You Are Not Selling Hours: The Real Pricing Formula for Independent Consultants
This plan starts from the mistake almost every new consultant makes in year one — pricing time instead of a solved problem — and works backward to a real formula: (target annual income + business expenses + a 25 to 30 percent tax buffer) divided by realistic annual billable hours, using a planning range of 1,000 to 1,300 hours, not the 2,080 hours of a full-time job. It also covers 2026 benchmark hourly rates by experience level, E&O insurance costs of roughly $400 to $800 a year, and the niche-sentence exercise that turns a vague resume into a referable specialty.
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Built From Real Numbers
Startup costs run roughly $500 to $2,500: formation, basic E&O insurance, a one-page website and a few months of tools. There is no license required to call yourself a consultant federally, which the plan is blunt about — the real barrier is credibility and access to a budget-holder, not paperwork.
It covers all four consulting pricing models — hourly, project fee, retainer and value-based — and gives the actual formula for setting your first rate, plus a realistic first-90-days sequence: niche sentence and LLC by day 15, a documented case study and 20 to 30 named prospects by day 40, and an honest read by day 90 on whether the niche is landing.
What's Inside
- Engagement Pricing Calculator built on the income-and-billable-hours formula
- Proposal Scope Checklist covering deliverables, milestones and liability terms
- Pipeline Tracker for prospects, decision-makers and next actions
- Case Study Capture sheet to document every measurable result
- The niche-sentence exercise: "I help ___ solve ___, because I ___"
- 2026 benchmark hourly rates by experience level, from entry to recognized expert
- First 90-days plan for building a credible pipeline from nothing
