Don’t let working from home discount your value

We all talk about the growth of the gig economy. It conjures up images of people on Deliveroo scooters and Uber drivers, but there’s a vast army of us participating differently in the gig economy by providing professional services from a home base.

This is my second time on the consultancy-from-home journey. The first preceded the establishment of a business that I ran for twelve years, investing in people, technology and infrastructure to make it tick. The second itinerary won’t lead to the same destination, as it’s a lifestyle choice without the same financial imperatives of earlier years.

The circumstances of my second-time entry into this work arrangement and greater experience in my field makes it easier to think about what follows. Nonetheless, the issue of recognising your true value as a home-based operator is perhaps the most important piece of work you should undertake.

A consultancy business from home can conjure up many perceptions among prospective clients, one of which is an absolute killer - you’ll work for less. Ok, it’s fine to recognise the fact that you carry fewer overheads than a ‘proper’ business, but it’s unfair on you to yield to pressure to discount unreasonably - to undervalue the experience, skills, perspective and thinking that defines your personal value proposition, your brand.

It’s hard to walk away from new business, especially when you’re starting out. But the value you attribute to yourself as reflected in the fees you charge sets a precedent for the future. If you don’t place an appropriate value on what you offer your clients, you devalue your personal brand for a long time. It’s a big hole to climb out of.

This is not to say that you should not objectively consider the value you offer. There are a number of ways of working this out. If you have had experience as a corporate client before striking out on your own, you will already have some pretty good insights into what the market will accept your services. This provides one of the best insights into your value.

The challenging piece as a home operator is to distill the value you bring as an individual from the matrix of the value-adds and breadth of resources brought by larger organisations. For example, despite online access to many resources, you do not have the proprietary research and insights and the depth of institutional experience and skills brought by national and international firms.

Your capacity to offer a comprehensive suite of ancillary services is limited, except through partnerships with other people and enterprises. While these are an outstanding way of filling out your service offer, identifying the value of your contribution within specific project scope can be a challenging point of negotiation with those partners. This is especially so if the value of your client introduction to a partner is to be rcaptured. The marketing value of that in B2B consultancy can be considerable, so don’t be dudded on it.

Your on-going availability and capacity also influences your value. Who looks after your clients while you take a holiday, if you’re sick or after hours? For some companies, this plays into considerations like their risk management framework, business continuity plans and 24/7 customer service demands.

in this context, transparency with existing clients and prospects is critical to balancing the value you can bring as a home operator with the compromises they may have to make to offset some of the services, continuity and surety that you may be unable to guarantee.

This negotiation is one through which you must hold firm to the baseline that you believe reflects your true commercial worth as an individual. This is not so hard to do if you’ve objectively and fairly considered where that baseline sits, taking into account specific client needs.

Importantly, you have to remember that a negotiation is only ever such if you are prepared to walk away from an unacceptable deal. It’s tough at times but, if you’re baseline is realistic, it’s a practice that will pay off in the long run and enhance your brand and reputation.