How to Price Your Services When You Have No Experience
A client I'll call Amy came to me three months after leaving her corporate marketing job. She'd landed her first freelance client and was about to send a proposal for a website project.
"I'm thinking £200," she told me. "I mean, I've never done this before. I can't charge what experienced designers charge."
I looked at what she was proposing to deliver: full website redesign, new copy for five pages, lead magnet creation, and email sequence setup. A project that would easily be worth £3,000 from an agency.
"Why £200?" I asked.
"Because I don't have experience."
But she did have experience. Ten years in corporate marketing. A degree in design. She'd built websites for friends that looked better than most agency work. She just couldn't see past her own imposter syndrome.
The Dangerous Myth of "No Experience"
Here's what drives me mental: smart, capable people undercharging because they think experience only counts if it happened inside their new business niche.
You're not starting from zero. You're starting with:
Skills you've developed over years
Problems you've already solved
Knowledge you've accumulated
Results you can deliver right now
When Amy said she had "no experience," what she really meant was "I've never charged someone for this before." But she'd been solving marketing problems for a decade.
The market doesn't care where you learned your skills. They care whether you can solve their problem.
Why "No Experience" Is Usually an Excuse
Most people who say they have no experience are lying to themselves. They have experience. They just don't value it.
You've been managing projects at work for five years, but you think you can't charge for project management because you've never done it freelance.
You've been writing emails that get results for your employer, but you think you can't charge for copywriting because you don't have testimonials.
You've been solving problems your friends ask you about constantly, but you think you can't charge for consulting because you've been doing it for free.
This isn't about experience. It's about confidence.
Value-Based Pricing vs Time-Based Pricing
Here's where most beginners get it wrong: they price based on time instead of value.
"I'm new, so I should charge less per hour until I get faster."
This is backwards thinking. Your client doesn't care how long something takes you. They care about the result they get.
If you can solve a £10,000 problem in two hours, you don't charge for two hours of work. You charge for solving a £10,000 problem.
Amy's website project would help her client book more high-value clients. The difference between a website that converts and one that doesn't could be worth tens of thousands in revenue. But she wanted to charge based on how long it might take her.
How to Set Your Prices When You're Starting Out
Step 1: Identify the Outcome You Deliver
Not what you do. What outcome your client gets.
Don't say: "I design websites." Say: "I help coaches get booked solid through websites that convert visitors into clients."
Don't say: "I offer marketing consulting." Say: "I help small businesses double their leads without spending more on advertising."
Step 2: Research What That Outcome Is Worth
If you help someone get three new clients worth £2,000 each, you've delivered £6,000 of value. Your fee should reflect a portion of that value.
If you save a business owner 10 hours a week, and their time is worth £100 an hour, you're delivering £1,000 of value weekly.
Step 3: Price Projects, Not Hours
Hourly pricing is a trap. It penalises efficiency and caps your earning potential.
Instead of "£50 per hour for up to 20 hours," quote "£2,500 for complete website redesign and launch."
Your client gets clarity on total investment. You get paid for results, not time.
Step 4: Add a Confidence Buffer
Whatever price feels slightly uncomfortable, that's probably closer to right than what feels comfortable.
If £1,000 feels scary but £500 feels safe, quote £800. You can always negotiate down, but you can't negotiate up.
Why Charging Too Little Destroys Your Credibility
Last year, I watched two copywriters pitch the same client for email marketing work.
Copywriter A: £500 for a six-email sequence Copywriter B: £1,800 for a six-email sequence
The client chose copywriter B without seeing either person's portfolio.
"The person charging £500 either doesn't know what they're doing, or they're desperate," the client told me later. "Neither inspires confidence."
Low prices signal low value. When you undercharge, you're not just leaving money on the table. You're telling the market that what you offer isn't worth much.
Plus, cheap clients are nightmare clients. They question everything, ask for endless revisions, and expect champagne service at beer prices.
Common Pricing Mistakes Beginners Make
Mistake 1: Competing on Price
"There are people charging half what I want to charge."
So what? There are also people charging double. You're not competing with everyone. You're competing with people who serve your ideal client.
Mistake 2: Pricing Based on Your Own Budget
"I wouldn't pay £2,000 for this."
You're not your target client. If your ideal client is a business owner making £10K monthly, their budget isn't the same as yours when you were earning £25K annually.
Mistake 3: Offering Too Many Options
"Bronze package £500, Silver £1,000, Gold £2,000."
You're not McDonald's. Too many options create decision paralysis. Offer one clear solution at one clear price.
Mistake 4: Justifying Your Prices
"It's £1,500 because I spend 20 hours on research, 10 hours on strategy, 15 hours on implementation..."
Stop. You're not selling time. You're selling results.
How to Build Confidence in Your Pricing
Get Results First
If you're genuinely new to an area, get some results before you scale your prices.
Offer your service to a few people at a slight discount in exchange for detailed case studies and testimonials. Then use those results to justify higher prices.
Focus on Transformation, Not Tasks
Instead of listing what you'll do, describe what will change for your client.
Not: "I'll audit your social media, create a content calendar, and write 30 posts." But: "You'll go from posting randomly and getting no engagement to having a strategic presence that attracts your ideal clients consistently."
Practice Saying Your Prices Out Loud
If you stumble over your own pricing, your confidence will show. Practice until you can state your prices clearly and without apology.
"The investment for this project is £2,500."
Not: "It's, um, around £2,500, but we could probably work something out if that's too much."
The Framework for Pricing Anything
Here's the formula I use with clients:
Problem value (how much does the problem cost them?) +Solution value (how much is solving it worth?) +Your expertise (what unique approach do you bring?) =Your price
A business owner losing £5,000 monthly because their website doesn't convert will pay £3,000 to fix it. That's still a £2,000 monthly profit from month two onwards.
The Uncomfortable Questions You Need to Ask Yourself
Before you set your prices based on "no experience," ask yourself:
What problems have you been solving for free that people would pay to have fixed?
Are you pricing based on your confidence or the value you deliver?
What would you charge if you knew you could deliver amazing results?
Are you using "no experience" as an excuse to stay in your comfort zone?
What's the worst that happens if someone says your price is too high?
How much is your ideal client's time worth? How much could solving their problem be worth?
If you had absolute confidence in your abilities, what would you charge?
If you're still reading, you probably know you're undercharging. Not because you lack experience, but because you're not valuing the experience you have. Inside my Start & Sustain mentorship we’ll discuss how to price your services with confidence, even when you're just starting out. Because your value isn't determined by your years in business – it's determined by the problems you solve.
The most expensive mistake isn't charging too much.
It's charging too little and training the market to undervalue what you do.
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