Why Being Good at Your Job Is Costing You Big Time (And How to Turn It Around)

Hey Agency Owners,

Had an interesting conversation with a marketing legend friend of mine recently.

We're both lamenting the fact that we're probably undercharging for our services.

"You know what our problem is?" he says. "We're too good at what we do."

I'm like, "That's a weird problem to have."

But the more I thought about it... he's absolutely right.

The Curse of Being an Expert

When you've been doing something for 25+ years, everything looks easy.

Building a newsletter to 30K subscribers in 3 months? Tuesday.

Writing subject lines that get opened? Standard.

Creating AI tools that solve client problems? Just another afternoon.

But here's the trap:

When something feels easy TO YOU, you assume it should be cheap FOR THEM.

The Expert's Pricing Mistake

Here's what happens when you're really good at something:

You think: "This only took me 2 hours, so I should charge for 2 hours."

Client thinks: "This would have taken me 2 YEARS to figure out. This is worth $50K."

You're literally arguing FOR a lower price.

While your client is trying to figure out how to pay you MORE.

The 20-Year "Easy" Performance

Take a world-class violinist.

They walk on stage, play a 3-minute piece, make it look effortless.

Audience thinks: "Wow, that looks so natural. Must be nice to have that talent."

Reality?

That "easy" 3-minute performance represents:

• 20 years of daily practice
• 10,000+ hours of repetition
• Thousands of failures and corrections
• Muscle memory built through decades of mistakes
• Perfect timing developed through countless disasters

The audience sees 3 minutes of "simple" music.

The violinist knows it's 20 years of the hardest work imaginable.

That's Your Expertise

When you solve a client's problem in 2 hours...

They see the 2 hours.

You know the 25 years of failures that taught you the solution.

The "easy" fix is actually the culmination of the hardest learning you've ever done.

The "Easy For Me" Tax

My friend has a rule now:

The easier something feels, the MORE he charges.

Not less.

Because "easy for you" usually means "impossible for them."

That's not a reason to discount.

That's a reason to charge premium.

The Confidence Shift

Instead of thinking:

"This was so simple, I should charge less."

Try thinking:

"This was so simple FOR ME because I'm an expert. That expertise has value."

Your ability to solve problems quickly isn't a bug.

It's THE ENTIRE FEATURE.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Client: "How long will this take?"

Old you: "Oh, probably just a few hours. So maybe $500?"

New you: "The implementation is quick because I've solved this exact problem hundreds of times. The value is in knowing the solution. Investment is $5,000."

Same work. Different positioning.

10X the price.

The "Too Easy" Red Flag

From now on, any time you think:

"This feels too easy to charge much for..."

That's your signal to DOUBLE your price.

Not cut it in half.

Easy for you = valuable for them.

Price accordingly.

The Bottom Line

Stop apologizing for being good at what you do.

Your expertise is the product.

Not your time.

Charge for the decades of experience.

Not the minutes of execution.

The harder it was to learn, the more it's worth to teach.

Embrace the expert tax,

Laura

P.S. That marketing legend friend? He just started charging $40K/month for consulting. Same work he used to do for $15K. Turns out "too good" was actually "too cheap."

P.P.S.. Speaking of being "too good" at what you do... I got invited to speak at this Survive & Thrive Summit thing in November. 30 experts sharing how to fix the biggest problems crushing businesses right now. Normally $97, but you can grab it free with code LAURABGIFT Click Here: I'll be the one talking about market research