In this episode, Jacob Cass & Matt Davies sits down with Jonathan Stark, pricing expert, author of Hourly Billing Is Nuts, host of Ditching Hourly, and co-host of The Business of Authority, to unpack why trading time for money is such a poor fit for expert work.

Together, Jacob, Matt and Jonathan explore the difference between fixed fees and true value pricing, how to run better sales conversations, why pricing is deeply connected to positioning, and how authority changes the way clients buy.

They also discuss the psychology of charging more, why creatives often underprice their own judgment, and the practical first steps for ditching hourly without blowing up your business overnight.

If you are tired of selling hours, defending rates, or being compared against cheaper alternatives, this episode will help you rethink what you are really selling and how to build a business around expertise, not availability.

In this episode of JUST Branding, we’re joined by Ulli Appelbaum, globally respected brand strategist, founder of First The Trousers, and author of The Science of Brand Associations.

Ulli has spent years helping organisations understand how brands grow by shaping the associations people hold in memory. In this conversation, we unpack one of the most important and often misunderstood areas of branding: how associations are formed, strengthened, measured, and used to drive real business growth.

We explore why some brands own clear memory structures while others remain vague, how emotion and storytelling help build associations, and what marketers often get wrong about consistency, distinctiveness, and meaning.

If you want to build a brand that is easier to notice, easier to remember, and easier to choose, this episode will give you a practical look at the science behind brand growth.

In this episode, Jacob Cass and Matt Davies sit down with David C. Baker, author of The Business of Expertise and one of the leading voices on positioning, specialization, and advisory businesses.

Learn more at https://justcreative.com/podcast

Together, they explore what actually becomes valuable in a world where production is abundant.

We discuss:

• The difference between execution and expertise

• Why many creative firms still struggle to position themselves clearly

• What clients are really paying for at the highest level

• Why judgment, trust, and perspective matter more than ever

• How AI is reshaping pricing, specialization, and creative work

• What makes a firm truly irreplaceable

This conversation is for designers, strategists, consultants, and creative entrepreneurs who want to move beyond being seen as a pair of hands and become trusted experts.