u/Mean-Dragonfruit-147

Hi everyone, I am new to the garden community. I was wondering if anyone from Europe could share when dahlias usually bloom?

I run a small boutique studio in the EU, mostly web design and e-commerce for fashion and beauty brands. For context, I came from product design (a few years at Uber before going solo), so I lean heavy on the strategy and UX side, not just execution.

A typical project for me is the full thing: research, brand positioning, the actual design and build, copy, and launch. The client usually comes in with a vague idea and I turn it into a finished product. I'd say the strategy part is where most of the real value is, but it's also the part I'm worst at pricing.

Lately I keep seeing other people talk about numbers that are way above what I charge, and I'm starting to think I've been underpricing for a while. So I wanted to ask people who actually run agencies or studios:

- How do you land on a price? What actually moves the number for you (scope, deliverables, number of features, revision rounds, the client's budget, the value it creates)?

- Do you charge for strategy and discovery separately, or just fold it into the project? I keep hearing that the upfront thinking should be its own line item, but I never do it.

- For those of you who raised prices and it worked: what actually changed? Was it the packaging, the positioning, the type of client, or just the number?

Not trying to become the cheapest or the most expensive. I just want to stop leaving money on the table for the strategy work. Real numbers and real reasoning would help a lot.

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I run a small boutique studio in the EU, mostly web design and e-commerce for fashion and beauty brands. For context, I came from product design (a few years at Uber before going solo), so I lean heavy on the strategy and UX side, not just execution.

A typical project for me is the full thing: research, brand positioning, the actual design and build, copy, and launch. The client usually comes in with a vague idea and I turn it into a finished product. I'd say the strategy part is where most of the real value is, but it's also the part I'm worst at pricing.

I keep seeing other people talk about numbers that are way above what I charge, and I'm starting to think I've been underpricing for a while. So I wanted to ask people who actually run agencies or studios:

- How do you land on a price? What actually moves the number for you (scope, deliverables, number of features, revision rounds, the client's budget, the value it creates)?

- Do you charge for strategy and discovery separately, or just fold it into the project? I keep hearing that the upfront thinking should be its own line item, but I never do it.

- For those of you who raised prices and it worked: what actually changed? Was it the packaging, the positioning, the type of client, or just the number?

Not trying to become the cheapest or the most expensive. I just want to stop leaving money on the table for the strategy work. Real numbers and real reasoning would help a lot.

So I run a tiny web design studio in the EU, mostly fashion and skincare e-commerce on Shopify. For context, I came from product design (a few years at Uber before going solo), so I lean heavy on the strategy and UX side rather than just building.

I start from a solid premium theme and modify it a lot. Custom sections, custom Liquid, real layout work, not just swapping the logo and colors. Around that I do the whole thing: research, positioning, copy, QA, and all the EU compliance stuff (returns, iDEAL, right of withdrawal). Basically the client hands me a vague idea and I turn it into a finished store.

Lately I keep running into threads here where people mention numbers like €8k for a custom build, or $30k for branding plus design plus dev plus copy, and agencies quoting six figures. And I'm sitting here going, am I way under?

So, honest question for people doing similar work:

- How do you actually land on a price? Like what moves the number for you? Number of products, custom features and sections, integrations, number of templates, revision rounds? I'd love to understand the logic, not just the figure.

- What are you actually charging for a project like this (premium theme plus heavy customization plus strategy plus copy)?

- The strategy and discovery part, do you charge for it separately or just fold it in? I keep reading that helping a client figure out what they even want should cost 2 to 3x more, but I never actually do that.

- If you've raised your prices, what made it click? What changed?

Honestly trying to figure out if I'm underpricing or if it's just impostor syndrome talking. Real numbers, and the reasoning behind them, would help a lot.

So I run a tiny web design studio in the EU, mostly fashion and skincare e-commerce on Shopify. For context, I came from product design (a few years at Uber before going solo), so I lean heavy on the strategy and UX side rather than just building.

I start from a solid premium theme and modify it a lot. Custom sections, custom Liquid, real layout work, not just swapping the logo and colors. Around that I do the whole thing: research, positioning, copy, QA, and all the EU compliance stuff (returns, iDEAL, right of withdrawal). Basically the client hands me a vague idea and I turn it into a finished store.

Lately I keep running into threads here where people mention numbers like €8k for a custom build, or $30k for branding plus design plus dev plus copy, and agencies quoting six figures. And I'm sitting here going, am I way under?

So, honest question for people doing similar work:

- How do you actually land on a price? Like what moves the number for you? Number of products, custom features and sections, integrations, number of templates, revision rounds? I'd love to understand the logic, not just the figure.

- What are you actually charging for a project like this (premium theme plus heavy customization plus strategy plus copy)?

- The strategy and discovery part, do you charge for it separately or just fold it in? I keep reading that helping a client figure out what they even want should cost 2 to 3x more, but I never actually do that.

- If you've raised your prices, what made it click? What changed?

Honestly trying to figure out if I'm underpricing or if it's just impostor syndrome talking. Real numbers, and the reasoning behind them, would help a lot.