When we published my book, Drive in 2019, we sold it for N3000. Most self help books in Nigeria that time was sold for N1,500. Mostly pirated, they were hawked at bus parks and road side. Mine was too expensive, who was going to buy? A young local author in Nigeria with depth and substance but limited experience. But I believed It was worth the money. It was the only way I could self publish something I’d be proud of, plus it was a book they had not held before. I sold on pre-orders! a story for another day. When it was time to change the price for Drive five years after we published, I didn’t want to, I panicked and asked myself who would pay N5,000 and N10,000 for a book! We were coming from N3,000. One day I called one of my business partners who owns the bookshop at Ajah where Drive sells in who said, “Drive is worth that money and more, we have books on the shelf here that is not as valuable but costs more. That became my turning point. We have not stopped selling with stellar reviews.
This series will open your mind and embolden you about the quality of your output,talent and product. It will teach you the how of pricing adequately. Let me start this way:
"Your price is not just a number. It is a public declaration of what you believe your work is worth."
I want you to do something uncomfortable.
Think of a service you currently offer or have offered and write down what you charge for it.
Now write down the actual time you spent on it. Multiply by whatever your hourly rate feels like.
Now write down the result it produced for the person who received it. The problem it solved. The stress it removed. The money it saved them or helped them make.
For most talented people reading this, the price you charged is dramatically lower than the value you created.
Let’s try fix that if you will let me. First,
Why Talented People Consistently Undercharge
Undercharging is not a pricing problem. It is a belief problem.
Here are the six most common beliefs that keep talented people charging too little:
“I am not qualified enough.” You do not need a qualification to solve a problem. The person whose roof is leaking does not care whether your plumber has a certificate. They care whether the roof stops leaking.
“My clients cannot afford more.” This is an assumption almost always proven wrong the moment you raise your price. Higher prices attract different clients, not necessarily wealthier ones, but more committed ones who value the work and pay without drama.
“Someone else is cheaper.” Someone else is always cheaper. There is always a ₦500 haircut if you look hard enough. That is not your competition. Your competition is the other excellent option your ideal client is considering. And excellence is never the cheapest option.
“I feel guilty charging friends and family.” You are not doing your friends a favour by working for free. You are devaluing your own work, teaching them that your skill is not worth paying for, and building resentment that will eventually damage the relationship.
“What I do is not difficult.” It is difficult for the person who cannot do it. That is precisely why they are paying you.
“I am new to this.” Newness is about your experience level, not your results. If your result is worth ₦100,000 to the client, your newness does not make it worth ₦10,000.
How to Calculate Value: Price From Outcomes, Not Hours
The most important shift in pricing thinking is this:
stop pricing your time. Start pricing your results.
Your time is a fixed resource. It depletes. And if you price by the hour, the only way to earn more is to work more hours until you run out of hours. That is not a business. That is a job you created for yourself.
When you price by results, you ask a different question. Not “how long will this take me?” but “what is this result worth to the person receiving it?”
Let me show you how this calculation works:
The events decorator spends twelve hours setting up a wedding. If she prices by time at ₦5,000 per hour, she earns ₦60,000. But the couple spent ₦2,000,000 on their wedding. The decoration is the first thing every guest photographs and shares online. The decorator’s work lives in thousands of photos for years. It generates referrals for future weddings. What is that worth? Not ₦60,000. The decorator should be charging between ₦200,000 to ₦400,000 or more, probably.
The mechanic spends two hours diagnosing and fixing a critical engine fault that would have cost ₦500,000 to replace if left undetected. He charges ₦8,000 for the service. The client saved ₦492,000. What was that diagnostic worth? The mechanic should be charging ₦25,000 to ₦50,000 for specialist diagnostic work.
The tutor spends six months preparing a student for JAMB. The student gains admission to the course of their choice, potentially altering the entire trajectory of their career and life. The tutor charges ₦15,000 for six months of work. The value of the outcome: incalculable. A fair price for that service: ₦60,000 to ₦120,000.
Your price should be anchored in the cost of the problem and the value of the solution not in the hours you spent producing it.
The Pricing Tiers: Where Should You Start?
For most people building income from their talent, there are three natural pricing zones:
Entry Level (₦5,000 to ₦30,000): Digital products, simple services, one-off tasks with limited scope. This is appropriate for your first offer to a new market, or for a product that does not require your direct time — a guide, a template, an e-book.
Mid Level (₦50,000 to ₦150,000): Group experiences, structured programmes, specialist services with meaningful outcomes. Your skill applied with some depth. A course. A workshop. A tailored service with defined deliverables.
Premium (₦150,000 and above): Deep, direct, personalised engagement. Your full attention, your full expertise, over a defined period. 1-on-1 coaching, bespoke consulting, high-complexity commissions.
Where you start matters less than that you start honestly.
Do not price at entry level when your work delivers premium results you will attract the wrong clients and resent the work. Do not price at premium before you have built the evidence to support it, you will be unable to close. Start at a price you can defend with confidence. Raise it as you gather proof.
How to Raise Your Price Without Losing Clients
The most common fear when raising prices is: “I will lose all my clients.”
Here is what actually happens when you raise your price thoughtfully:
Some clients leave. Most entrepreneurs agree that those were the most difficult, most demanding, least grateful, and least loyal clients you had. They dispense Shege! This is a gift.
Some clients stay and become more committed. Higher price signals higher value. Clients who pay more take the work more seriously, follow through more consistently, and get better results. Better results lead to better testimonials. Better testimonials justify higher prices. This is a good cycle!
New clients arrive at a higher calibre. You begin attracting people who have already decided they want quality and are prepared to pay for it. You need to clock this one. So if anyone rings your phone, gets into your DM regardless of your price, they commit to quality.
The practical approach to raising prices:
Announce it as a natural progression, not an apology. “From the 1st of next month, my rates are moving to ₦150,000 for this service. Current clients can lock in the existing rate for one more engagement.” That is it. No justification. No lengthy explanation. Confidence is the only language premium pricing speaks.
TODAY’S ACTION STEPS (Do these before tomorrow's lesson)
Write down the last three things you were paid for. For each one, calculate what the outcome was worth to the client not what you charged. This serves the client too, not you alone.
Set your new price for your primary service. Write it down. Do not apologise for it.
Complete this sentence: ‘My price reflects _________ because my client gets _________.’
Identify one client or service where you will raise your price before the end of this week.
Coming Tomorrow →
Tomorrow: the one sentence that determines whether people buy from you or walk past you. We will be writing your pitch.
Thank you for joining the M25 series today.
©Abiola Iyiola, 2026
Join the optional accountability group where you can ask questions, give feedback, and discuss with others building income with their talent and skills via this Link
https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gb8e1q3DhiS06loJAif8uF
See you in the group.
Start charging your result! Thinking about the past few letters, I thought so much about my pricing maybe if I increase it, I'd be charging too much but knowing what I bring to the table, I'm definitely reviewing it and start to charge my value.