Let’s talk about building an offer—not just the surface-level stuff like your niche or tagline, but the deeper structure that actually makes your business sustainable. Especially if you’re trying to build a regenerative solo business. One that supports your well-being, income, and your wider impact over time.
1. Your Inner Compass: Why you’re doing this
When you’re the business, it all starts with you.
In addition building a business is hard. It’s a choice that requires determination, grit and resilience.
But it’s less hard when you’re in alignment and find meaning in what you do.
So ask yourself:
What do I need?
What’s non-negotiable for me?
What makes this work worth my time and energy?
If those answers aren’t clear, or worse, if they’re out of sync, it’s going to feel harder than it needs to. Misalignment here can drain your energy fast.
You need a business that works for you, that gives and takes and supports your energy, not just your image.
2. The Market: What people are willing to pay for
It’s one thing to have a passion or a belief about what the world needs. It’s another to offer something that solves a painkiller problem for your clients.
I’ve written more about the difference between painkiller vs vitamin offers here. But in short: if your work isn’t solving something urgent and important for your client, it’s hard to sell.
This means you have to understand your client deeply. What they struggle with, what they’re both eager and able to pay for, and what they want to hire you to help with.
Positioning isn’t enough
Lots of people stop at messaging and positioning. And yes, those are important. But for me—and likely for you too, they’re only the first layer.
A strong offer needs more than great copy, a logo, or a website.
Here are the two often-missing pieces:
How you deliver the transformation (delivery)
How you capture value (pricing)
Intentionally designing these in alignment with you and your client can make a huge difference in your success but also sense of fulfilment. Because if your business is not financially viable it’s an expensive hobby or if it is successful but you get burnt-out or feel resentful it’s not going to last long.
3. Pricing: How you are capturing value
Are you selling your time? A digital product? A subscription, a retainer, or even an affiliate model?
Your pricing isn’t just a number it’s a strategic decision about how value flows between you and your client. And it deeply impacts how much time, energy, and visibility is required to make your business work.
Many who start with freelancing simply trade time for money. But there are many revenue models to choose from. Each comes with its own pros, cons, and consequences. For example, is your offer:
High-ticket
Medium-ticket
Low-ticket?
Each one positions you differently in the market and influences what your business demands from you and who you work with.
Let’s take a DIY, low-ticket offer (like a digital product). To hit your revenue goals, you’ll need a high volume of clients. That usually requires:
More marketing
More visibility
More content creation
If you don’t have the audience yet or the desire to build one through thought leadership or daily content it can quickly become draining.
On the flip side, if you only need five high-touch clients per year, you may not need to spend hours on LinkedIn. That time might be better spent nurturing relationships, reaching out directly, or showing up in smaller, deeper ways.
Your choices around pricing affects everything: from how you market, to how you show up, to what kind of business you're building.
Knowing this early and choosing a pricing structure that fits both you and your clients can save you enormous amounts of time, money, and energy.
If you want to explore this more, we’ve included a simple overview of 10 business models in our free Seed Resource Collection. Inside Seed, we also go much deeper into pricing structures and strategies and how to make them work for you.
4. Delivery Mechanism: How you deliver the transformation
Your delivery mechanism is how you bring your offer to life. It’s your method, your process, your client experience.
So ask:
What are the steps?
What are you delivering?
What tools, templates, or sessions are included?
This part often overwhelms people. There are too many options, and it’s tempting to copy what others are doing.
But there’s huge potential to design a delivery method that feels easy for you and truly useful for your client.
A good question to ask:
How can I help my client save time, energy, or stress?
The more friction you remove, the more value you create—and the more confidently you can price your work.
Example: For our local Quarterly Strategy Sessions, we added a headshot shoot. A professional photo alone might cost £150—but by combining it with breakfast and a strategy session and networking in a beautiful space, we created something richer for £130 (non-members) and £99 (members). The perceived value soared.
Next one’s in London on July 4th—join us?
When you struggle with your offer: What might be misaligned
If you’ve launched something and it didn’t land, chances are one of these four areas isn’t working:
You – It doesn’t align with your energy or values, so you struggle showing up.
The Market – It’s not solving a pressing or urgent problem.
Pricing – The revenue model isn’t viable.
The Delivery – It’s too complex or time-consuming for your client or for you.
These are the levers you can adjust. Once you know how to identify them, it becomes easier to experiment and iterate.
An invitation to redesign your business
If this feels a little overwhelming, I get it. It’s a lot to hold—especially when you’re still testing, refining, or figuring out how all the pieces fit.
But once you break your offer down into these components, it becomes much more manageable.
At IMMA, we often think of offers like modular blocks—pieces you can move, swap, or redesign. That’s how we build businesses in experiments. We test, iterate, and adjust.
So keep asking yourself:
Does this offer work for me, my client, and the impact I want to make?
If the answer is no, it’s not a failure—it’s simply an invitation to redesign.
Join the Workshop: Your One-Page Business Plan
If you want guided space to bring this all together, join us for a live workshop where we’ll help you build your one-page business model—your offer, market fit, pricing, delivery, and sales strategy in one clear, aligned overview.
It’s your chance to zoom out, refocus, and move forward with clarity.
🗓️ Friday, 6 June
⏰ Duration: 2.5 hours
📍 Format: Live on Zoom
💸 Cost: Attend live using the code JUNE2025→ Free
Want the recording + 1 week of email support? → €180
If you’re craving a more regenerative way to work—this is your starting point.
Interesting opportunities for you
Here are a few opportunities for you, we are :
🧑💻Initiators Fellowship invites applications for 2026-27 cohort
🤝RFP/Tender
🗓️June 16, 2025
🧑💻Lead Product Designer - Design Citizen
📍Remote
💰$80–100/h
🤝Contract
🧑💻Diversity and Inclusiveness Funding - The American Philosophical Association
💰$20,000
🤝RFP/Tender
🗓️June 30, 2025
🧑💻Research analyst - Macrocosm
📍Remote
🤝Contract
🧑💻Terms of Reference: Refugee Livelihoods Program Consultancy - Give Directly
📍Remote
🤝Contract
🧑💻Writer/Editor - Nature Conservancy (TNC)
📍Remote, US
🤝Part-time
🧑💻Product Designer - Talking Points
📍Remote
💰$60-$65
🤝Contract
Behind the scenes at IMMA
Thanks to everyone who’s shared reflections on IMMA. If you haven’t yet, there’s still time to take our quick survey. It only takes 2 minutes, and you could win a 1:1 clarity session with me (worth €350).
Take the survey →As you saw above, we’re running a new One-Page Business Plan Workshop. a focused session to map out your offer, pricing, and sales so you can simplify and move forward with clarity. If things have felt fuzzy, this could help.
Next week, I’ll share Part 2, all about shaping your marketing and sales in a way that actually fits you.
Together with Cecilia and Design Reparations, we’re also hosting one of our intentional networking events, bringing together indigenous people and consultants from the Global South to exchange perspectives and explore collaborations.
I’ll leave you with something Christina shared in our weekly intention setting. It’s stayed with me:
"My creativity and resourcefulness will always keep me nourished, paid, safe, and secure."
Speak soon, and thanks for reading and supporting IMMA Collective
Lilli
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