Profitable Web Designer with Shannon Mattern

By Shannon MatternBusiness Entrepreneurship

Profitable Web Designer with Shannon Mattern episodes

November 04Part 3 - How To 5x Your Web Design Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload EP 219
Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse
Part 3: Web Designer Academy Student Stories: How To 5x Your Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload
In Part 3 of this 3-part series, you'll hear from a panel of Web Designer Academy students, Barb Pritchard of Infinity Brand Design, Elise, Lee and Erica of Brazen Babes, about what their web design businesses were like before and after working with us, how long it took them to make their investment back, how they got out of overwhelm, and exactly how they got clients without relying on social media. Then I answer some juicy questions from applicants, like whether I've ever had students who didn't get results and why, whether you can charge $10,000 for a website without SEO, how retainer work fits into a profitable schedule, and how to talk to your husband or partner about joining a coaching program, including the story of the first time I told Floyd I wanted to join one and how THAT went over.
In This Episode:
How our students made back their investment, including Erica's one-pager in her second month
How Lee went from reporting to what felt like 10 different people to being in charge of her business
How Elise and Erica got clients by telling people they were web designers and responding where they already hang out
Why you can charge friends the same rate as any other client
Why some students don't get results, and what to do if you're worried about that
How to talk to your partner about investing in your web design business
Resources Mentioned:
Web Designer Academy Waitlist: https://webdesigneracademy.com/waitlist
Web Designer Academy: https://webdesigneracademy.com/program
Episode 217 (Part 1): https://webdesigneracademy.com/217
Episode 218 (Part 2): https://webdesigneracademy.com/218
Related Episodes:
Episode 176: Web Design Business Pricing Insights From Inside the Web Designer Academy: https://webdesigneracademy.com/176
Episode 175: Web Design Business Marketing Insights From Inside the Web Designer Academy: https://webdesigneracademy.com/175
Episode 171: From Corporate Burnout To Web Design Business Success with Amber Jones: https://webdesigneracademy.com/171
Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom.
For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com
For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com
Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern
53 min
October 28Part 2 - How To 5x Your Web Design Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload EP 218
Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse
Part 2: How To 5x Your Web Design Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload
In Part 2 of this 3-part series, I'm picking back up in the private training I hosted back in 2022 to break down how we help the women in the Web Designer Academy implement the 5P Framework from Part 1, why all five pieces have to work together, and the secret sixth piece you need to make it all work: an authentic marketing strategy you're actually sold on, because if you're not sold on it, you're not going to do it. I walk through the 3 places web designers get stuck, answer whether you can promise your clients ROI, show you what $10K months with one client at a time look like, and share the one mindset shift I want you to walk away with: the value has everything to do with your client and what's possible for them.
In This Episode:
Why missing even one piece of the 5P Framework is like a stool with only two legs
Why you don't need social media, ads or blogging to get web design clients
Why you can't promise your clients ROI, and what to do instead
The 3 places web designers get stuck: the people pleaser, the self-taught undercharger and the five-figure hustler
What $10K months with one $10,000 client look like, and why you need to stop doing the hourly math
Why you can't reverse engineer another web designer's business from the outside
Resources Mentioned:
Web Designer Academy Waitlist: https://webdesigneracademy.com/waitlist
Web Designer Academy: https://webdesigneracademy.com/program
Episode 217: How To 5x Your Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload, Part 1: https://webdesigneracademy.com/217
Related Episodes:
Episode 210: Market Your Web Design Business Without Social Media with Jana Osofsky: https://webdesigneracademy.com/210
Episode 204: Why Your Discovery Calls Aren't Converting (And What to Do Instead): https://webdesigneracademy.com/204
Episode 195: From $5,000 to $15,000: How Web Designer Academy Student Aprile Blair Tripled Her Prices: https://webdesigneracademy.com/195
Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom.
For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com
For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com
Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern
49 min
October 21Part 1 - How To 5x Your Web Design Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload EP 217
Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse
Part 1: How To 5x Your Web Design Income Without 5x-ing Your Workload
In Part 1 of this 3-part series, I'm sharing a replay of a private training I hosted back in 2022 for accepted applicants, where I break down the 5P Framework I've been teaching inside the Web Designer Academy for the past 6 years to help women web designers go from undercharging, overdelivering and burnt out to profitable, sustainable and thriving. We do the math on how many projects you'd need to sell at your current prices to hit your income goal, why the lower your prices are the more people you have to get in front of and convert, and why you can't just go change the price on your website and expect clients to say yes. Then I walk through all five pieces you need in place to charge more without working more: packaging, positioning, pricing, pre-framing and premium client experience.
In This Episode:
Why getting more clients when you're undercharging and overdelivering is a recipe for disaster
How to package your web design services as a revenue-generating asset instead of a list of deliverables
How giving clients choices helps you test your pricing, prevent scope creep and become your own competition
Why it takes the same amount of time to build a $2,000 website as a $10,000 website, and why you don't need to add more deliverables to charge more
How to pre-frame the value of your work from the first interaction so clients skip the sticker shock
How win-win boundaries keep you out of scope creep and zombie projects that never die
Resources Mentioned:
Web Designer Academy Waitlist: https://webdesigneracademy.com/waitlist
Web Designer Academy: https://webdesigneracademy.com/program
Package Matrix™ Method: https://shannonmattern.com/package-matrix-method/
Related Episodes:
Episode 205: Why More Web Design Clients Won't Fix Your Money Problems with Pam Jordan: https://webdesigneracademy.com/205
Episode 189: How To Price Custom Web Design Projects with Shannon Mattern: https://webdesigneracademy.com/189
Episode 186: The Web Designer's Guide to Dealing With Difficult Clients: https://webdesigneracademy.com/186
Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom.
For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com
For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com
Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern
51 min
October 14Web Designer Pricing Workshop EP 216
Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse
Web Designer Pricing Workshop: How To Set Profitable, Sustainable Prices
This week I'm sharing a replay of a pricing workshop I hosted a few years ago where I walk you through how to set profitable, sustainable prices for your web design services and how to sell yourself on those prices.
Because it doesn't matter what number you land on if you don't believe in the value you bring to the table. We find your minimum baseline, talk about why charging by the hour doesn't work, use the Rule of 10 to get you sold on your own value, bust the three pricing beliefs that keep web designers undercharging and wrap up with live Q&A on consultations, standing out from cheaper web designers, new solopreneur clients and finding agencies to work with.
In This Episode:
How to find your minimum baseline using your income needs, business expenses, taxes and available hours

Why a $75/hour rate falls apart once you account for marketing, admin and scope creep

How to price by the project and by the long-term value of the website for your client

The Rule of 10: could your client make 10x what they paid you, and make it back in 3 to 6 months?

Busting "I need more experience first," "I'm self-taught" and "my clients can't afford it"

The 3 business breakdowns that leak money out of your web design business
Resources Mentioned:
Web Designer Academy waitlist: https://webdesigneracademy.com/program
Shannon's Monthly Income Reports: https://webdesigneracademy.com/category/income-reports/
Aisha Crumbine (the Rule of 10): https://crumbineed.com
IRS Estimated Taxes: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estimated-taxes
Related Episodes:
Episode 212: Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value-Based Pricing with Jonathan Stark: https://webdesigneracademy.com/ditching-hourly-a-web-designers-guide-to-value-based-pricing-with-jonathan-stark/
Episode 205: Why More Web Design Clients Won't Fix Your Money Problems with Pam Jordan: https://webdesigneracademy.com/why-more-web-design-clients-wont-fix-your-money-problems-with-pam-jordan-of-pivot-to-profit/
Episode 190: What Every Web Designer Needs to Know About Taxes with Hannah Cole: https://webdesigneracademy.com/what-every-web-designer-needs-to-know-about-taxes-with-hannah-cole/
Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom.
For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com
For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com
Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern
1 hr 2 min
October 07How To Stop Undercharging For Web Design EP 215
Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income: https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse
How To Stop Undercharging for Web Design
AI tools are making web design faster and easier than ever, and so many web designers believe that because it's so fast and so easy, it's not worth that much. Today I’m going to help you make over your mindset for good so you stop undercharging.
In This Episode:
Why working faster with AI and page builders doesn't mean you should charge less

Why you have to be sold on you before anyone else will be sold on your pricing

The undercharging self-evaluation: pricing language, scope creep, quick fixes, unpaid invoices, maintenance pricing and VIP days

The two words, just and only, that keep web designers undercharging

The 8 reasons web designers undercharge, including fear of responsibility

9 ways to stop undercharging, from staying out of your clients' wallets to knowing your own numbers
Resources Mentioned:
Web Designer Academy Waitlist: webdesigneracademy.com/waitlist
Web Designer Academy: webdesigneracademy.com/web-designer-academy-program-reg
Anchor High™ Certification: shannonmattern.com/anchor-high-certification
Related Episodes:
Episode 212: Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value-Based Pricing with Jonathan Stark
Episode 199: The Sneaky Word Sabotaging Your Web Design Business with Aiza Cheung
Episode 189: How To Price Custom Web Design Projects with Shannon Mattern
Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom.
For Web Designers: webdesigneracademy.com
For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: shannonmattern.com
Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner
57 min
September 30August 2026 Income Report EP 214
Grab our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse
August 2026 Income Report: Why We (Temporarily) Closed the Doors on Web Designer Academy
This month Erica Nash and I get into the real numbers behind August... $25,640 in revenue, $15,318 in outflow, and the big decision we finally tested after ten years of keeping Web Designer Academy open all the time. We walk through exactly where the money came from, why we closed the doors and moved to a six-month cohort model, and what happened in the first two weeks that made this experiment feel like a success before it had even officially started.
In This Episode:
The full August 2026 revenue and expense breakdown, and where the money actually came from

Why we closed Web Designer Academy's doors after a decade of being open all the time

What changed inside the program to make a six-month cohort work (and why the price stayed the same value, just split differently)

Early wins from our first six-month cohort, including a student who sold a high-ticket package before the program even started

Why Shannon stopped setting arbitrary success metrics for business experiments

The mindset shift around time and capacity that's opening up space for what's next
Resources Mentioned:
Web Designer Academy — waitlist now open for the next six-month cohort, opening February 2027

Next Level Mastermind

Package Matrix™ Method

90-Day Shift Private Coaching
Related Episodes:
Episode 212: Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value-Based Pricing with Jonathan Stark

Episode 209: July 2026 Income Report

Episode 191: How To Choose the Right Web Design Business Model
Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom.
• For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com • For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com • Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern
58 min
September 23Web Design Templates, Courses or Clients? Why You Don't Have To Choose with Olga Dorovskykh from Applet Studio EP 213
Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income.
Web Design Templates, Courses or Clients? Why You Don't Have To Choose with Olga Dorovskykh from Applet Studio
Olga Kolgusheva, known professionally as Olga Dorovskykh, is the founder of Applet Studio, a Squarespace template shop and design studio she runs with her husband Roman. In this episode, Olga breaks down how she juggles templates, courses, and custom client work all at once, the real numbers behind growing a profitable template shop, and what she's seeing right now as AI reshapes SEO, affiliate marketing, and how web designers get found online.
In This Episode:
Why Olga refuses to pick just one business model, and how templates, courses, and client work support each other

The real numbers behind growing a template shop, including her 100 blog post breaking point

How her templates became a direct source of custom client leads

What happened when AI started eating her blog traffic and affiliate income in 2025

Why commercial landing pages are outperforming blog posts for AI visibility

How EAT signals across other platforms are changing web designer visibility

Why service-based web design isn't going anywhere, even as AI gets better
Resources Mentioned:
Applet Studio Free Digital Strategy Workshop Web Designer Academy Package Matrix™ Method
Related Episodes:
Episode 191: How To Choose the Right Web Design Business Model Episode 114: How to Sell Squarespace Templates with Kate Scott Episode 184: Answer Engine Optimization: Your Next Revenue Stream As a Web Designer
Olga Kolgusheva (Olga Dorovskykh) is a former journalist turned Squarespace designer and the founder of Applet Studio. Website: applet.studio. Instagram: @applet.studio.
Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of the Package Matrix™ Method, and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom.
For Web Designers: webdesigneracademy.com For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: shannonmattern.com Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern
55 min
September 18Profitable Web Designer Tip: Ditching Hourly
Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse
Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value Pricing with Jonathan Stark
Jonathan Stark, known as The Ditching Hourly Guy, joins Shannon Mattern to explain why hourly billing punishes you for getting good at your job, and how he builds every proposal around three value-based pricing options instead of a single hourly quote.
In This Episode:
Why hourly billing creates a mismatched incentive between you and your client

The Why Conversation: the three questions Jonathan asks before he'll ever discuss price

How to respond when a client's desired outcome is outside of what you can control

Why every proposal should include exactly three pricing options (Goldilocks pricing)

How Jonathan built his business through writing and podcasting instead of social media

Why AI makes positioning more important, not less
Resources Mentioned:
Value Pricing Calculator
Hourly Billing Is Nuts
Ditching Hourly Podcast
Jonathan's Daily Newsletter
The Package Matrix™ Method
Related Episodes: Episode 189: How To Price Custom Web Design Projects with Shannon Mattern
Episode 90: Profitable Proposals and Processes with Cass and Amanda of Foxtrot Branding
Episode 164: The State of Web Designer Pricing in 2025
Jonathan Stark is a former software developer turned pricing consultant, known as The Ditching Hourly Guy for his mission to rid the world of hourly billing. He's the author of Hourly Billing Is Nuts and the host of the Ditching Hourly podcast. https://jonathanstark.com
Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of the Package Matrix™ Method, and the founder of the Web Designer Academy, where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout, and break through to their next level of income and freedom.
Websites: webdesigneracademy.com | shannonmattern.com
IG: @profitablewebdesigner | YouTube: @profitablewebdesigner | LinkedIn: shannonmattern
4 min
September 16Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value-Based Pricing with Jonathan Stark EP 212
Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse
Ditching Hourly: A Web Designer's Guide to Value Pricing with Jonathan Stark
Jonathan Stark, known as The Ditching Hourly Guy, joins Shannon Mattern to explain why hourly billing punishes you for getting good at your job, and how he builds every proposal around three value-based pricing options instead of a single hourly quote.
In This Episode:
Why hourly billing creates a mismatched incentive between you and your client

The Why Conversation: the three questions Jonathan asks before he'll ever discuss price

How to respond when a client's desired outcome is outside of what you can control

Why every proposal should include exactly three pricing options (Goldilocks pricing)

How Jonathan built his business through writing and podcasting instead of social media

Why AI makes positioning more important, not less
Resources Mentioned:
Value Pricing Calculator
Hourly Billing Is Nuts
Ditching Hourly Podcast
Jonathan's Daily Newsletter
The Package Matrix™ Method
Related Episodes: Episode 189: How To Price Custom Web Design Projects with Shannon Mattern
Episode 90: Profitable Proposals and Processes with Cass and Amanda of Foxtrot Branding
Episode 164: The State of Web Designer Pricing in 2025
Jonathan Stark is a former software developer turned pricing consultant, known as The Ditching Hourly Guy for his mission to rid the world of hourly billing. He's the author of Hourly Billing Is Nuts and the host of the Ditching Hourly podcast. https://jonathanstark.com
Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of the Package Matrix™ Method, and the founder of the Web Designer Academy, where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout, and break through to their next level of income and freedom.
Websites: webdesigneracademy.com | shannonmattern.com
IG: @profitablewebdesigner | YouTube: @profitablewebdesigner | LinkedIn: shannonmattern
55 min
September 11Profitable Web Designer Tip: Why Your Web Design Business Systems Aren’t Working
Get our free course to help women web designers stop undercharging and overdelivering and create a consistent, full-time income at https://webdesigneracademy.com/freecourse
Systems architect Diana Wei Fang, founder of The Finer Points, joins Shannon to explain why buying another tool never fixes a business problem, how to standardize your systems without losing what makes you different, and why she believes small businesses built to last are the key to real systemic change.
In This Episode:
Why so many creatives struggle with invoicing and follow-up, and why it has nothing to do with talent

The real reason tool-hopping between platforms like Honeybook, Dubsado, and Notion never solves the underlying problem

How to standardize your systems without losing what makes your business yours

Why the average small business lifespan dropped from 91 years in 1919 to just 14 years today

What AI can (and can't) do for your business systems

How Diana built The Finer Points from scratch for under $500
Resources Mentioned:
The Finer Points: https://thefinerpoints.co HoneyBook: https://www.honeybook.com Web Designer Academy: https://webdesigneracademy.com/web-designer-academy-program-reg/
Related Episodes:
Episode 185: How To Scale a Web Design Business with Sarah Noked of OBM School: https://webdesigneracademy.com/how-to-scale-a-web-design-business-with-sarah-noked-of-obm-school/
Episode 177: Why Doing It All Yourself Is Slowing Down Your Web Design Business with Bailey Collins: https://webdesigneracademy.com/why-doing-it-all-yourself-is-slowing-down-your-web-design-business/
Episode 98: Finding Your Biz Besties with Katie Lynn + Laura Grace of Mushaboom Studio: https://webdesigneracademy.com/finding-your-biz-besties-with-katie-lynn-laura-grace-of-mushaboom-studio/
Diana Wei Fang is the founder of The Finer Points, a systems and process architecture studio helping purpose-driven entrepreneurs build businesses that last. Website: https://thefinerpoints.co | Instagram: https://instagram.com/thefinerpoints | LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/thefinerpoints
Shannon Mattern is a Pricing Strategist, creator of The Package Matrix™ Method and the founder of the Web Designer Academy where she helps experienced women web designers book higher-paying web design projects, charge more with confidence, run projects without overworking and burnout and break through to their next level of income and freedom.
For Web Designers: https://webdesigneracademy.com

For Service Providers, Consultants & Agencies: https://shannonmattern.com

Instagram: @profitablewebdesigner | @shannonlmattern
6 min

About Profitable Web Designer with Shannon Mattern

From the publisher's feed

Profitable Web Designer is the top podcast for women web designers who started their web design business for freedom and fulfillment—but somehow ended up overworked, underpaid, and wondering what went wrong.