The Day Rate Business Model S C A L E D O W N . M A K E M O R E .
Hi I'm Sarah I am the founder of Book Me For A Day, a one-day design intensive program that allows me to make more money, work fewer hours and live a more freedom-filled life! I now teach fellow designers (and done-for-you service providers) how to do exactly what I've done: escape the feast or famine cycle with a day rate business model and leveraged digital offers.
Before we start - turn off all distractions and get a notebook and a pen to take notes. If you have any questions, please use the chat box and I will answer them for you during the presentation.
S O L E T M E G U E S S . . . . You started your own business because in addition to your passion for the work you do, you craved freedom. More time to spend with your friends and family, more time to travel and do the things you love… You wanted to be able to set your own hours, and have more control over your earning potential… The idea of working in yoga pants & not having to commute to the office every day was a hell yes for you! Designing gorgeous brands, graphics and websites (while not being bothered or needing to talk to anyone) lights you up more than anything!
But maybe things aren't exactly going as well as you thought they would...
You’re spending too long on non-billable work like trying to get leads through social media, sales calls, answering emails, and writing proposals, which don’t always turn into a client…
Clients are late providing you with the files that you need, so you can’t start on time, and then they’re inconsistent with feedback so your projects just keep getting longer, and you're not getting paid on time…
You’ve taken on more projects or retainer clients to fill the gaps that the delayed clients have created – but when the delayed client suddenly is ready, it's full-on hustle mode to meet all your deadlines. And before you know it, you're working on 6-8 (or more) clients at any given time!
You don't leave home without your laptop because your client work is so random and inconsistent, you're always trying to catch up! Or you're worried about your retainer clients who might need something while you're gone.
Scope Creep is out of control. Like that final_final_final_logo.jpg file.....
When you finally DO finish a project, it often takes weeks or months longer to actually get paid.
You’ve found yourself often daydreaming about going back to a real J.O.B. because then at least you could clock out at 5:00 every day and get paid consistently.
I get it. T H A T W A S M Y E X A C T S T O R Y A C O U P L E O F Y E A R S A G O T O O .
Close your eyes, and just imagine if.... ✨ You only had to work 2 or 3 days per week and ✨ You no longer had to deal with red flag clients you knew exactly what days they would be. who you should have said no to, because they turned into the never-ending scope-creep client. ✨ You knew exactly how much money you were going to make each month & you could control ✨ You had DREAM clients raving about the work whether or not to make more or less, depending that you’ve done for them – so much so, that you on your life’s circumstances for the month. no longer need to spend hours inside of Facebook Groups promoting your services. ✨ You didn’t have to waste hours on discovery calls, writing proposals and calculating how long ✨ You no longer worry about whether or not you an entire project will take only to be let down are going to be able to pay the bills next month when the client comes back and says it’s too because waiting to be paid is a thing of the past… expensive.
Doing done for you design work does not need to be draining, soul sucking or a recipe for burnout.
In this presentation I am going to share with you... What my definition of a Day Rate is The 5 essential components of a successful day rate model The 3 things you need to consider as you figure out what a perfect day rate offer looks like for you The correct way to price your day rates so that you have clients lined up and wait listed to work with you And finally, how I consistently earn over $10K per month on client work , doing just 1 or 2 client intensives per week
B U T F I R S T . . . A little background
With nearly 15 years of branding, design and online FAVORITE THINGS: business experience, a bachelor’s degree in Summer marketing, and plenty of coaches, courses and group programs under my belt, there isn't a whole Mountains lot that I haven't learned, seen or done. Live music Adventure These days, I spend 1 or 2 days per week on Book Me Mostly doing For A Day client work, and the rest of my work hours are spent working on MY business, or helping “boy” things… students. I run several branding programs, and also teach designers and done-for-you service providers how to escape the feast or famine cycle and create more income and freedom with a one-day intensive business model and leveraged digital offers. On a personal note, I'm married to my college sweetheart, we live in Charlotte, NC and we're the parents of 4 awesome boys & our sweet pup, Mabel.
But life wasn't always this way...
I struggled for over a decade. Even though I had been at this online business thing for a while, was great at designing, had awesome clients, and had invested in the best coaches and programs, hoping for that magic pill, I still found myself working endless hours, feeling frustrated and overwhelmed from all the hustle, and yet still barely able to make ends meet each month. The numbers just weren’t adding up…. Plain and simple, I was stuck in the feast or famine cycle. I knew all about "scaling" with products, and how to do it, but there was no way "I" could do that because I spent ALL my working hours on client work. And I didn't want to start an agency....
Then one cold day in February 2018, while I’d been in non-stop hustle mode to meet all of my client’s needs, I had an urgent deadline - a project that needed to happen fast. That's when I had my a-ha moment… Although I was never at a loss for booking clients, I WAS finding myself overworked and underpaid. I knew I was a good designer, and I also knew that I could knock out designs and client requests fast! So I thought, why not test out the possibility of offering one-day design intensives? I shared my idea on a Facebook post, and my friends went crazy for it!
Everything Changed. I booked 3 intensives from that first post - no proposal, no contract, no questions asked Over time, I went from working 7 days a week to just 2 or 3 days on client work My income rose.... from $4-6K per month to steadily over $10K every single month Within 6 months, I dropped all of my retainer clients except one By the end of that year, I announced that I was no longer available for project work I stopped bringing my mac on vacations (yes, I actually packed my big mac into a suitcase) I stopped feeling the need to be constantly scouring social media for my next client Clients were coming to me, and I became consistently booked out, 4-6 weeks in advance and I've never looked back!
Your clients’ desire a quick and efficient process that is as stress-free and drama- free as possible. There's a market for being GREAT & FAST, and it's called Day Rates.
What is a Day Rate? The practice of working with clients one day at a time, and charging a flat fee for the day - not the deliverables. Unlike hourly billing, the client is paying higher rates for the convenience of getting your undivided attention for a full day, the ability to be more involved in the design process, and faster turnaround.
But you need a plan. I N O R D E R T O G E T R E S U L T S A N D S C A L E T O A 6 - F I G U R E D E S I G N B U S I N E S S , T H R O U G H T H E D A Y - R A T E M O D E L , Y O U N E E D A R E P E A T A B L E B L U E P R I N T T H A T I N C L U D E S 5 C R I T I C A L C O M P O N E N T S : The Perfect Offer Smart Systems Seamless Client Experience Anti-Sales Marketing Strategy Troubleshooting Gameplan
The Perfect Offer As you've probably already assumed, in order for this to work, your offer needs to be compelling, valuable and in-demand. The challenge is to figure out what is something that you KNOW without a doubt that you can get done in a day (or a half-day, or whatever amount of time "intensive" means to you), what is something that is high in demand, and what is something that has you jumping out of bed on a Monday morning - because if you're going to spend full days doing it, you need to LOVE doing it! Being realistic about what you can get done The magic "sweet spot" What you're consistently asked for happens at the intersection of: What you're passionate about doing {
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