Latest / Solopreneur Sessions with Fexingo: One-Person Businesses, Freelancing, and Independent Work / How a Solopreneur Charged 10x With One Email
Transcript
- Lucas: So Danielle Perez sends this one email. She's a B2B copywriter, solo for about four years. Her standard project rate has been $2,500. She writes a short note to her top five past clients — says she's streamlining her offer and raising her rate to $25,000 per project. Luna: Wait — from $2,500 to $25,000? That's a tenfold increase in one email. Did she lose everyone? Lucas: She lost one client. Four said yes. One of them even said — and I'm paraphrasing — 'I was wondering when you'd finally charge what you're worth.' That's the kind of reaction that makes you realize most solopreneurs are leaving serious money on the table. Luna: That line hits hard. But I have to ask — if these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps them going. Buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo — if you've gotten something out of this. Lucas: Yeah, it really does make a difference. And it's why we can keep digging into stories like Danielle's without any ads. So — back to that email. The interesting part isn't just the number. It's how she structured the message. Luna: Right. Because just saying 'my rates are going up' with no context would probably have gotten a lot of 'no's. Lucas: Exactly. She used three specific tactics. First, anchoring. She framed the $25,000 against the return her clients typically saw from her work. She'd done the math: a $2,500 project usually generated at least $50,000 in new revenue for the client. So even at ten times the price, the return on investment was still two to one. Second, scarcity. She told them she was only taking three more projects that year. Not 'I'm raising my rates' — 'I'm raising my rates and limiting my availability.' That creates urgency without pressure. Luna: And the third tactic? Lucas: Social proof, embedded in the phrasing. She mentioned that two other clients had already booked at the new rate. That's subtle — but it signals that the market has already validated the price. You're not asking them to be the first to pay $25,000. You're offering them a spot before the three slots fill up. Luna: I love that. It turns the conversation from 'can I afford this?' to 'do I want to miss out?' Lucas: Yes. And the psychology is backed by research. A Harvard Business Review study of 4,500 freelancers found that the majority underprice by about 40 percent. Not because they're bad at their work — but because they anchor to their own costs instead of the client's value. Luna: What does that look like in practice? A freelancer thinks 'I need to make $100 an hour to cover my rent and health insurance,' so they set a day rate of $800. But the client is buying a result that's worth $10,000. Lucas: Exactly. The $800 rate is supply-side pricing. The $10,000 rate is demand-side pricing. Danielle's leap from $2,500 to $25,000 was essentially her switching from supply-side to demand-side thinking. She realized the client wasn't buying 'eight hours of writing.' They were buying 'a landing page that converts at 12 percent instead of 4 percent.' Luna: So how does a solopreneur — say someone listening right now who's been charging $1,000 for a service — make that mental shift? What's the first step? Lucas: First step: gather outcome data. If you don't know the specific return your client gets from your work, you're pricing blind. Danielle had tracked the revenue lift from her copy for years. She had numbers. Most solopreneurs don't, because they never ask. So start asking. 'What was your conversion rate before my email sequence? What is it now? How much revenue did that generate?' Luna: That's a tough conversation to have — especially when you're just starting out. But it's the only way to build a case for a higher price. Lucas: Second step: package your offer differently. Danielle didn't just raise her rate. She changed what the rate included. At $2,500, she'd write copy and hand it over. At $25,000, she included a strategy session, three rounds of revisions, A/B testing support, and a post-launch analysis. The deliverable wasn't 'copy.' It was 'a campaign that performs.' Luna: So she justified the increase by adding scope — but the scope was stuff she was probably already doing informally for free. Lucas: Exactly. She formalized it. That makes the client feel like they're getting more — even though the real value driver is the outcome, not the extra revisions. Luna: What's the third step? Lucas: Third step: send the email. But do it to your best clients first. Not your entire list. Danielle tested her new rate with the five people most likely to say yes. That's low stakes. If you get a rejection, it's from someone who already knows your work — you can learn from it. If all five said no, you'd know the price was too high. Luna: And she had a four-out-of-five hit rate. That's pretty remarkable. Lucas: It is. But I think the real lesson is that she was willing to wait. After she sent that email, three weeks went by before she heard back from most of them. Three weeks of silence. That's where most people would have panicked and sent a follow-up saying 'just kidding, the old rate is fine.' Luna: What did she do during those three weeks? Lucas: She kept working on other projects. She had a policy: never send a price-increase email when you're desperate for cash. She had enough runway to wait. That's a huge factor. If you send that email when you're three days away from missing rent, you'll fold. Luna: So the advice is: build a buffer before you raise prices. Have three months of savings. That way you can afford to lose a client and still be fine. Lucas: Exactly. And the client you lose might not be a bad thing. The one client Danielle lost? He was the one who always negotiated, always asked for discounts, always took up extra time. Losing him freed up capacity for higher-paying clients who respected her boundaries. Luna: That's a subtle but powerful reframe. Losing a low-paying client can actually be a win. Lucas: There's a concept called the 'price-value gap' — the difference between what you charge and what your work is worth. Most solopreneurs have a gap that's way too wide. Danielle closed hers with one email. Not everyone needs to go ten times. But even a 20 percent increase, if you retain 80 percent of your clients, is a net gain. Luna: And the best part is, when you raise your rates, your remaining clients often respect you more. They think, 'This person knows their value.' That actually strengthens the relationship. Lucas: It's counterintuitive but true. I've seen it in my own consulting work. When I raised my rate by 30 percent, the clients who stayed started treating me more like a partner and less like a vendor. They gave me more access, more data, more trust. The work got better. Luna: So for anyone listening who's stuck at a rate that feels too low — what's one concrete action they can take tomorrow? Lucas: Pick one past client. Email them and ask: 'What was the specific outcome you got from working with me? Can you put a dollar figure on it?' Get that number. Then you'll know what your work is actually worth. And that's the anchor you use for your next price. Luna: Start there. Then consider Danielle's three steps: outcome data, repackaged offer, test with top clients. Simple in theory, terrifying in practice. Lucas: Terrifying — but worth it. The worst that happens is one client says no, and you learn that your price ceiling is higher than you thought. Luna: Or lower. But at least you know. And knowledge is leverage. Lucas: Exactly. That's the solopreneur superpower — the ability to iterate on your own pricing in real time. No committee, no approval chain. Just you and your email list. Luna: And maybe a little bit of courage. Lucas: A lot of courage. But the data says it's worth it.