May 30, 2025

Reader question re: Does value pricing work with small non-profits?

Fellow list member Harry Li replied to my recent email to ask the following (shared with permission):

At first glance, it seems that value-based pricing is difficult to scale (from a revenue perspective) if the target clients are small businesses. For me, I’d like to earn more and at the same time focus on helping out small nonprofits. Have you encountered this before?

It is of course true that a buyer who doesn’t have much money can’t pay much money, regardless of how much the results are worth to them.

So...

How do you help small nonprofits that don’t have much money?

One way would be to value price high-fee projects with large non-profits and then do pro bono work for small non-profits in the free time created by your high profit margins.

If you don’t mind working with large non-profits, this approach would be even better for the small non-profits than the way you’re working with them now (i.e., for money).

(And obtw, this would also be fantastic for your marketing.)

Thanks, Harry!

Yours,

—J

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