‘costing & pricing booster 2026’

A short 2-part online course to cost & price your creative products and services confidently, and make your business viable & profitable

Wed 23 & Mon 28 September 10am - 1pm UK

Costing and pricing your creative products and services shouldn’t feel like guesswork, but for many creatives, it does.

Whether you’ve just started your business or you’ve been selling your work for years, you might (still) be unsure how to work out your prices, what to charge for your time, or how to make your business profitable and pay you a decent salary. Maybe you’ve avoided your finances altogether, or you’re undercharging but don’t know how to change that without losing clients. Or maybe you want to sell to shops or galleries but don’t know how to price for wholesale and retail.

We created this super practical, two-session course Costing & Pricing Booster for creatives like you!

This short online course consists of two live online workshops on Wednesday 23 and Monday 28 September from 10am - 1pm UK, with practical homework in between.

By the end of this practical, short 2-part course (6 hours) you will:

Know how to calculate your costs and price your work professionally – including cost price, wholesale and retail prices, and/or a realistic daily rate for your time and expertise.
Understand which pricing strategy works best for your creative business – rather than simply copying competitors, adding a random mark-up or charging what you think people will pay.
Know whether your business and prices actually stack up financially – and where the gaps are if you are working hard but still not earning enough.
Find out how to make your business more profitable – whether that means increasing your prices or price points, reducing costs, or improving your positioning and branding.
Feel more confident talking about money and charging what your work is worth – with a better understanding of what might be causing you to undercharge, discount or second-guess your prices.
Leave with clarity about your own numbers, useful Excel templates and a clear action plan – so you can put what you’ve learnt into practice straight away and start making better financial decisions.

Can't make it live? Although we highly recommend that you try to join us live ... both sessions will be recorded and you will have access until 31 March 2027.

Ready to make your business work financially & boost your financial confidence? Sign up to this 2 x 3 hour short online course today.

Costing & Pricing Booster 2026

£99.00

One time

Two online live workshops with Patricia to boost your confidence in costing & pricing your creative work to make your creative business profitable and charge what you are worth.

✓ 2 x 3 hours live online training

✓ Calculate your cost, wholesale & retail prices

✓ Understand the key numbers in your business

✓ Useful downloadable financial resources

✓ Access till 31 March 2027

The Key Facts

Format

2 × 3 hour short online course on Wed 23 and Mon 28 September from 10am – 1pm (UK time). Recording available afterwards.
Outcome

Understand how to calculate your cost price, wholesale and retail price and your daily rate. Make your creative business viable and profitable.
Especially for

Creative professionals at any stage in their business who want to get more confident about their numbers and charge what they are worth.
Your tutor

Patricia van den Akker – creative business adviser & trainer, and Director of The Design Trust

a practical, short COURSE FOR CREATIVES TO COST & PRICE YOUR WORK ... and make your busines profitable

Back by popular demand! Our costing and pricing workshops have been one of our most popular courses over the last 10 years.

Especially created for creatives, this Costing & Pricing Booster live online course shows you exactly how to calculate your costs, what pricing strategies are best for your creative products or services, and gives you the understanding and confidence (!) to actually change your prices or fees to make your creative business profitable.

This course is full of non-theoretical exercises and expert advice from Patricia van den Akker, who has worked with creatives for over 25 years, to help you charge the right prices and fees for your work. Whatever stage you are at with your creative business, costing and pricing your work professionally and confidently is crucial for your success.

This Costing & Pricing Booster course exists of two, live online workshops of 3 hours each, as well as actionable homework and the chance to ask questions live during the session or in the private course hub.

“Your Costing & Pricing course made me realise that I am too expensive for retail. I always thought that it was prestigious to sell to galleries or shops, but I have realised that it is no good if that comes at a loss or just a break even. ”

— Yvette Green - Mosaic Artist

What we’ll cover in this short course …

Session 1

An intro to costing & pricing for creatives

Wed 23 September | 10am – 1pm UK

In this first workshop, we will focus on costing & pricing your creative products, services and time:

Why is costing & pricing your creative work so difficult?
How to calculate your cost price, wholesale and retail price. Patricia will take you through the 7-step cost price calculation including all the different costs you need to consider! She will explain key pricing terminology and how to calculate your wholesale and retail price. Followed by how to calculate your daily rate - for freelancers, training and commissions.
What’s the difference between costing & pricing your work? They are often put together and whilst related, they are also clearly different.

The 5 most common pricing strategies for creatives. Discover alternative ways to charge for your creative products and services and which are best for you and your business.
What to do if you are too expensive (to retail). Strategic and practical advice to make it work for your business! How and when is the best time to raise your prices (with new and existing clients).
Practical homework (for week 2 or share in the private hub. 1) Calculate your cost price or daily rate, and if you (want to sell) to shops and galleries also the wholesale & retail price. 2) Identify the best pricing strategy for your products & services. 3) Bring your income and expenditure for the last financial year or 12 months to the next workshop to do the financial forecast exercise.
BONUS: Get Excel templates in the private course hub to calculate your cost price, wholesale price, retail price and daily rate; and to crate your financial forecast (for next week).

BONUS: You’ll get useful downloadable resources created by Patricia in the private course hub, incl. Niche/Ideal student worksheet, pricing reflection worksheet, planner for your teaching ecosystem, website audit checklist.

Outcome:

A clearer niche, stronger positioning and greater confidence in how you describe your teaching
Understand who your ideal student is in more detail
Better structure to your teaching, with offers at different price points and increase of repeat students
Review and update your pricing

Your Marketing Homework:

Refine your niche statement
Complete your ideal student personas
Review your pricing
Map your teaching ‘ladder’ to offer training at different price points
Audit your website. Identify your weakest sales page.
Identify, research & approach potential organisations or venues for teaching opportunities.

Session 2

Create a profitable business

Your website should be at the heart of your teaching business, not just for marketing but also for taking bookings, easier admin and getting paid!

It’s your most powerful & creative marketing tool to get bookings for your creative teaching.

In this 2nd workshop we’ll review common website mistakes creative teachers make and explore how to create stronger workshop pages that build trust and turn visitors into actual bookings.

You’ll learn how to improve various parts of your teaching website, including your workshop descriptions, About Page, workshop titles, imagery and overall website structure. During this workshop you’ll start to rewrite one of your training sales pages. We’ll also cover some practical SEO for creative teachers so that more of the right people can find you online (we will come back to this important topic in the final session).

BONUS: You’ll get useful downloadable resources in the private course hub, incl. A website review checklist, sales page structure guide, and an SEO workbook.

Outcome:

A clearer website strategy, stronger sales pages for your creative training, and other creative improvements you can implement immediately at no cost
Unique content ideas for your emails and social media
Patricia will teach you how to identify and use SEO keywords to get found easier by people looking for your creative training

your marketing Homework:

Improve your website training category
Rewrite one sales page with better title, keywords, description, testimonials.
Improve your ‘about me’ page.
Create a keyword library
Develop more content ideas for your emails and social media
Write one marketing email

“My pricing now includes all my costs, including a decent salary and my overheads. It turns my stomach to think of all the money left on the table. That is behind me now and I have moved forward and are committed to proper numbers now.”

— Kim S. Joy - Glass Artist

Who is this course for?

This practical short course is for creative professionals, designer makers, artists and other small creative business owners who want to get more confident with their numbers and make their business work financially.

It’s for you if:

You’re guessing your prices – whether you’re just starting out or have been selling for years, you’ve never properly calculated your costs, profit margins or what you need to charge for your time.
You’re working hard but not earning enough. You want to understand where the money is actually going, whether your business is financially viable, and what needs to change to make it more profitable.
You want to sell to shops or galleries but you’re confused about cost, wholesale and retail prices – or you’ve done the calculations and realised your prices simply don’t stack up.
You know you’re undercharging or undervaluing yourself. You second-guess your prices, worry that people won’t pay more, or avoid the money side of your business altogether – and you’re ready to become more financially confident.

Whether you’re relatively new to business or have been going for years, if you want to stop guessing, understand your numbers and charge more confidently, this Costing & Pricing Booster is for you.

patricia van den akker

Creative business trainer & author

Patricia van den Akker is the Director of The Design Trust and a creative business adviser, trainer and coach. For over 25 years, she has helped thousands of designers, makers, artists and other creatives build more confident, sustainable and profitable businesses.

Known for her practical, down-to-earth approach, Patricia goes beyond formulas and spreadsheets. She connects the numbers with the bigger picture: your pricing, positioning, product mix and strategic decisions, as well as your confidence and money habits.

Her strength is in connecting the dots and turning complicated business challenges into practical solutions. Expect real-life examples, useful questions and actionable advice to help you understand your numbers, make better decisions and charge more confidently.

FAQ: Got any further questions?

This online course will take place on Monday 22 + 29 June from 10am – 12noon UK time. So 2 x 2hours online training.
And at a child-friendly time!
We will give you a little bit of practical homework in advance and afterwards, but frankly this is about deciding what you will do LESS of, rather than more!
And if you can’t make it … no worries as the sessions will be recorded and you will have access until 31 December to watch them in our private course hub.
To finish your 6-months plan you probably need 2 hours or so afterwards.
We recommend that you join the workshop live if at all possible. You will be reflecting and planning improvements to your own life and part-time business, but also learning from other creatives like you through the chat and in break-out rooms. If you listen to the recording then you will miss out on this collaborative learning experience. But, especially as you work part-time we completely understand that you might not be able to join us live! Remember that this online course will be recorded and posted on our private workshop hub. You will have access to the recordings + presentations + resources until 31 December 2026.
Most people who signed up for this course last year were working at least 2 days in their business. If you have less than half a day each week available, then this will slow you down in your progress and you will need to be realistic. However, the fewer hours you have available, the more important it is to make thoughtful decisions about what to focus on and what to let go of. This short course will encourage you to focus, make the mo
Yes! Many creatives are doing exactly that. Especially in the last year as many creatives are finding it harder to make money. This short course will help you think strategically about how your employed work and creative work fit together and how to create a business that feels sustainable and financially worthwhile for you.
We use Zoom for our online workshops, an online platform that’s very easy to access, and many people are already familiar with. A week before your workshop starts we will send you the details of how to sign up for the two workshops on Zoom. If you do not receive this email then get in touch with us ASAP. Our private online platform (where we will post the presentation + recording afterwards) is really easy to use too. You’ll only need basic computer literacy in order to navigate it.
Definitely! One of the things participants value often the most in The Design Trust training is the opportunity to connect with other creative professionals who understand them. There will be individual reflection exercises and breakout room discussions in both se
We completely understand that especially as you’re working part-time that money can be a bit of an issue, so we really have tried to make this short course affordable for you! You can pay in 3 monthly instalments by selecting the ‘Paypal Later’ option at the check out. Our Business Club & Dream Plan Do Club members get 15% discount on this course as part of their membership. See the homepage of the BC and DPD courses or recent emails for details.
When you buy an online workshop from us then you purchase a single license, which means that you can NOT share the recording or presentation with others. Like you, we are a small creative business, and this online course is full of our copyrighted material and expertise that Patricia has developed over many years. If you share with others who haven’t paid then you are basically stealing from us. We know you wouldn’t like it if others did the same to you. So THANK YOU for not sharing with others.
We highly recommend that you try to sign up for this workshop and join us live – in this case on Monday 22 + 29 June. However you can still sign up for this short course over the summer and watch the recordings (accessible till 31 December). We will not give a discount for recording-only access, and we highly recommend you try to join us live.
The course will start on Monday 22 June at 10am, and we will record both sessions and give you access to the recording and the presentation till 31 December 2026. After this course has started we will not offer any refunds as you can still access it whenever you like. If you need to cancel before this course starts (22 June) then please email us for a full refund. Please make sure that we acknowledge receiving your email. Unfortunately it takes 5 – 10 working days for the money to be returned to your bank account due to the slowness of most banks.
If you have any other questions then please get in touch with us. We are always happy to help.