Hey Reader,

(Just joining us? Catch up on Lesson 1 & Lesson 2, Lesson 3)​

Want to know the fastest way to kill a successful CFO practice?

Price it wrong.

I learned this lesson the hard way, and today I'm going to save you from making the same expensive mistakes I did.

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When I first started, I did what almost everyone does - I charged by the hour. I mean, it makes sense, right? Work an hour, get paid for an hour. Simple. Clean. Easy to explain to clients.

But here's the painful truth I discovered: hourly pricing is actually punishing you for being good at your job.

Let me explain...

As you get better at what you do, you become more efficient. You create better systems. You use better tools. What used to take you 3 hours now takes 1 hour.

Guess what happens on an hourly model? Your income goes DOWN as you get BETTER.

But that's not even the worst part. Here are the three deadly sins of hourly pricing:

The better you get, the less you make.

Think about it - when I first started doing month-end closes for clients, it would take me 8-10 hours.

Now? I can knock it out in 3 hours because I've built better systems and gained more experience.

On an hourly model, that means I went from billing $2,000 to $750 for the exact same work.

I literally lost $1,250 for being more efficient! It's like telling a surgeon they should be paid less because they've gotten faster at performing surgeries.

And it gets worse - as you invest in better tools and technology to streamline your processes (which costs money), your billable hours actually decrease. So you're spending more to make less. It's a backwards incentive structure that punishes efficiency and excellence.

Every phone call becomes a mental calculation for your client. "Do I really need to ask this question? The clock is ticking..."
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You want clients to reach out when they need you, not worry about the meter running.

Your clients should feel comfortable picking up the phone when they need strategic guidance. They shouldn't be sitting there thinking, "Well, this call might cost me $250... maybe I'll just wing it instead."

Even worse, I've had clients take forever to send me even the most basic information that I needed to do their work. I blocked off my calendar to do work, but because of their laziness I wasn't able to generate any income. That was a very frustrating thing to deal with.

Here's what really killed me - you do the work first, then hope to get paid. I've had clients ghost me after weeks of work. Not fun.

That's why I completely transformed how we price at Mighty Digits. Here's what we do instead:

Fixed Recurring Pricing. We break our services into clear categories:

But here's the key: we get VERY specific about scope. For example, if a client exceeds their allocated number of monthly bills to process, they move up to the next tier.

And speaking of tiers, here's my favorite pricing secret: The Three-Tier Strategy.

We present every client with three options:

Here's what's fascinating: while most clients pick the middle option (as planned), I've been surprised countless times by clients choosing the premium tier.

Why?

Because when you present options, clients feel in control.

They're not being sold to - they're choosing.

But fixed pricing isn't the only alternative. Let me share two more powerful models:

With Value-Based Pricing, you price based on the value you create for the client. If you're helping a company prepare for a $10M fundraise, your fee should reflect that value.

This is especially powerful for fundraising or M&A work. You get a percentage of the capital raised or deal value. It aligns your incentives perfectly with your client's goals.

Here's the truth: each model has its place. I've used all of them at different times. But regardless of which model you choose, two things are non-negotiable:

Your proposal needs to look stunning. It shows clients you take your business seriously. Here's an example of a template we've created that generates stunning proposals using Excel only in a matter of seconds

Clients should understand exactly what they're getting and for how much. No surprises.

In our next lesson, we'll talk about scaling your practice through hiring. But for now, I want you to do something:

Look at your current pricing model. Is it rewarding you for getting better at your job? Or is it actually holding you back?

Reply to this email and let me know what pricing model you're using now and why.