My Biggest Pricing Mistakes in 16 Years as an Online Service Provider

In this episode, I’m walking you through the biggest pricing mistakes I’ve made over the last 16 years as a service provider, from hourly rates and undercharging, to scoping disasters, discounts, letting clients dictate the work, and not tracking time (which is honestly one of the most expensive mistakes of all). This is a no-fluff episode, and it’s designed to help you spot where you might be leaking money without realising.I also share the more subtle mistakes that don’t get talked about enough, like putting your prices up too soon without proof, getting knocked when nobody buys, and then losing your confidence in your offer. Plus, the “exposure” era, where I worked for free more times than I care to admit, thinking it would lead somewhere. Spoiler: it didn’t.What You’ll Learn in This EpisodeWhy hourly pricing kept me undercharging (and attracting the wrong clients)The scoping mistakes that quietly destroy your profitWhy discounting can damage the perceived value of your workHow not tracking time stops you from knowing what you’re actually earningThe danger of raising your prices too soon without validationWhy working for free “for exposure” rarely pays off"Most pricing mistakes don’t come from being bad at business, they come from being insecure and guessing."If pricing has been the thing you constantly spiral over, the thing that makes you second-guess yourself, over-deliver, or quietly resent your work, join the waitlist for my new pricing bootcamp, Rave Your Rates, coming 25th February 2026: https://ceels-lockley.myflodesk.com/raveyourratesStep into my festival world...🎪 Create you own Offer Line Up with my free masterclass🎪 Pop your name down for my free monthly networking events, The Secret Set🎪 Explore Dreamium, my offer design program🎪 Come and say hiiii on Instagram and ThreadsMentioned in this episode:Join DreamiumIf your offers don't quite make sense together or feel aligned with where your business is heading, you probably need an offer ecosystem. Go back to school on your offers this September inside my offer design school, Dreamium. Just five places available for right-fit students. Apply today at ceelslockley.co/dreamium for your dreamy offer plus a back-to-school bonus: two 30-minute private lessons with me.Dreamium