If you're busier than ever, marketing harder than ever, and still turning over the same money year after year, it's usually not because you need a new skill.

It's because the thing holding your web design business back is you — the price you drop before the client has even spoken, the £38 jobs you're doing at £150 an hour, and the evenings you're working for free.

My Sparks group is a supportive group mentoring session for website designers and developers to bring their questions, roadblocks, ideas, and “is it just me?” moments.

Welcome to another episode of Websites Made Simple with me, Holly Christie.

In this episode, I'm getting real about money mindset: why so many website designers get stuck at the same figure, how we quietly become the bottleneck in our own business, and what it actually takes to level up without burning out.

We get into:

Why “learn a new skill” is rarely the answer when your income has flatlined

The one thing to do the moment you've said your price: pause

What to say when a client says “that's more than I was expecting”

Why payment plans for hosting and maintenance are the recurring revenue most designers miss

Why £3,000 coming into the business is not £3,000 you've earned

How a £38-an-hour VA frees you up for £150-an-hour work

Just because you can do everything in your business doesn't mean you should

How working every evening quietly halves your hourly rate

Why letting go is how you build a business that runs without you

If you want to charge what you're worth, stop undercutting yourself, and finally get out of your own way, this one's for you.

Come and find out more at https://websitesmadesimple.co.uk or email me at hello@websitesmadesimple.co.uk

Skip to the good bits:

00:58 Inspired by the Sparks and Phoenix mentees

01:25 The money boundary

01:51 It's money mindset, not skillset

02:52 Hands up if this sounds like you

03:13 Dropping your price mid-call

04:29 Put the price out there and pause

05:36 What to say when it's more than they expected

06:27 Earning a bit more vs properly levelling up

07:04 Payment plans: the recurring revenue you're missing

07:47 Big jumps: higher prices, more sites, white labelling

08:07 Quick break

08:15 What's really stopping us is us

09:10 You quoted £3,000. That isn't your salary

10:17 Invest money to make money

10:54 The £38 VA vs the £150 hour

12:21 Just because you can doesn't mean you should

13:00 Working every night halves your hourly rate

14:10 Mentors, VAs and getting out of your own way

14:54 Letting go: a business that runs without you

15:24 Get out of your own way

15:41 Work with Holly