Books by Jonathan
Hourly Billing Is Nuts
Essays On The Insanity Of Trading Time For Money—This book will give you the confidence you need to begin the transition away from a commodity position to premium pricing. You’ll find dozens of essays that will convince you once and for all that trading time for money is absurd. You’ll also learn about an alternative to hourly billing that will free you from the constraints of the time-based model. If you keep an open mind, internalize the stories, and implement my advice, the benefits will be life-changing.
Learn Your Lines
What To Say When Clients Put You On The Spot—In this 57 page handbook you’ll learn exactly how to answer common client questions like:
- “What’s your rate?”
- “Can you give me a ballpark price?”
- “Will this be done by Black Friday?”
- “We’re a non-profit, can we get a discount?”
- “You’re the most expensive option, why should we pick you?”
- “Do you guarantee your work?”
- “Can we pay you 50% now and 50% on completion?”
- And many, many more...
Pigeonhole Yourself
Transform Your Positioning From Soggy To Solid With 21 Real-World Examples—In this 63 page handbook you’ll learn:
- The #1 thing you must do before engaging in marketing of any kind
- How to get word of mouth referrals without even asking
- The one thing to say when someone asks, “So... what do you do?”
- The 4 components of a laser-focused positioning statement
- The secret to differentiating yourself from your competition
- and more...
The Freelancer’s Roadmap
Learn The Tools, Tactics, And Systems You Need To Transform Yourself From Commodity Freelancer To In-Demand Consultant—This brief book is for you if you’re a self-employed person who has skills that you rent out to clients on an hourly basis. You might call yourself a freelancer, or a contractor, or say you do staff augmentation. You might call yourself a developer, or a designer, or a copywriter. You might spend time looking for work on job boards, or Craigslist, or Upwork. If this sounds like you, The Freelancer’s Roadmap will teach you the tips, tools, and systems you need to transform yourself from commoditized freelancer to in-demand consultant.
How To Build Your First Productized Service
A Step-By-Step Guide For Independent Professionals Who Want To Get More Clients With Less Selling—In this 60 page ebook, you’ll learn:
- What a productized service is (and why you should care)
- Where a productized service fits in your product ladder
- Examples of common productized services
- What your productized service should deliver
- How to create a productized service description
- How to write a sales page for your productized service
- How to price your productized service
About Jonathan
Hi! I’m Jonathan Stark and I was a software consultant for the better part of fifteen years. I’ve given sold out talks on three continents, I am the author of five books, and I have helped brands like Staples, Time, T-Mobile, and others with their software strategy, tactics, and training. (You can check out my press page for more info.)
In my first year as a solo consultant, I doubled my income by ditching hourly billing for value pricing. I have over a decade of real-world experience successfully applying value-based theories to my own consulting work and that of 100+ business owners I have counseled. These days I routinely command an effective hourly rate of $2000+ per hour.
The unconscious acceptance of hourly billing as the best and only option for selling services is a collective hallucination that literally keeps me up at night. In fact, I consider it my mission in life to rid the earth of hourly billing. Care to join me? You’ll be glad you did. 🙂