How to Build Financial Stability Into Your Portfolio Career
The Pricing Strategy That Smooths Out Lumpy Revenue
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The Subtle Positioning Shift That Gets You Noticed & Paid
My Counterintuitive Pricing Approach for 12-Month Profitability
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In my early portfolio career days, I rode the same financial rollercoaster you might know too well. One month: celebrating a great client. Next month: worrying about bills.
The culprit behind these income swings? My pricing approach.
The Freedom Trade-Off That Isn't Necessary
When I left my 9-5, I traded predictable paychecks for freedom and meaningful work. But I quickly learned financial uncertainty wasn't a required trade-off.
My pricing mistakes created unnecessary income instability:
Random Pricing: Different rates for different clients without any strategy
Undercharging: Fees about 50% below the actual value delivered
Discount Reflex: Lowering prices whenever anyone hesitated
Project-Only Focus: No recurring revenue in my service mix
Research shows that women in their first year of independent work typically price services at just 48% of market value. This underpricing affects both income and market positioning, creating the feast-or-famine cycles that make portfolio careers feel risky.
The $87,000 Wake-Up Call
I once charged a client $2,500 for a New Revenue Activation Growth Strategy. After we finished, he mentioned my work saved his team 15 hours monthly and generated about $5,000 in new monthly revenue.
This made me stop and reflect. My one-time fee created $7,250 in monthly value ($2,250 in time savings plus $5,000 in new revenue) – or $87,000 annually. I had captured less than 3% of that value.
As marketing professor Eric Dolansky puts it: "Price relates to the value a person places on the product or service they're buying," not just what it costs you to provide it.
I had ignored the client-side value equation completely (this was partly due to my self-worth issues -I explored this deeply via my human design, but this is a story for another time).
All you need to know for now is that I was undercharging.
The Value-Based Formula
I didn’t want to find myself in this situation again, so I began to research different pricing formulas and developed a simple formula:
Price = (Tangible Results + Intangible Benefits + Risk Reduction) × Experience Factor
Applied to that same content package:
Time saved: 15 hours/month at $150/hr = $2,250 monthly
Revenue generated: $5,000 monthly
Reduced stress and team conflicts (intangible but real)
My experience ensuring reliable results
Total annual client value: About $87,000
I raised my price to $8,500 – roughly 10% of the annual value. I also added a monthly support option at $1,200 for ongoing revenue.
Initially, this pricing felt stretchy and outside of my comfort zone, but as I had more conversations, I noticed clients took my work more seriously, implemented more thoroughly, and got better results. My income increased and became more predictable.
It took me a while to confidently say these numbers. I practiced them in the mirror and said them out loud hundreds of times. I needed my body to feel comfortable with the pricing—for the numbers to land in my nervous system without resistance.
In my early discovery calls, I'd state my pricing for the first time and hear my voice crack slightly. Though subtle, I knew the energy shifted, and potential clients could subconsciously pick up on my nervousness about my own value.
A Real-Life Client Success Story
One of my clients, Marina, was charging $75/hour for her strategic commercial services. After applying the value formula, she realised her work was generating approximately $3,500 in monthly revenue for each client. She restructured her pricing to $2,000 per project plus a $500 monthly evolution product. Within three months, her income stabilised and increased by 40%, while her clients reported clearer deliverables and better results.
It’s important to note that she applied this to new clients as the switch with existing clients proved harder to implement.
How to Calculate Your Value (Even When It Feels Hard)
Many portfolio careerists struggle with the "how much value do I really create?" question. Here's a practical approach:
For tangible results, ask yourself:
How many hours does my work save the client?
What additional revenue might they generate?
What costs will they avoid?
For intangible benefits, consider:
Reduced stress or anxiety
Improved confidence or clarity
Better team dynamics or client relationships
Collapsing of time e.g., my 20 years of experience collapsed into an 8-week piece of work is worth a lot of value!
If you’re still feeling stuck, try this:
During your next client call, ask "What would happen if you didn't solve this problem?" Their answer reveals the true value of your solution.
Building a Product Ecosystem: The Two-Part Income Solution
My biggest business shift was moving from purely project-based work to a hybrid model. Studies show that businesses with subscription or retainer components report much more predictable cash flow than project-only approaches.
In a future article, I will share my Product Ecosystem approach across my core income streams, but for now, here is a tiered pricing structure I implemented:
Hourly rates: Used rarely, only for undefined-scope projects
Fixed project fees: For clear deliverables, fees are priced based on value
Evolution products: For ongoing support, creating predictable income.
This ecosystem provides stability with flexibility. My evolution product clients—many coming through my 6-month program, The Portfolio Career Club—create my financial baseline, while new project work drives growth.
Creating Evolution Products That Keep Clients Coming Back
Not sure how to create evolution products from your work? Here are three models that work across industries:
The Maintenance Model: Ongoing support after a main project (website updates, content refreshes, coaching calls)
The Access Model: Clients pay for priority access to you (email support, monthly calls, quick feedback…recently my client introduced a Operations Hotline and it is a hit!)
The Results Model: Ongoing work tied to specific outcomes (monthly social media management, lead generation)
The key is to make the monthly investment feel small compared to the consistent value delivered while creating a natural path for clients to stay with you long-term.
Five Steps to More Stable Income
Audit Your Current Pricing: List your services and rates. Is there clear logic or is it random?
Calculate True Client Value: For each service, determine the tangible and intangible value you create
Set Strategic Prices: Aim for 10-30% of the annual value you create
Add Recurring Revenue: Create an evolution product option that provides ongoing value
Communicate Value Clearly: Articulate exactly what clients gain, using examples and testimonials
As Dorie Clark notes in Entrepreneurial You, portfolio careers offer financial resilience through diverse income sources – but only when each stream is properly priced.
Your Action This Week
Pick one service you currently offer. Use the value equation to calculate what it's actually worth to clients. Is your current price 10-30% of that value? If not, adjust it.
Then, consider creating a smaller, ongoing version as an evolution product. This combination – value-based pricing plus recurring revenue – builds stable portfolio career income.
Quick Template: Value Discovery Questions
When talking with clients, ask these questions to uncover the true value of your work:
"What problem are we solving together?"
"What happens if this problem doesn't get solved?"
"How will you measure the success of this project/transformation?"
"What would this solution be worth to your life right now / your business?"
Their answers will help you price based on value, not just time.
And if you are looking for support to kickstart your portfolio career in 2025, here are some ways to work together:
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Great post by Jules. Looks like I need to do some work on my business to firm up my pricing models!
The value-based formula you shared is really interesting! I've been working through these same fears (I feel sleazy!) and I appreciate you articulating them.