Sideways Business

You can know all the logic of pricing and still freeze the second you type the number in. Right?

In this solo episode I’m talking about the question that comes up with pretty much every client I work with, whether they’re brand new, established or pivoting: what do I actually charge? We go through the real-world factors that should shape your price (the going rate, your experience, what your client actually gets out of it, your energy and capacity, format, tax, and who you’re selling to). Then we get into the two head traps that keep so many of us quietly undercharging: comparing ourselves to everyone else, and judging our prices through our own map of the world.

And there’s a bit of advice from a friend’s grandma that I think about all the time. “Get your mind out of somebody else’s pockets.”

In this episode

• 01:00 Why your break-even point comes first
• 03:00 The going rate is information, not a rule
• 06:00 When someone else sets or caps your rate
• 07:50 The “easy for me” myth, and why what comes easily to you is still valuable
• 10:00 Pricing on what your client gets, not how many minutes it takes you
• 14:30 Energy, capacity and the masking cost of being neurodivergent
• 15:30 One-to-one, groups and digital products
• 16:00 Tax thresholds (plan for them before you hit them)
• 17:00 Who you’re selling to, and selling to people in caring professions without blaming them
• 22:00 The comparison trap
• 24:00 Your map of the world isn’t everyone’s map
• 27:00 Making things accessible on purpose, not by undercharging everyone

Links

Get the free guide, Stop Fighting Your Brain, and join the Quirky Brain Bulletin at Jocasey.com
Want help working out your numbers one-to-one? Drop me a line via jocasey.com

Jo Casey challenges the idea that neurodivergent business owners are the problem. Instead, she argues that conventional business models like rigid niches, social media mandates, and low-priced course funnels are often what's actually broken.

This episode walks through real examples of how standard advice fails neurodivergent entrepreneurs, and offers a framework for building a business around your energy, your natural working patterns, and your real audience size.

Permission to Do Business Your Own Way: Launches, Social Media, and Consistency

In the first episode of the Sideways Business Podcast, coach Jo Casey introduces her work supporting neurodivergent business owners to build sustainable income without burnout, emphasizing permission to ignore “should” advice and stop assuming they are the problem.

Drawing on nearly 15 years in business and her experience as autistic with ADHD and dyslexia, she explains how masking and “try harder” patterns lead to burnout, especially when undiagnosed.

She shares three business norms she no longer follows: big, high-stakes launches that exhaust her before delivery; using social media, which she quit years ago without harming her business; and rigid “consistency,” advocating instead for working with natural energy rhythms, rest, and hyperfocus.

She offers a free tool, “Stop Fighting Your Brain,” at www.JoCasey.com

00:00 Welcome and Mission

00:49 Why Advice Fails Us

03:29 Three Rules to Break

03:45 Ditching Big Launches

09:03 Quitting Social Media

10:25 Rethinking Consistency

11:27 Work With Your Energy

14:54 Free Tool and Wrap Up