Case Study
FROM UNDERVALUING HER EXPERTISE TO COMMANDING HER WORTH…
INCREASING REVENUE PER CLIENT BY 245%
Company Summary
Kathryn McGarvey, founder of NosyHQ, (formerly The Meaningful Marketing Co) is a seasoned marketing consultant with over twenty years of experience, specializing in B2B customer research and marketing strategy.
Case Study Highlights
Challenges
Consistent undercharging of her services (and over delivering)
Self-imposed limitations kept her from pursuing larger clients
Struggle to confidently package and position her services effectively for higher-value engagements
Results
Tripled her rates (and still won the business)
Increased her average revenue per client by 245% while reducing the number of clients she serviced by 61%
Repositioned her services to focus exclusively on customer research
Transitioned from servicing small businesses to larger, higher-value clients
Significantly reduced time spent on client delivery, while increasing project value
The Problem
Undervaluing Expertise and Underselling Services
"I’ve been a marketer for a long, long time. And despite being pretty good at helping my own clients with their pricing, I’ve always had a blindspot when it comes to pricing my own work," Kathryn shares. "I knew I delivered results, but I couldn’t help myself, I consistently undervalued what I brought to the table."
When Kathryn left full-time employment as a marketing manager, she offered strategic marketing consultancy to small businesses in her local area. She loved working with her clients and being able to make a difference, but in the wake of the pandemic, small businesses had more limited budgets - and spending on marketing strategy just wasn’t a priority.
Kathryn had started offering customer research services to her bigger consultancy clients. Not only did she realize that customer research is the closest thing she’d found to a marketing silver bullet, she also found she absolutely loved talking to her clients’ customers, unearthing the gold nuggets of information that can transform marketing efforts. She started thinking about how she could grow that side of her business, but that meant finding bigger clients - which was a problem for her.
"Looking back, I think I had a real mental block about taking that leap. I thought that larger clients were somehow out of reach for someone like me."
This self-doubt held Kathryn back, despite the wealth of expertise she had behind her.
The Solution
Enter Laura Khalil: Support and Strategy in a 100% BS-Free Zone
Laura and Kathryn had met online some years earlier, and had made an effort to check in with each other regularly.
“I saw behind the scenes as Laura developed and then grew her Elevate program. Laura’s super sharp and a very smart cookie, and I watched in awe through the ups and downs of creating something that has turned out to be quite outstanding”.
In one of their regular Zooms, when Laura extended an invitation to Kathryn to join Elevate, Kathryn didn’t stop to think twice.
“I was at a crossroads in my business and excited about the changes I was making, but it felt like a lot of hard work lay ahead of me. And I was totally up for that.
But then when Laura asked me to join Elevate, I realized life would be so much easier if I could lean on her experience and expertise instead of carrying the mental load of figuring everything out and making decisions alone. It was a no-brainer really - why not get where I wanted to be faster and without having to figure it all out myself?
Also, Laura is ruthlessly discerning when it comes to who she lets into her program, so I was pretty flattered to be invited and I knew I’d be in very good company!”
“Why not get where I wanted to be faster and without having to figure it all out myself?”
A Powerful Beginning: Clarity, Confidence and a New Direction
Their initial strategy session set the tone for what was to follow.
In our very first one-on-one, she asked insightful questions, probed parts of my business that I had chosen to avoid thinking about when I was left to my own devices, and - as she had for years already - challenged the way I viewed my own value."
Laura’s approach fully utilizes all her strengths - her deep level of experience, her strategic abilities, her storytelling, her directness and humor, underpinned with her kindness, warmth and generosity.
Cutting Through the Complexity to Build a Profitable, Purposeful Business
"Laura has this uncanny way of seeing right through your bullshit, but in a nice way!" Kathryn laughs. "Laura herself is actually pathologically incapable of bullshitting, I think. She’s the polar opposite of the business gurus who peddle their own particular snake oil, overuse the word “hustle” and sell a dream that’s unattainable for most people. Laura’s never going to suggest building funnels and posting videos on Instagram to game the algorithm.
This straightforward approach appealed to Kathryn. She goes on:
"I don’t know how she does it, to be honest, but I’m so glad to have her in my corner. Laura helps you see what you could be and gives you the confidence and knowledge you need to get there. It turns out that what you could be, is someone who charges based on the value of your work to your clients, not someone who charges based on how long a job takes or what I think the work is worth!
“She’s all about stripping complexity out of your business, keeping things simple and being able to earn a great living as a solo service provider.”
Not Your Typical Coaching Program: Elevate Delivers High-Impact Support and Real Results
The beauty of working with Laura as part of Elevate is not just the one-on-one access to her (although Kathryn notes her surprise at just how accessible Laura is for one-on-one laser calls compared to other programs she’s been part of.)
“What Laura has created with Elevate is pretty special, and I think we all feel pretty lucky to be there. I’ve been in a group coaching environment previously that I really enjoyed, but Elevate offers an insane amount of value in a really short amount of time. Like from my very first session.
And I have people that I consider my really good ‘work friends’ now; people who are smart, always encouraging and, I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but they really inspire me too”.
The Results
Playing Bigger: Tripled Rates, More Targeted Services, and Greater Confidence
With Laura’s guidance and support, Kathryn has got comfortable with the idea of playing bigger - and pricing bigger too.
"I’ve done the math, my average client project cost has gone up 245% since starting to work with Laura. 245%! And that’s with far fewer clients."
“Laura’s been telling me I undercharge for years, and although I knew she was right, I didn’t really do anything about it. I was reluctant to raise my prices for a very long time - I guess I was scared of over-pricing, or even worse, having others think I was charging too much for what I was delivering. But Laura has helped me get past that, to see that the work I do is super valuable to a business and that I deserve to be paid well for the amount of value I deliver. My bank balance and I are so glad I finally listened to Laura!”
With higher fees came an unsurprising benefit: clients who respected her expertise and saw value in the results.
Laura’s insights into Kathryn's pricing and service structure were instrumental.
"There are services I just don’t offer any more, she helped me streamline my offerings. Suddenly, I had a clear path to take my expertise and deliver it to clients who genuinely needed it—and who were willing to pay for it."
The shift wasn’t just financial. With Laura’s guidance, she transitioned from working with small businesses to larger, more complex clients. She developed a new suite of services targeted specifically at organizations with bigger budgets and deeper needs for customer insights.
"I’ve done the math, my average client project cost has gone up 245% since starting to work with Laura. 245%! And that’s with far fewer clients."
Fewer Clients, Higher Profits: How Simplifying Transformed Her Bottom Line
Kathryn now finds herself spending less time on client delivery than she did with lower-paying clients. She gets to focus on delivering real impact doing something she loves.
Focusing exclusively on customer research and rebranding to NosyHQ, Kathryn says, was the biggest and most rewarding shift.
"Going all-in on what I love and what I’m best at—customer research—was honestly a bit daunting at first," she admits. "But it’s been amazing. Now, I’m working in a space that lights me up, I know I’m good at, and really adds value to my clients. It’s a pretty good place to be."
The transformation in Kathryn’s business went far beyond the numbers. While the 245% increase in average client revenue is impressive, Kathryn’s real achievement lies in building a business that aligns with both her expertise, interests and her values.
“The fastest route to success wasn’t doing it alone – my business achieved in months what might otherwise take years of trial and error.”
