Spin Class Case Study: So, You Want To Hang a Shingle (Part 2)

LLC vs. S Corp, accounting and legalese, scoping (hourly/project/retainer), and straight talk on creating your price sheet

Welcome to the second part of this series, where I share best practices from my network for standing up a solo consulting business (official Pirate affiliation not required, but highly correlated). Part 1, which covers getting started, landing your first client, building a book of business, and nurturing your network, is free to everyone over here. We’re paywalling Part 2, which gets specific about project scoping, RFPs, enforcing boundaries with clients, includes a great list of business resources from my network, and… has a slew of intel on pricing structures and rates.

IMHO, the pricing insights alone are well worth a Spin Class subscription. Pricing is the hardest info to pry out of even the most open solo entrepreneurs. Everyone has a different approach based on their unique experiences and offerings, and agrees that pricing is an art, not a science. So, that means most folks determine their approach only after extensive conversations with their network. Consider this your big head start.

HUGE thanks to Katie Harbath, Vaishnavi J., Josh Lederman, Anne Terry, Taylor Terry, Jennifer Person, Zev Karlin-Neumann, Malcom Glenn, Lindsay Krasnoff, and over 10 others who asked to remain anonymous to be especially candid. Their replies have been slightly edited for space and clarity.

Pricing: how did you figure out your rates? How do you approach pricing conversations with clients? Do you have a sliding scale?