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Breaking the Time Barrier: How to Unlock Your True Earning Potential
From the author:
“I believe anyone who provides a valuable service should get paid for the value they deliver. In January 2003, I was running a small design firm when I finally snapped. I was using Microsoft Word to bill my clients when I accidently saved over an invoice. The frustration of billing my clients overwhelmed me, and so did the thought of using accounting software—so I built my own solution.
”Building my own product company quickly became a passion, but passion projects don’t pay…at least not on day one. To keep the lights on I moved into my parents’ basement for 3.5 years to save money and I completely revamped how I ran my design firm to the point where I worked 19 days in one year and generated over $200,000 to fund my side project. How did I do that? This book will show you—and help you do it too.
“Thinking back, my ability to work so little and produce so much income had a lot to do with how I priced and positioned my services, something most small business owners struggle with. So I sat down with Donald Cowper—a best-selling author who joined FreshBooks as our small business writer last year—to try and capture the essence of things. The result is this book—a business fable designed to share the lessons I learned the hard way, so you don’t have to.”
“I believe anyone who provides a valuable service should get paid for the value they deliver. In January 2003, I was running a small design firm when I finally snapped. I was using Microsoft Word to bill my clients when I accidently saved over an invoice. The frustration of billing my clients overwhelmed me, and so did the thought of using accounting software—so I built my own solution.
”Building my own product company quickly became a passion, but passion projects don’t pay…at least not on day one. To keep the lights on I moved into my parents’ basement for 3.5 years to save money and I completely revamped how I ran my design firm to the point where I worked 19 days in one year and generated over $200,000 to fund my side project. How did I do that? This book will show you—and help you do it too.
“Thinking back, my ability to work so little and produce so much income had a lot to do with how I priced and positioned my services, something most small business owners struggle with. So I sat down with Donald Cowper—a best-selling author who joined FreshBooks as our small business writer last year—to try and capture the essence of things. The result is this book—a business fable designed to share the lessons I learned the hard way, so you don’t have to.”
70 pages, ebook
First published June 12, 2013
17 people are currently reading
701 people want to read
About the author
Mike McDerment
3 books11 followersMike McDerment is the co-founder and CEO of FreshBooks, the #1 cloud accounting solution designed for small business owners. In 2003, Mike built FreshBooks for his own small design firm and then moved into his parent’s basement for 3.5 years to get the business off the ground. Since then, over 5,000, 000 people have used FreshBooks to save time billing and collect billions of dollars—without ever having to learn accounting.
Before co-founding FreshBooks, Mike felt he was on a treadmill with his design firm. He was billing by the hour and not earning as much as he was worth. So he rethought everything. As a result, in 2004, he worked just 19 days and made over $200,000, helping to fund FreshBooks. His first book, Breaking the Time Barrier, was written so Mike could share with other small business owners just how he did that.
Bestselling authors Tim Ferriss, Michael Gerber and Daniel Pink have all offered their praise for Mike’s first book.
Follow Mike on Twitter or check out the FreshBooks site to see what keeps Mike busy.
Before co-founding FreshBooks, Mike felt he was on a treadmill with his design firm. He was billing by the hour and not earning as much as he was worth. So he rethought everything. As a result, in 2004, he worked just 19 days and made over $200,000, helping to fund FreshBooks. His first book, Breaking the Time Barrier, was written so Mike could share with other small business owners just how he did that.
Bestselling authors Tim Ferriss, Michael Gerber and Daniel Pink have all offered their praise for Mike’s first book.
Follow Mike on Twitter or check out the FreshBooks site to see what keeps Mike busy.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
April 5, 2014
This book is super inspiring! I recommend it to all designers out there (freelance or otherwise). Ahh!!! Exclamation points!!!
March 18, 2018
Basically good advice to charge by value that you can deliver not by time spend delivering product that will create value for customer.
March 25, 2018
Short, casual introduction to value based pricing in freelance and small service companies. Very nice.
December 20, 2014
A story in favor of value-based approaches in freelancing. It's a fantastic 1-hr read for service providers.
Read
September 12, 2013Interesting! Informative. I have to change the way I look at charging in my business. Served as an eye-opener to me.
January 18, 2019
A really practical short book on how to value yourself and the solutions you offer to your clients. I highly recommend it!
February 21, 2019
One simple lesson. Really short, but could have been even shorter.
January 22, 2026
No bs advice on value based pricing (vs hourly) for any freelancer out there - also motivating!
December 3, 2015
Why did I read this book? Because I'm toying with many ideas about earning a living, among which opening a Tiffin centre, a plan nursery are .a few :P . So, after a huge break of almost some months , I really wanted to start reading. Life seems so short and I didn't want to die not knowing what's there in all those amazing books *_* . But, couldn't at all bring mysself to read a book. BUt, this caught my interest and started reading it. Fortunately, it's just of 70 pages.
Coming to the book, it's a guidance for people with their start-ups . The author chose the case of a service provider offering website designing. The story goes like this - his initial tribulations with the start-up - working overtime, being underpaid and incurring losses. Then, he seeks the help of a 'senior' in his business, who is so generous that she would dole out the 'business secrets' to this guy . She gives him inputs on how to start valuing his work not based on many but by the value he's adding to the customer's business and her 8 principles.
I loved the idea of narrating a story and thereby driving the point home, rather than direct preaching. Thereby, someone with no business knowledge would understand the problems of a business. At points, really felt like ' didn't this guy figure out these things by himself? Any lay person would get that' . But, this thing is , when you are in a business, under pressure, you might not think so much sense. You might need someone to beat that sense into you and instill you with confidence, by showing a proven model. The mentor in the book also makes him see the things, that were in front of our start-up guy , which he was refusing to see or couldn't see properly, in a sensible manner.
I liked the book. Would be a good reminder about how-to-go-about, to not just people in business but also for anybody who is willing to achieve a target.
Coming to the book, it's a guidance for people with their start-ups . The author chose the case of a service provider offering website designing. The story goes like this - his initial tribulations with the start-up - working overtime, being underpaid and incurring losses. Then, he seeks the help of a 'senior' in his business, who is so generous that she would dole out the 'business secrets' to this guy . She gives him inputs on how to start valuing his work not based on many but by the value he's adding to the customer's business and her 8 principles.
I loved the idea of narrating a story and thereby driving the point home, rather than direct preaching. Thereby, someone with no business knowledge would understand the problems of a business. At points, really felt like ' didn't this guy figure out these things by himself? Any lay person would get that' . But, this thing is , when you are in a business, under pressure, you might not think so much sense. You might need someone to beat that sense into you and instill you with confidence, by showing a proven model. The mentor in the book also makes him see the things, that were in front of our start-up guy , which he was refusing to see or couldn't see properly, in a sensible manner.
I liked the book. Would be a good reminder about how-to-go-about, to not just people in business but also for anybody who is willing to achieve a target.
February 21, 2017
I picked up this book at a convention and I'm so glad that I finally got around to reading it. For a long time now, people have been telling me that I am selling myself short. I am hoping that the notes I took while reading this book will be just the kick I need to get on a more fitting level. While I'm not 100% sure what steps I'm going to take, this book has really inspired me to take charge of my photography service pricing.
July 1, 2013
This is a quick read and get this: it's free. It's not badly done, and it was better than okay. I think it applies equally as much to those of us who chug along at home as to those who are trying to get set up as consultants. Then again, I kinda have a "thing" for business books. :)
August 15, 2016
Recommend this free 70 pager to anyone who wants to build or already runs a service based business. It unlocks the truth about how to build an insanely profitable business through smart pricing and positioning. Free download link: https://www.freshbooks.com/ebooks/bre...
August 6, 2013
This book is really mind opening regarding cost-plus vs value based pricing. A must read if you want to escape from the vicious cycle of hourly rates.
December 29, 2013
Good advice on charging.
October 2, 2014
Really short read. It has some pretty useful insights about how to run a service industry.
January 22, 2015
A quick read and a wonderful advice on how to change perspectives about the work you do, the results you deliver and how your client sees both of them.
January 23, 2016
short, crisp and to the point. no unnecessary words to lengthen the contents. focussed on giving a specific moral to the reader.
January 17, 2018
This book should be essential reading for any small business owner who is currently selling their services based on time spent working.
The book is a very short read - it took me less than an hour to finish. It is written in a business parable style, featuring a young web designer who is selling his time for money. His mentor teaches him the benefits of selling his services based on the value he delivers to clients, rather than the time he spends working for them.
The message is clear. Focus on value over time. Every business can learn this and some will be transformed by it. Highly recommended!
The book is a very short read - it took me less than an hour to finish. It is written in a business parable style, featuring a young web designer who is selling his time for money. His mentor teaches him the benefits of selling his services based on the value he delivers to clients, rather than the time he spends working for them.
The message is clear. Focus on value over time. Every business can learn this and some will be transformed by it. Highly recommended!
November 22, 2017
The book is meant to be read in an hour but it took me longer just because I kept getting bored and having to take breaks.
The information is good but nothing I didn't already know, I learned this information through blog posts that took less than 5 minutes to read. I didn't need a 1 hour narrative, a lot of it was like a transcript of a conversation to learn the objectives of the book.
For the price (free), it's not bad, but if you are pressed for time, just read some freelancer blogs in a fraction of the time.
The information is good but nothing I didn't already know, I learned this information through blog posts that took less than 5 minutes to read. I didn't need a 1 hour narrative, a lot of it was like a transcript of a conversation to learn the objectives of the book.
For the price (free), it's not bad, but if you are pressed for time, just read some freelancer blogs in a fraction of the time.
October 3, 2019
Really good read... quick and easy and makes the case for value-based billing in a clear and concise manner. A compelling methodology focused on the value that is being added to an entity and billing a proportionate value, rather than trying to estimate using an hourly rate. A great thought-provoker for anyone in or interested in service-related roles or industries. It took me about 30 minutes to read.
July 21, 2020
A total mindset shift, perfect for anyone navigating their way through the business word or freelance world.
The main idea is simple enough, but to envision yourself in the protagonist’s shoes and to relate their experiences with your own drives the point home.
I’m not a designer, but the lessons were easily applied to my own field.
A must read if you’re a freelancer or starting a small business!
The main idea is simple enough, but to envision yourself in the protagonist’s shoes and to relate their experiences with your own drives the point home.
I’m not a designer, but the lessons were easily applied to my own field.
A must read if you’re a freelancer or starting a small business!
March 11, 2018
Truly exceptional. This book is what every freelancer needs to read, I have recommended to a number of friends already. I have always believed that people should be paid according t the value they bring to the table but I didn't know how to go about it and this book gave me a battle plan. It really will stand out as one of my best reads of 2018
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2018
Not really a book, but it is both captivating and educational.
Imagine the movies Before Sunset and Before Sunrise in a business version. 80 % of the book place at a café, and the main characters talk about setting prices. A mentor and a student.
It is a simplified, but digestable way to learn why you as a consultant should resist charge by the hour.
Imagine the movies Before Sunset and Before Sunrise in a business version. 80 % of the book place at a café, and the main characters talk about setting prices. A mentor and a student.
It is a simplified, but digestable way to learn why you as a consultant should resist charge by the hour.
February 11, 2020
I'm really starting to notice a trend of great business books being written as stories!
This is the book I would recommend to every single service based business owner who doubts their value and want to understand more about value-based pricing.
Great book and did I mentioned it takes you under an hour to finish it?
This is the book I would recommend to every single service based business owner who doubts their value and want to understand more about value-based pricing.
Great book and did I mentioned it takes you under an hour to finish it?
October 14, 2021
As I'm in the process of building my business, this was a great seed to be planted in how to approach the freelancing life. It's interesting to learn how other people navigate through their pricing as opposed to the set time and hours that someone is able to be paid.
Thank you to Mike for creating this helpful tool :)
Thank you to Mike for creating this helpful tool :)
June 12, 2017
While written in the folksy conversational style of "The One-Minute Manager" and "Who Moved My Cheese", it rises above the genre to provide some practical guidance on providing value-based consulting. A nice little positive boost for anyone looking to do their own thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2017
Explains an important (small) business lesson well, but using a kinda ham-fisted coffee shop conversation/story as a backdrop. Concise read. The content is valuable and clearly more important than writing style in this situation.
October 21, 2017
Solid, short fable. It's has one big idea about pricing/positioning for those who have a service business. Very much worth reading if that's you. If that's not you, there really isn't anything else in the book. Makes one point very well.
January 16, 2018
Inspiring, insightful, relaxing. I really enjoyed this short read. For the time it takes (about an hour), I would confidently recommend this book to every freelancer knowing they would get more from it than they put in.
April 17, 2018
A lesson for changing from selling hours of work to selling value (or from expense to investment)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews