Table of Contents
- So many UX designers are underpaid
- UX designer - Stop calling yourself a freelancer
- The consultant vs freelancer mindset
- Build a brand bigger than you
- The truth about pricing UX design work
- 2 ways to price your UX agency
- Example: Translating UX metrics to dollar value
- How to communicate the dollar value of design
- The formula you can use
- UX Metric → Business Metric → Dollar Value
- Ruby's real-world example
- The messy side of starting your UX agency
- Frustrations Ruby faced:
- Chris's biggest mistake:
- Sales for UX designers
- The designer's sales framework
- The opportunity cost question
- Building your pricing model
- 1. Project-based
- 2. Retainer
- 3. Subscription (Ruby's model)
- Pricing philosophy
- Why your UX agency needs media strategy
- Ruby's 1st client story:
- What to post:
- When to fire clients (yes, really)
- Wrapping up
Do not index
Read time: under 10 minutes
So many UX designers are underpaid
Let me guess. You're charging $50/hour for UX design work while your developer friends are making $150+. Or worse, you spent 3 weeks perfecting a client's entire product flow, and they paid you what amounts to minimum wage.
Been there. Done that. Got the "exposure" t-shirt.
Most UX designers undervalue their work by 50-70%. Not because they're bad designers. Because no one taught them how to run a design business that doesn't suck.
In a livestream, Chris talked with Ruby Pryor, who went from consultant at BCG and Grab to starting her own UX research agency. Chris himself quit the Head of Design job to build UX Playbook, helping thousands of designers level up. Neither had a clue what they were doing at first.
This blog is the messy, honest breakdown of how to start a UX agency, covering positioning, pricing, sales, and all the stuff nobody talks about until you've already made expensive mistakes.
Let's get into it.
👉 The insight in this blog traces back to a thoughtful conversation with Ruby — here’s the full discussion
UX designer - Stop calling yourself a freelancer
Ruby said in the stream:
"The more I put myself out there, the more success I create for my business."
First rule of starting a UX agency: never position yourself as just a freelancer. Why? Because freelancers get paid for execution. Consultants get paid for expertise.
The consultant vs freelancer mindset
Freelancers say: "I'll design your checkout flow for $X."
Consultants say: "I'll increase your conversion rate by identifying and solving the core friction points in your purchase experience."
See the difference?
One is selling time. The other is selling outcomes.
Ruby put it perfectly:
"When you work at BCG, clients aren't just hiring you, they're hiring that global brand and expertise. When it's just you, everything changes. You need to build that brand equity yourself."
Build a brand bigger than you
Even if you're a solo operation, create an UX agency identity:
❌ Don't: Position yourself as "Jane Smith, Freelance UX Designer"
✅ Do: Create "Smith Design Co" or any name that isn't just you
Ruby deliberately chose "Rexwas.it" instead of "Pryor Insights" because she didn't want clients asking "Where's Ruby?" as she scales.
Smart move. It sets you up for growth without being chained to your personal brand.
The action:
- Choose an agency name (doesn't have to be fancy)
- Create a company LinkedIn page separate from your personal profile
- Get a simple website with your agency name
- When pitching clients, represent the agency, not yourself
Join 13,053+ Designers for FREE weekly UX Insights
Every Wednesday, I send out 1 actionable framework to grow your UX career 🌱 — No fluff. Always 2 minutes or less.
The truth about pricing UX design work
Value-based pricing is less about math and more about how well you understand the business, and explain that value clearly. Most designers price themselves into poverty using the "time tracking" method.
Here's why that's broken:
Scenario: You spend 40 hours designing a feature that increases conversion by 5%. At $75/hour, you made $3,000.
Reality: That 5% lift generated $2M in additional annual revenue for the client. You left a lot of money on the table.
2 ways to price your UX agency
Input-based pricing (what most people do):
- Calculate hours needed
- Add costs (tools, subscriptions)
- Slap on a margin
- Send invoice
Value-based pricing (what works):
- Understand the business impact
- Price based on what clients will pay for that outcome
- Capture a fraction of the value you create
Ruby's take:
"The faster you get at your job, the less you earn with hourly pricing. That's backwards. Price based on value delivered, not time spent."
Example: Translating UX metrics to dollar value
Let's say you're redesigning a SaaS onboarding flow.
Step 1: Measure current completion rate (40%)
Step 2: Redesign and test (new completion rate: 55%)
Step 3: Calculate business impact:
- 15% increase in completed signups
- Average customer value: $2,000/year
- 10,000 signups/month
- Result: 1,500 additional customers = $3M in new annual revenue
Now you can have a different pricing conversation.
Instead of: "My rate is $100/hour for 80 hours = $8,000"
You say: "This project will generate approximately $3M in additional revenue. My fee is $50,000."
Same work. 6x the payment.
"Work with your internal accounting team if you're in-house, or use publicly available data to estimate impact. Even ballpark figures change the conversation completely." — Pro tip from Ruby.
👉 Struggling to find clients who understand the value of UX? Check this:
How to communicate the dollar value of design
"You don't have to tell clients you're using a design process. Just do it." — Ruby said
Executives don't care about task completion rates or user satisfaction scores. They care about money. Your job is to translate design metrics into language CFOs understand.
The formula you can use
UX Metric → Business Metric → Dollar Value
Examples:
Reduced checkout friction:
- UX metric: 23% faster task completion
- Business metric: 18% increase in completed purchases
- Dollar value: $1.2M additional quarterly revenue
Improved navigation:
- UX metric: 40% reduction in support tickets
- Business metric: $85,000 saved in customer service costs
- Dollar value: ROI of 12x on design investment
Better onboarding:
- UX metric: 35% increase in feature adoption
- Business metric: 25% reduction in churn
- Dollar value: $800K in retained revenue
Ruby's real-world example
She analyzed an airline's booking flow where users had to create an account before seeing search results. Using only publicly available data, she calculated:
- Average booking abandonment: ~30%
- Estimated monthly searches: 500,000
- Average ticket price: $400
- Cost of bad UX: ~$60M in lost annual revenue
That's the kind of math that gets budget approved.
🌟 Key principle: Don't just show that the UX is bad. Show what it's costing them.
The messy side of starting your UX agency
"Everything that doesn't help you get your first sale is procrastination and noise." — Chris said
Let's talk about the unglamorous stuff.
Frustrations Ruby faced:
- Legal paperwork: ”What even is a 'constitution' for a company? Me and ChatGPT had a lot to talk about that day." She said.
- Random technical BS: LinkedIn wouldn't recognize her website URL without "https://" at the beginning. Small things that eat hours.
- Decision fatigue: Choosing payment processors, invoice systems, domain names, favicons, everything requires a decision.
- Visa complications: As an Australian in Singapore, Ruby had to set up a legal entity and proper work visa just to start.
"I had to go all in, in for a penny, in for a pound". She shared.
Chris's biggest mistake:
He launched a design subscription agency without validating pricing or boundaries first.
"I got a client within 10 days, great! Then I realized I hated the work. Wrong service, wrong pricing, no boundaries. Worse than having a job."
🌟 The lesson: Don't just launch anything. Launch something you actually want to do at a price that makes it worth it.
Sales for UX designers
Most designers hate sales. Good news: you already know how to do it. You just call it "user research."
The designer's sales framework
1. Discovery (aka user research for clients)
- Ask open-ended questions
- Listen to their pain points
- Don't pitch solutions yet
- Let them tell you what they need
2. Co-creation (aka collaborative design)
- Sketch solutions together
- Make them part of the process
- Build investment through involvement
3. Pricing clarity (aka setting expectations)
- Share rates early
- Send payment links upfront
- No mystery pricing
Ruby's approach:
"Book a call" instead of "buy now."
UX research needs input (participant recruitment, scope) that varies by client. Co-creating the offer on calls works better than one-size-fits-all packages.
Chris's approach: Send the payment link immediately after the first conversation.
"I establish the rate, send the link, then follow up. They know the cost upfront, no friend zone."
The opportunity cost question
How much time do you spend on calls that don't convert?
Ruby's strategy: Qualify leads before investing time. Ask yourself:
- Do they have budget?
- Are they decision-makers?
- Do they understand what they need?
If someone says "I need something but can't figure out exactly what", consider a fractional/retainer arrangement first. Let them buy access to your time while you scope the real project together.
Chris's gut check:
"How warm is this person on a 1-10 scale? Like dating, if they're ghosting you, you get the picture. Don't be over-committed."
Building your pricing model
Let's talk actual pricing strategies for UX agencies. 3 models you can consider:
1. Project-based
- One flat fee per project
- Good for: Defined scope, clear deliverables
- Risk: Scope creep eats your profit
- Example: $15,000 for complete checkout redesign
2. Retainer
- Fixed monthly fee for ongoing work
- Good for: Long-term relationships, predictable income
- Risk: Boundaries get fuzzy
- Example: $8,000/month for 20 hours of UX work
3. Subscription (Ruby's model)
- Recurring service productized into units
- Good for: Scalability, streamlined delivery
- Risk: Standardization challenges
- Example: $5,000/month for one UX research study
👉 Struggling to benchmark pricing based on client type?
Pricing philosophy
Input-based: Hours + costs + margin = price
Value-based: Client's willingness to pay based on impact = price
Always aim for value-based. But when you're starting out and building case studies, input-based helps you avoid undercharging.
"I'm weeks into the subscription model. Still figuring out annual plans, pause policies, all of it. You iterate as you go". Ruby shared
Why your UX agency needs media strategy
Every UX agency is now a media company. Why? Because how else will clients find you?
"The more I put myself out there, the more success I create for my business." — Ruby Pryor
Ruby's 1st client story:
"They engaged with my LinkedIn content. I sent a DM. They said they were interested. I said great. Done". She shared.
Other clients came from:
- Old colleagues who saw she'd started an agency
- People who interacted with her posts
- DMs after commenting on her content
🌟 The pattern: Publish → Build authority → Stay top of mind → Get inbound leads
What to post:
Don't: Generic design tips everyone shares
Do: Your specific POV on industry challenges
Examples:
- "Here's what companies get wrong about pricing UX research"
- "I analyzed 50 agency websites, here's what actually converts"
- "The onboarding mistake costing startups $2M/year"
Format options:
- LinkedIn posts (Ruby's primary channel)
- YouTube videos (Chris's recommendation)
- Written guides and case studies
Pick one. Master it. Expand later.
When to fire clients (yes, really)
This is something you need to be open to. Not every client is worth keeping.
Red flags:
- Payment delays
- Boundary violations
- Disrespecting your expertise
- Scope creep without budget adjustment
- Asking to pause with 48 hours left in the month
Chris's experience: A design subscription client tried to pause 2 days before month's end after requesting deliverables.
"I knew it was a bad client. Not doing this again."
Ruby's take:
"If the relationship isn't working, that's okay. Fire them respectfully. Still deliver what you committed to. Just don't renew."
You left better jobs to start this UX agency. Don't tolerate worse conditions than employment.
👉 Tired of nightmare clients?
Wrapping up
Starting a UX agency isn't glamorous.
You'll spend hours on paperwork. You'll price things wrong. You'll work with nightmare clients. You'll question everything at 2am.
But here's what Ruby and Chris both learned: The freedom is worth it.
Yeah, you'll trade your 9-5 for a 24/7. But it's your 24/7.
My final thought: You don't need permission. You don't need perfect tools. You don't need a fancy office. You need one client willing to pay you for solving their problem.
Go get them.
Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:
1. Junior Designer Bundle: Transition into UX and craft an unforgettable portfolio & get hired.
2. Senior Designer Bundle: Become a design leader with systems to build healthier, happier teams.
3. Job Sprint Course: Stand out in an unpredictable job market by building a memorable personal brand and a killer job search strategy.
