Ditching Hourly

By Jonathan StarkBusiness

Ditching Hourly episodes

April 26, 2022Solar System Content Model
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
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Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
7 min
April 19, 2022 Punk Marketing
The core strategy behind my "punk" marketing approach.

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Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
2 min
April 12, 2022 Absolutely Everything Can Be Measured
Other than hourly billing, this is the mindset shift that has had the biggest impact on my business.

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Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
10 min
April 05, 2022What if you had no competition?
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
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Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
11 min
March 29, 2022Coaching Call with “JavaScript-in-FileMaker” expert Jeremy Brown
“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
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Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
1 hr 5 min
March 08, 2022David C. Baker - The 5 Things That Happen Right After You Specialize
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 niche positioning to stand out, attract ideal clients, see client patterns more clearly, accelerate learning, and always have things to write and talk about.
They outline 5 things that happen after narrowing your business focus:
You don't instantly become smarter, but your rate of learning accelerates because you start seeing more examples of your niche.
Impostor syndrome kicks in because you're making expertise-based claims you didn't make before, but this fear is often unfounded because you were willing to work with those clients previously.
You don't have to turn down unrelated work right away during the transition period, though over time, you'll likely feel unsatisfied with off-target projects.
You immediately start narrowing your focus even further, fine-tuning your positioning through real-world conversations and testing.
Counterintuitively, you'll have way more to write and talk about when focused on a niche than as a generalist.
Jonathan and David emphasize that niche positioning is critical before you can effectively differentiate, charge value-based pricing, market yourself, or even decide what content to produce. It brings focus to everything that follows.
About David C. Baker
“The Leading Authority on Positioning, Reinventing, and Selling Firms in the Creative and Digital Space.”
David C. Baker is the author of five books, three of which focus on the central elements of the business of expertise: positioning, financial management, and leadership. David speaks regularly on more than 70 topics relevant to entrepreneurial expertise, from 20 executives to 5,000 live on TV worldwide, and has worked with 900+ firms through his Total Business Review process.
David's Links
David's Website
David's book: The Business of Expertise
David's podcast (with Blair Enns)
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Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
55 min
March 01, 2022Rick Finkelstein - The Heavy Metal Lawyer
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
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Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
35 min
February 22, 2022 Coaching Call with Trading Card Creator Colyn Brown
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.

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Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
54 min
February 15, 2022Digby Leigh - Alternative Fee Arrangements for the Legal Industry
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 fit for fixed fee pricing
What to expect when clients know they can talk to you for free instead of “on the clock”
The internal attitude you need to beat back when you first ditch hourly billing
The importance of being helpful
The indignity of having to justify how you spend your time
The magic of The Why Conversation
The benefits of offering pricing options
Related Links
Digby’s Firm, Leigh & Co
Frank Fee™
Digby’s SaaS, AltFee
Goliath
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Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
48 min
February 08, 2022Coaching Call with Equity-Driven Design Strategist Lucy Flores
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
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Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
57 min