A companion resource to the Designing Success podcast episode: Value Pricing in the AI Era

💡 Before you start: This is not a "charge your worth" pep talk. It's an actual process. Work through each step with your next project in your head. Voice memo your answers if that's easier — you don't have to write it all down perfectly the first time.

The problem with hourly pricing

Under an hourly model, the slower you work, the more you earn. The faster and better you get, the less you invoice. AI is making that problem structural — not theoretical.

If you're using AI in your studio and your production speed has gone up, your efficiency gains are currently going straight to your client at no extra charge.

Value pricing is how you stop doing that.

Step 1 — Model the outcome

What does the client's life look like after this project?

Get specific. Not "a timeless, functional home." The actual thing.

Write or voice memo your answers for the project you're working on right now:

• [ ] Describe the before state — how does the client currently live in or use this space?
• [ ] Describe the after state in specific, real terms (not adjectives — outcomes)
• [ ] Identify who benefits and how (the family, the business, the resale)
• [ ] Note any measurable or likely financial impact (resale uplift, revenue per table, lease rate, Airbnb performance)

Example: A kitchen renovation that adds $120k to resale value on a $2.8M property. A commercial fit out that lifts weekly revenue because the space finally flows for the team and photographs well for marketing.

Step 2 — Name what getting it wrong costs

What does a bad design decision on this project actually cost?