berman joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about using courage as a competitive advantage. Things We Mentioned Ryan’s Website Return On Courage This Book Will Make You Dangerous by Tripp Lanier Icarus Deception by Seth Godin Jonah Berger ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for...

Software engineer, author, and educator Swizec Teller joined me to talk about consulting vs employment in Silicon Valley. Swizec's links: https://swizec.com/ https://twitter.com/swizec https://seniormindset.com/ ---- Do you have questions about how to improve your business? Things like: Value pricing your work instead of billing for your time? Positioning yourself as the go-to person in your space...

My good friend Philip Morgan interviewed me on The Self-Made Expert Podcast about what's been going on behind the scenes in my business for the past couple years.  We chatted about a bunch of things I don't usually get asked about, including:  My transition from surfing a once-in-a-generation tech wave to a very different kind of advisory business My inventory of nasty emails received from my mail...