What is your rate for one‑on‑one consulting, and how can I purchase it?
I’ve discontinued the one‑on‑one consulting product because it wasn’t worth my time. The current rate is $135, but members of my community receive a sizable discount since they already know much of what I’d teach. I want to focus on novel, interesting problems rather than rehashing community material, reward community members, and use the offering as a conversion mechanism. I still do occasional coaching with a few recurring clients—typically once or twice a week—but I prioritize information products for their higher leverage. If you’re particularly motivated and want to chat, feel free to reach out.
I technically still do consulting and have a link, but I’m raising my hourly rate to around $1,000+ because one‑on‑one consulting isn’t scalable for me. Consulting does have benefits—good relationships, networking, and referral opportunities—but high‑ticket consulting is limited to a few clients, whereas a weekly group call can multiply my time across hundreds of viewers, making it far more scalable.
I’m currently branding the service as coaching rather than consulting. Community members get it for $1,000, but I’m considering raising the price to about $2,000 or making it inaccessible because the current pricing doesn’t make sense time‑wise.
I’d start with a setup fee in the $2,500‑$5,000 range and then charge per meeting—something like $200‑$400 each—or take a modest revenue‑share of 5‑20%. Those numbers aren’t crazy as long as the lifetime value of a client justifies them. Expect push‑back; no one sells a system without objections. A setup fee in that range is reasonable for the value you’ll deliver. For context, a full‑service B2B consulting package can run $15K a year, but freelance consultants typically charge less. If you can close a $5K deal a month and charge $200 per meeting, even with a low conversion rate (say 1 in 8 meetings), the cost per deal drops to about $1,600, leaving room to price around $3.2K and still be competitive. If you’re unsure, check out my video on value‑based pricing for a deeper dive.
Industry averages suggest you’d spend around $200 to $300 before landing your first client. The Maker School fee is about $184, but you typically receive $2,000 to $3,000 in discounts and credits upon joining, which offsets the cost. You can use those credits on platforms like Upwork, cold email, LinkedIn DMs, or community outreach to acquire your first client. Upwork is often the simplest route because clients already have budget and are ready to hire. Cold email is high leverage but takes longer to master, especially for beginners who lack sales process understanding. Other methods include cold DMs on platforms, LinkedIn outreach, and engaging in communities like Reddit or LinkedIn groups to solve problems and get on calls. Overall, you should expect to spend at least a couple hundred dollars; if you’re not willing to invest that amount, joining paid products may not be worthwhile since you’ll need to recoup the investment after landing a client.