The Price of Your Work Vs. the Value of Your Vision
Vision, when paired with genuine value creation, has a way of making price irrelevant
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"That's too expensive." "The market won't pay that." "You're charging too much."
These aren't statements about value — they're judgments about price. And there's a profound difference.
Value isn't measured in dollars and cents. It's measured in impact, transformation, and the worlds it opens up for others.
For centuries, we've confused price tags with value. The market loves simple numbers — clean, measurable, comparable. But transformation doesn't fit on a price tag.
Da Vinci's notebooks gathered dust for centuries filled with…
— helicopters before flight existed,
— human anatomy before modern medicine,
— innovations that wouldn't make sense for generations.
During his life, many saw an eccentric artist who couldn't finish his commissions. History saw a visionary who redefined human potential.
That's the thing about vision — it creates value the market can't yet measure.
I've spent two decades watching this tension play out in the creative world.
Early on, I fell into the same trap — measuring my worth by my rates, questioning my value when clients hesitated at prices… it happens to many of us.
But something shifted when I realized price exists in moments, while value unfolds across time.
Think Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone. The market saw a $499 device. Jobs saw a revolution in human connection.
When he said "people don't know what they want until you show it to them," he wasn't being arrogant — he was acknowledging that true value often precedes market understanding.
And Naval Ravikant framed this perfectly…
"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get."
But even this understates it. Price is what you pay once. Value is what continues unfolding, growing, compounding long after the transaction is forgotten.
Value is Relational, Not Transactional
Your creative work isn't just a product or service - it's an entry point into new possibilities. Each piece you create adds to a larger ecosystem of value.
The market will always try to reduce your work to a number. Don't let it. When clients say "that's expensive," they're speaking the language of transaction. But true creative work speaks the language of transformation.
I see this constantly in the creator economy. Those focused purely on price end up chasing metrics, tweaking rates, and commoditizing their work.
But those who understand value? They build ecosystems. They create experiences. They transform perspectives. They lead communities.
This isn't about charging more. It's about creating more value than any price could capture. Your work, therefore, becomes an asset to be acquired by others… they serve your audience deeply and grow in value over time.
Every visionary throughout history has faced this tension. So, you’re not alone.
The market initially rejected their value because it couldn't fit their vision into existing price brackets. But time has a way of revealing true value.
I'm reminded of this every time I see a creator apologizing for their prices. Stop apologizing. Your work isn't expensive — it's valuable. There's a profound difference.
Your role isn't to fit into existing price brackets — it's to create value that defies them. When you create from this place, price becomes a reflection of impact, not a measure of worth.
Some will question your rates. Let them. Others will recognize your value. Welcome them.
Because here's what I've learned: When you focus on creating genuine value, the right price finds you. Not immediately. Not predictably. But inevitably.
— Your vision is worth more than their spreadsheets can calculate.
— Your impact extends further than their budgets can measure.
— Your value compounds while their prices stay static.
Remember: They're not paying for your time — they're investing in your experience and vision. And vision, when paired with genuine value creation, has a way of making price irrelevant.
REFLECTION…
When was the last time you hesitated to state your prices? What value elements were you not communicating?
How does your work continue creating value for clients/customers long after the transaction is complete?
*PAID SUBSCRIBERS — Get all of the reflection prompts and value matrix frameworks for rethinking pricing, offerings and the inter-connectedness of everything you do (i.e. how you’re building your ecosystem to work for you) HERE
How to Build Value-Based Systems…
Our work becomes truly valuable when we build systems that deliver transformation, not just transactions.
Let me explain…
Value-based systems don't happen by accident. They're built intentionally:
— Document your process, not just your outcomes
— Create connections between seemingly unrelated work
— Build frameworks that others can apply to their unique situations
— Design experiences, not just deliverables
This does two things:
It elevates your work from commodity to proprietary - no one else can replicate your style
It transforms one-time transactions into ongoing value relationships that compound over time
I see creators struggling with this constantly. They create brilliant work but package it as one-time transactions — hourly rates, project fees, individual products.
But what if you built differently?
What if your podcast fed your products, your products fed your consulting, your consulting fed your community, and your community fed your podcast?
Each piece strengthening the others. Each element increasing the value of the whole.
This is how you build value that transcends any single price point.
REFLECTION…
What connections exist between your different offerings that you haven't fully leveraged yet?
How might you transform your most successful one-time transactions into ongoing value relationships?
*PAID SUBSCRIBERS — Get all of the reflection prompts and value matrix frameworks for rethinking pricing, offerings and the inter-connectedness of everything you do (i.e. how you’re building your ecosystem to work for you) HERE
Becoming a Value Ecosystem…
The most valuable creators today aren't building isolated products — they're cultivating entire ecosystems.
Think about the difference:
A product can be consumed. An ecosystem continues evolving. A product has a price ceiling. An ecosystem creates its own economy. A product exists in a market. An ecosystem becomes its own market.
I'm fascinated by creators who understand this. They don't just make things — they make worlds where things can happen.
I’ve mentioned James Clear previously because he’s such a great example… he didn't just write a book about habits (Atomic Habits).
He created an ecosystem where his ideas could spread through newsletters, courses, speaking, partnerships, and communities… so his audience could evolve their own identity
Your creative work has the same potential.
When you shift from viewing your creations as isolated products to seeing them as interconnected parts of a larger ecosystem, everything changes — including how you price your work.
Because you're no longer selling a thing. You're offering an entry point into your universe of value.
It's not about creating more. It's about connecting more. Finding the threads between your existing work. Building bridges that allow people to move from one creation to another, gaining value at each step.
REFLECTION…
What entry points into your ecosystem could you create for different types of people?
Where do you currently see your work creating its own "market" rather than fitting into existing ones?
*PAID SUBSCRIBERS — Get all of the reflection prompts and value matrix frameworks for rethinking pricing, offerings and the inter-connectedness of everything you do (i.e. how you’re building your ecosystem to work for you) HERE
Create Value That Transcends Price…
When we shift our focus from price to value, from transactions to relationships, from products to ecosystems, something profound happens.
We stop defending our rates and start demonstrating our worth. We stop apologizing for our prices and start articulating our vision. In short, we build.
The truth about creative value isn't just about numbers on an invoice. It's about building something that continues creating impact long after the transaction is forgotten.
The market will always try to quantify your work. It will try to fit your vision into existing categories, your value into established price points. Don't let it.
Your role isn't to meet market expectations. It's to create value that transforms those expectations.
Some will never see beyond the price tag. Let them go. Others will recognize the vision behind your work. Welcome them in.
Because ultimately, when your creation speaks the language of transformation rather than transaction, price becomes what it should be: not the focus of the conversation, but simply the gateway to something far more valuable – your vision brought to life in the world.
Your vision isn't waiting for market validation. It's waiting for your commitment to creating value that lasts.
Now go create value that no price could fully capture.
Have a great week!
Matt
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In the meantime, tell your friends!
Thank you, Matt. I find it to be very hard to put price tags at all when things come easy to me. It’s hard to determine the actual value then.
This was my first full read in your ecosystem Matt! This has been my thought process for years in creating community, you put words to my feelings about the flywheel of content and BEING of massive value and that circle just continues to up level as I do! TFBY (thanks for being you)