🧾 Freelance Pricing & Money Fundamentals: Set Your Rate, Get Paid, Stay Solvent

A practical, no-jargon course that teaches independents how to price their work and run the money side of a one-person business — from building a defensible rate to surviving feast-or-famine income. It maps to Freelance Pricing & Solo-Business Finance. The course is organized into 11 modules, ending with a final exam (pass mark 80%). It is independent, free exam-preparation training — not an official or accredited review course.

What you'll learn

• Why Your Rate Is a Business Decision, Not a Guess
• Building Your True Rate From Cost of Living and Target Income
• Four Pricing Models: Hourly, Fixed-Scope, Value-Based, Retainer
• Quoting a Fixed-Scope Project: Estimate, Buffer, Margin
• Margin and Markup Math You Actually Need
• Scoping Tightly and Killing Scope Creep With Change-Orders
• Raising Your Rates and Defending Them
• Invoicing Right and Chasing Late Payment
• Self-Employment Tax: Set-Aside, Quarterly Estimates, VAT and Mileage
• Cash-Flow Stability: Runway, Profit First, and Paying Yourself
• Putting It Together: Your Money Operating System

Learning objectives

• Calculate a true hourly and day rate from your real cost of living, target income, and billable-hour reality.
• Choose the right pricing model for each job: hourly, fixed-scope, value-based, or retainer.
• Price and quote a fixed-scope project with margin and markup math that protects your profit.
• Raise your rates and defend them to clients without losing the relationship.
• Scope work tightly and use change-orders to stop scope creep before it eats your margin.
• Invoice professionally and chase late payment with a calm, escalating system.
• Set aside self-employment tax, plan quarterly estimates, and handle mileage and VAT/sales tax.
• Build cash-flow stability with runway, Profit First, a steady salary, and funded time off.