Making the Jump from Free to Paid

Happy December! Hope you are enjoying chocolate advent calendars, holiday lights, and the final countdown until it’s officially time to sign off from work/school.

It is the last month of the year, which means if you are like me, maybe you are already thinking about what 2026 will hold. (Which is exactly in line with the question of the day..)

Ah, this is the chasm: the jump from free to paid.

When I first started by consultancy, delivering educational workshops, consulting, and one to one coaching, I was just so thrilled to get experience, and get my foot inside the door, that I didn’t even think about charging.

I had the mindset of: I am so lucky to just be here!

But, after countless meetings across London, doing two workshops in a day, and finally feeling like I was getting a knack for this, I had one of those moments, I think all founders especially service providers have: I need to be charging for this.

(It also helped my mentor nudged me that way to.)

So, I know it can be awkward when you first start charging, especially to clients and customers who have had this value for free.

But, to encourage you, I have outlined it as there are a few reasons you should be charging.

#1. You are offering value.

If you are providing a service, or consultancy, whether that’s through technical or creative services or consulting, you are delivering something of value. You’re saving your client or customer time, energy, money. That is important because that value has a monetary price to it.

So, whenever you’re thinking and getting those shivers of “is this the right price?”, put your pricing in that the email or on your website.

If you are a service provider, share what your price packages are, and the value you are offering. (And these do not need to be priced by the hour… which that can be another conversation we can have!)

Because, come on now, anything in this world that has value has a cost.

#2. People value what they pay for.

Building upon point one, there are a lot of articles around customer behavior.

When something is offered for free, it usually, yes, attracts customers and piques interest. There are great examples of where this works in getting people hooked in—think free trials with software and freebies.

But, when something comes at a cost, no matter how small, this can lead to more customer buy-in to utilize the product and have a higher commitment. It also builds your brand reputation and intrinsic value behind your service offering.

Think about it yourself—if you were using a free gym template a trainer gave you vs. a booking with a personal trainer costing $40 a session—which is going to make you walk to the gym in the cold and rain?

#3. If you are a service provider, remember, you have experience.

Oftentimes when I work with founders providing a service in the early days, they immediately discount or underprice their services. They do not think their experience is “worthy” of that price.

And I’m telling you that is an absolute falsehood.

You have experience, professional and/or lived, that provides a richness and depth to your offering. (If you need a case and point, look at the pay scale of hair stylists in boutique salons!)

Do not forget that your experience, once again, has a price, and as you gain more experience, your prices should reflect that.

#4. You are running a business.

If this was a hobby, we would be talking completely differently.

But businesses are here to make money. (Even if you are a social impact business — to provide the impact you want to have, you need to be able to keep a roof over your head.)

So, when you’re thinking about demystifying that ‘ick’ of charging, remember that you are building a business, not a project.

Now, I’m not saying that you need to leave all of your free clients and offerings cold turkey.

There are times as a business owner, you can have the freedom to take on free trial periods, coaching, mentoring, services, if it is worth it and in line with your business strategy.

Whenever I am thinking about doing something for free, there are the questions I ask myself to decide:

Is the offering is a cause I truly care about?

One thing I’m really really passionate about is increasing entrepreneurship education for women founders and diverse founders across the globe.

I understand that different parts of the world, like the different universities, community centres, etc., come with their own constraints and their own privileges.

If the opportunity is a charity, a cause, or an event that I feel like lights my personal and professional fire, and I can see the impact I’m going to make, then yes, I will do it for free.

(The joys of owning your own thing means you get to call the shots!)

Is this an event I can exchange for something that will build your business credibility?

“Free” can mean bartered.

Think of things like intangible benefits like case studies, pilot projects, PR, social media sharing, blog posts and SEO, video/photo footage.

This can also be an exchange of not physical things. For example, you can ask for things like connections, referrals, and testimonials. I will take the free opportunity as well, if it can refer me to five more clients in that industry because a word-of-mouth it can really build up trust and credibility.

Is this worth it is if I am still building my craft?

This is even more relevant if you are providing a service, or building up a consultancy. For example, when I was going through my business mentor certification, one thing I had to do was work with coaching clients for free to pass.

To get that certification, I needed to build a portfolio show that I was able to put these coaching frameworks into practice. (No choice about it!)

When you are building a craft, whether that is through your creative portfolio, your business certifications, your coaching client testimonials, or when you are building up your repertoire, you may need to do something at a discounted or free price.

Now, making that transition from free to paid is not always easy.

I’ve been there, I know what it’s like to lose a client, or lose the deal, because you have suddenly started charging or increasing your prices.

As you are looking into the new year, it is also though the perfect time to do so. New year, new prices.

It may feel big now, but I am also telling you, when you understand the value provide, the expertise you have, and the voice of authority you bring to this sector of business, the price is worth the cost.

Would love to know what is on your mind at this end-of-year time… don’t hesitate to submit your own Question of the Day (QoD)!

I would love to spotlight and interview cool people like you!

In 2026, I will be launching a series that peel back the curtain of current founders innovating and building amazing things. If you are a student or recent alumni founder, I would love to interview you for this 2026 launch.

Commitment? 20/30 minute virtual interview tat we can schedule with your availability in mind!

Take a look and fill out the form below.

If this has been useful to you or if you have feedback to improve, please drop me a quick line. Or share with a friend!