It’s a question that rarely gets asked out loud. There’s something uncomfortable about it, as if admitting uncertainty about pricing means you’re not a “real” business owner yet, but the truth is far simpler, and far more common, than that. Most business owners have never been taught how to think about pricing strategically. They’ve learned it through trial and error, or worse, they’ve simply matched what competitors are charging and hoped it would work out.
The result? Businesses that look busy on the surface but aren’t actually profitable. Owners who work harder every year and feel less secure. Contracts that drain energy instead of generating income and a creeping sense that something isn’t quite right, even when the order book looks full.
This is the pricing puzzle and it’s one of the most important puzzles you’ll solve for your business in 2026.
Why Pricing Matters More Than You Think
Pricing isn’t just about the number you put on a quote. It’s a strategic decision that affects everything: how sustainable your business is, whether you can afford to invest in growth, how much stress you carry as an owner, and ultimately, whether your business works for you or you’re working for your business.When you don’t understand your margins, you’re flying blind. You might be so busy delivering work that you haven’t noticed you’re giving it away. You might have a healthy top line but no actual profit at the bottom. You might be turning down work you could profitably do, or accepting work that quietly drains your resources.
In tougher markets, this becomes even more critical. When clients are price-sensitive, the temptation is to drop your prices to stay competitive. But if you don’t know what your margins actually need to be, you end up in a race to the bottom, where the only way to survive is to work harder, faster, and cheaper.
That’s not sustainable. That’s not strategic. And it’s definitely not how you build a business that works.
Understanding Margins: The Foundation of Confident Pricing
Let’s start with the fundamentals. A margin is simply the difference between what you charge and what it costs you to deliver. But “costs” is where most business owners get stuck.When you think about costs, you probably think about the direct costs of delivery: materials, freelancers, software, hours spent on the project. Those are real and important. But they’re only part of the picture.
There are also indirect costs, the ones that don’t show up on individual projects but are absolutely essential to your business running: your time on admin, tax, accounting, insurance, professional development, marketing, sick leave, holidays. These costs are still your responsibility, and they still need to come out of your revenue.
Many business owners price projects based only on direct costs, which means they’re treating their business as a cost centre rather than a functioning enterprise. Your indirect costs need to be built into your pricing, or you’ll never have a sustainable business.
Here’s a practical way to think about it: What does your business need to survive and thrive?
Survive means covering all your costs, including the indirect ones, and creating a small buffer for emergencies. Thrive means having profit left over to reinvest in growth, to give yourself a genuine income, and to build resilience.
Once you know that number, you can work backwards. If your business needs £100,000 a year to survive and thrive, and you have 1,000 billable hours a year, then you need to charge at least £100 an hour. That’s not greedy. That’s just maths.
The Psychology of Pricing
Pricing isn’t just maths. There’s also psychology, and that’s where many business owners stumble.There’s the imposter feeling: Am I really worth that much?
There’s the fear of losing work: If I charge that, clients will go elsewhere.
There’s the comparison trap: Everyone else seems to charge less.
Finally, there’s the martyr mindset: If I’m struggling, maybe that means I’m not charging enough yet, so I should work harder instead of charging more.
All of these are normal. All of them are understandable and all of them are keeping you from pricing with confidence.
Here’s what’s important to remember: Your pricing isn’t about your worth as a person. It’s about the value you deliver and the costs you need to cover. A client who hires you for £5,000 is making a choice that the work is worth £5,000 to them. That’s not arrogance on your part, it’s just clear commercial thinking.
And yes, some clients will go elsewhere if you raise your prices. That’s actually okay. Clients who are only interested in the cheapest option aren’t the ones who’ll stick around long-term anyway. You’d rather have fewer clients who value your work and pay properly than more clients who resent the price and make the work miserable.
Moving From Guesswork to Confidence
So how do you move from “I think I should charge more” to actually charging more with genuine confidence?Start by doing the maths. Work out what your business actually needs to survive and thrive. Include all your costs, not just the obvious ones. Be honest about the time you spend that doesn’t get billed to clients. Build in a realistic profit margin, not just survival mode.
Then look at what you’re currently charging. Is there a gap? If there is, that gap is why you’re feeling stressed.
The next step is to understand where you can adjust. Can you charge more per hour or per project? Can you package your work differently so it’s easier to price? Can you reduce some of your costs? Can you do fewer projects at higher margins instead of more projects at lower margins?
There’s rarely a single answer, but understanding the puzzle gives you options.
Once you’ve done this work, you’ll notice something shifts. You stop feeling like pricing is something that happens to you, and you start feeling like it’s a decision you’re making. That shift from reactive to intentional is where confidence comes from.
When You Need More Than Just Numbers
Understanding margins is crucial, but pricing in a tough market requires more than maths, it requires strategy.You need to understand what your clients actually value about your work, not just what it costs you to deliver. You need to think about how to position yourself so you’re not competing on price alone. You need to make sure your contracts are written in a way that protects your margins, not erodes them. You need to know when to hold firm on price and when it’s actually okay to be flexible.
That’s where things get really strategic, and it’s also where many business owners get stuck.
If you’re feeling this way, if you know your pricing needs attention but you’re not quite sure where to start or how to think about it strategically, this is exactly what The Profitability Puzzle is designed for.
The Profitability Puzzle is a focused strategy session where we dig into your numbers together, understand exactly where your margins are, and work out a clear pricing strategy that works for your business and your market. It’s not generic advice, it’s strategic thinking built on your actual situation.
The session includes a detailed Profitability Report, so you walk away not just with answers, but with a document you can refer back to.
It starts from £2,500, and many business owners find that the confidence and clarity alone pays for itself in the first month.
Your 2026 Opportunity
As you think about 2026, pricing confidence is one of the most valuable things you can invest in. It affects everything: how sustainable your business is, how much profit you actually make, and how much stress you carry.You don’t have to figure this out alone. And you don’t have to guess. You can make a strategic decision based on clarity.
Start with the maths. Work out what your business needs. Look at the gap between where you are and where you need to be. And if you want to dig deeper, if you want expert thinking on how to actually implement this in your market, that’s what we’re here for.
2026 is the year to stop guessing about pricing. It’s the year to know, with confidence, that you’re charging what you’re worth and what your business needs to thrive.