Playbook / Lessons / Money: pitch, investor email

Set your rate from sellable hours

Welsh set a yearly income target, divided it by the billable hours he could sell, and got an hourly rate. His calendar then filled with clients and left no time to run the business, so he raised the rate for new clients and grandfathered the existing ones. He earned the same from half the hours and used the freed time to build his first course.

“Divide $500,000 by 1,600, round a little, and there was my rate.”— Justin Welsh, Give yourself a raise., Sep 2026

Do this

Divide the income you want by the hours you can realistically sell, and compare the result with what you charge today.

More in this pack

• Seven questions your pitch should answer
• Venture money made stalled growth a crisis
• Lead the pitch with a story, not numbers
• Pick good investors and finish quickly

Get your plan

All steps · Trust · Pricing