“Our day-rate just hit £2.5k, but our revenue has plateaued because there are only so many days I can work.” - A frustrated consultancy owner, yesterday.

You've optimised everything: your processes are slick, your delivery is bulletproof, and clients love the results. Yet revenue feels capped by a simple equation: your daily rate x available days.

Welcome to the £/hr ceiling, the invisible barrier that traps even the most skilled consultants in a linear growth model.

The optimiser's trap

Here's what I see happening with consultancy owners who've mastered their craft:

The expertise paradox: You're so good at what you do that clients want you specifically, not your team or systems.

The time trade: Every pound earned requires your direct involvement, creating an unbreakable link between your hours and your income.

The capacity crunch: You hit 4-5 days a week and can't (or won't) push further without sacrificing quality or sanity.

The cruel irony? Your expertise becomes your prison. The better you get, the more indispensable you become, and the harder it is to scale beyond yourself.

Enter the personal brand dividend

The solution? Get your reputation working as hard as you do.

The personal brand dividend is the premium you earn simply by being you. It's the extra £1,000-£10,000 per day that clients pay because they specifically want to work with the person behind the expertise, not just access the expertise itself.

More importantly, it's the recurring revenue that flows from being the obvious choice in your space:

Speaking fees that arrive because event organisers know your name.

Retainer premiums because clients want ongoing access to your thinking, not just your doing.

Partnership opportunities that create revenue streams beyond your direct time.

Referral velocity that accelerates because people remember and recommend you, not just your services.

A client just proved this point perfectly. 

At the start of the year, he started podcasting, and he’s interviewed some high-profile people in his industry. Out of the blue, a prospect reached out, told him how much he liked his approach and asked him to do a 1-hour talk at an event as an initial engagement. I encouraged my client to double his usual rate, as he was worried about pricing the potential client out, as he really wanted the gig. Reluctantly, he doubled his price, and the client signed off without a second thought. He was over the moon!

How the dividend compounds

Unlike hourly rates, which scale linearly, brand dividends compound:

Year 1: You're known in your immediate network (maybe 200-500 people, you can charge 10% more.)

Year 2: Your content and speaking extend your reach (2,000-5,000 people, you can double your rates.)

Year 3: Your reputation precedes you in new conversations (10,000+ people aware of your work, you can charge what you want)

Each year, the same effort generates exponentially more opportunities. Your personal brand becomes a revenue multiplier, not just an add-on.

The breakthrough moment

This is precisely why I'm doubling down on my personal brand and documenting the journey for you.

I've watched clients repeatedly hit this ceiling. Brilliant consultants charging £2,000+ per day, booked solid, but trapped by the hours-for-money equation. The ones breaking through? They're building their brand dividend, like my podcasting client who just charged more for one hour than his usual day rate.

Whether you're hitting the £2.5k ceiling or still working toward it, the principle is the same: your personal brand makes everything easier. The confidence to put yourself out there? That comes with taking the first step.

Your next move

The £/hr ceiling isn't broken by working more hours or charging slightly more per day. It's broken by doing things differently. One of those ways is building a personal brand that creates value beyond your direct time investment by being you.

Here's the twist that is easy to miss: while your personal brand is uniquely you, it's not actually about you. It's about who you stand for. And that shift in perspective changes everything