Pricing your expertise without guessing
Physicians routinely underprice advisory work because they anchor to an hourly clinical wage rather than to the value of the decision.
The first number you say sets every number after it. Most doctors say it too low, then discover the engagement expands anyway.
Anchor to the decision, not the hour
A company asking whether to pursue a regulatory pathway is making a decision worth hundreds of thousands. Your fee is being compared with that, not with a locum rate.
Price the scope and the risk removed, then convert to hours only for administrative convenience.
Three structures that work
A monthly retainer with a capped number of hours suits ongoing advisory. A day rate suits discrete projects and diligence. An annual fee, sometimes with equity, suits governance.
Whichever you use, write down what is excluded. Scope creep, not the rate, is what makes advisory work feel underpaid.
Raising the number
Rates move when demand is visible. Two enquiries in the same quarter is the signal to increase, and the increase applies to new work rather than existing agreements.