Setting Pay Boundaries as a Consultant

When market conditions are tough, one of the hardest tensions to navigate is knowing your worth while facing the reality of bills, mortgage payments, and quiet months. It's not uncommon to wonder, "What if I'd lowered my rate by 10% or even 20%? Would I have landed those clients and avoided the stress?" That trade-off feels practical in the moment, but it can reshape your baseline for the long term. Here are my thoughts after having worked with dozens of consultants through this scenario: There's a difference between tactical flexibility and systematic underpricing. → Tactical flexibility: You maintain your standard rates but negotiate for strategic reasons - the right client, the right project, the right long-term opportunity. Negotiations are part of being a consultant and you have to be good at knowing when to concede and when to hold your ground. → Systematic underpricing: You lower your baseline because the market feels tough, then find yourself stuck at those rates even when conditions improve. It is also harder to work with existing clients, when they are used to your lower rate and you try to increase later down the line. The first preserves your positioning. The second erodes it. My framework for navigating this tension: 1/ Calculate your true baseline: - What would you earn in equivalent full-time role.  - Add premiums for contractor risks (irregular income, no benefits, business development time, etc.). - This is your professional worth, regardless of market conditions 2/ Create negotiation boundaries: - Know your absolute floor (survival rate that covers expenses) - Identify when a compromise serves strategy vs. paying bills - Use project-specific language: "For this engagement..." not "My new rate is..." - Long term projects may warrant a slightly lower rate if it means regular income for at least 6 months 3/ Focus on value differentiation: - Speed: "I can start Monday" beats waiting for hiring processes - Risk reduction: Fixed scope/price removes uncertainty - Expertise: Urgent problems pay premium rates even in tough markets The difficult truth: If you can't command appropriate rates, the issue might not be pricing. It could be positioning, targeting, value communication or as I mentioned in a previous post, your reputation and credibility. Market conditions are temporary. The baseline you establish now becomes your new normal. The question isn't whether to be flexible with pricing. The question is whether that flexibility serves your long-term positioning or undermines it. What's been your experience with this tension? How do you balance immediate pressures with long-term positioning?

💡Discovering your worth isn’t just about setting your rates – it’s about setting your standards. Early in my entrepreneurial journey, I faced a challenge that changed everything for me. I volunteered to help organise a large women-in-business event, eager to contribute and make a difference. Before I knew it, I was doing all the heavy lifting: 🚗 Constant travelling 🏢 Venue visits 🧠 Endless out-of-scope idea sharing I had the right intentions. I thought I was helping someone get started on their idea, but in reality, I was being taken advantage of. I didn’t set boundaries or recognise the value of my time and expertise. 😞 What I should have done is: 💬 Set a clear fee for my time 💼 Walked away if my contribution wasn’t valued financially But I was new, eager to please, and had no idea how important boundaries were. Up to my mid-30s, I was a major people pleaser 🙋🏽♀️ dealing with insecurities and constantly seeking approval. I hadn’t done any personal development work. That experience taught me something crucial: my skills and expertise were valuable. People wanted me on their team for a reason, and I needed to recognise that value – and charge for it. 💷 It took another 8–9 years and a lot of self-work to fully grasp the lesson, but eventually it clicked. 💡 Here’s how I overcame the challenge: 1️⃣ Set boundaries – I started putting clear limits around my time and energy. 2️⃣ Communicated my rates – No more vagueness. Clarity upfront. 3️⃣ Invested in personal development – To build confidence and self-worth. 4️⃣ Stopped people pleasing – I prioritised my goals and stopped needing approval. 5️⃣ Scrapped the heavy discounts – I finally started charging my worth Over the past few years, I’ve invested heavily in personal growth. 💪🏽 I’ve learned to appreciate my worth, charge accordingly, and ditch the constant grafting that once defined my business journey. ✨ To all the entrepreneurs out there: value your time and skills. Set those boundaries, and don’t be afraid to charge for your expertise. Your worth is in the value you bring – recognise it, own it, and honour it. 💖 What’s an early lesson that shaped your mindset around valuing your work? 👇 Let’s chat in the comments!

There’s a silent killer in creative businesses, and it’s not bad clients or late invoices — it’s over-giving. You say yes to one “quick” extra, then another, then one more, because you want to be helpful. But here’s the truth: every time you give away your best energy for free, you take it from the clients who actually paid for it. Boundaries aren’t about being cold or difficult. They’re about protecting the thing your clients actually value most — the focus, attention, and skill that make your work worth hiring in the first place. Without those, you’re just cranking out tasks on autopilot, and that’s not why you started this business. This week, identify one place where you’ve been bending instead of standing firm, fair, and friendly. Then, fix it. Have the scope conversation. Push back on the “quick favor.” Stop letting clients nibble away at the time and energy your best work requires. And, if you want set a boundary with a little grace, give one last yes along with the constraints conversation. Say something like, "I'd be happy to handle this for you at no extra cost. Please understand that there will be a cost associated with future requests." This works wonders when you have already been loosey-goosey with boundaries and unintentionally set the expectation that you'd keep saying yes without charging for the extra requests! #FreelanceLife #MicroAgency #ClientServices

Think overdelivering will keep your clients happy? Think again. Here’s how to avoid burnout as a consultant. When you shift from a full-time role to consulting, it’s easy to fall into an old trap: treating every opportunity like a full-time job. Overdelivering. Overextending. And ultimately, burning out. On a recent Business Building call with clients, I shared with them... "The most nefarious thing is the story we tell ourselves, but we’re also setting expectations by overextending." The story? That if we don’t give everything, we won’t land (or keep) the client. But here’s the reality: Overextending doesn’t just exhaust you, it sets the wrong expectations. Clients come to rely on extra hours, unlimited availability, or added scope... without understanding the real value of your work. The result? You undervalue yourself, misalign expectations, and risk sacrificing long-term success. Failing to set boundaries as a consultant creates: • Burnout: You feel drained, losing the passion that made you start consulting in the first place.    • Scope Creep: Projects spiral beyond the original agreement without compensation.    • Misaligned Value: Clients undervalue your expertise because they see your time as endless.    The Fix: Set Clear Boundaries To protect your time and deliver impact without overextending, implement these strategies: 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 Clearly outline deliverables, timelines, and expectations in every proposal. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 Set working hours and response times upfront. Example: “I’m available for calls between 9 AM and 2 PM on weekdays.” 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 If additional work arises, renegotiate the contract. Example: “That’s outside the scope of our initial agreement—let’s discuss an add-on package.” 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 Focus on delivering outcomes, not overcommitting your time. Your impact comes from results, not the number of hours you spend. 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Ask yourself: “Am I overextending because I’m afraid of losing the client? What evidence supports that fear?” Boundaries don’t just protect you, they elevate your client relationships by reinforcing your value and professionalism.