Pricing Strategies for Stationers: Lessons from a Creative Entrepreneur’s Journey

When it comes to pricing strategies for stationers, the right approach can transform your business. Many assume the only way to grow is by raising rates, but that’s only part of the story.

I recently sat down with Katie of Knockout Lettering, a Philly-based calligrapher and signage artist, to talk about the pricing strategies and backend systems that helped her grow from side hustle to full-time business. Katie was part of my Flourish in Biz mentorship program, and it’s been incredible to watch her business evolve. If you’re a stationer or calligrapher trying to figure out how to raise your prices, book better-fit clients, and finally feel like a real business owner, this conversation is for you.

But first, hi, I’m Alane, a wedding calligrapher turned mentor and the founder of Write Pretty for Me. I work with stationers and calligraphers who are ready to stop treating their business like a side project and start running it with clarity and confidence. If you’re unsure how to price your work, attract the right clients, or put real systems in place, you’re not alone, and you don’t have to figure it out by yourself. This blog is a peek into what’s possible when you back your creativity with strategy.

The Messy Beginning: No Workflow, No Pricing Strategy

Like many creatives, Katie started by charging “whatever felt right.” She kept half-finished spreadsheets, copied and pasted old emails, and often underpriced her services just to land clients. This lack of workflow left her second-guessing herself. Without clear pricing strategies, every inquiry chipped away at her confidence.

“I didn’t have one. Like I said, it was just sort of a lot of random documents that were started and never completed and oh, “I should really write that down”, but I just never did. So constantly copying and pasting. I feel like that was the life of my business. Just searching for that one perfect email… Yeah, just very little confidence in myself as an expert or professional because of that sort of mess on the backend.”

Making the Investment — and the Mindset Shift

Katie decided to join Flourish & Biz after a conversation with her dad that made her realize: she was serious about this, and it was time to show it. Up until that point, she had been saving her business income, but hadn’t reinvested it.

That decision wasn’t just about coaching. It was a turning point in how she saw herself, as someone who was building a real business and ready to back that with action.

“I was really hung up on this idea of being legit and that it wasn’t legit because I wasn’t part-time or full-time, because I didn’t know enough or because I didn’t have all these systems in place. And it’s like… get out of your own head and go be legit.”

Around the same time, she unexpectedly lost her part-time job. Instead of immediately finding another, she chose to go full-time with Knockout Lettering, a bold move that ended up accelerating her growth.

Pricing Strategies for Stationers: From No Minimum to $4,000 Projects

Katie’s pricing journey shows how small, intentional steps add up to big results. In the beginning, she didn’t have a minimum at all; she took on tiny projects that drained her time and energy. Over time, she set clear boundaries, raised her rates, and aligned her pricing with the real value she was delivering.

Here’s how her growth unfolded:

• No minimum at first – led to misaligned clients and burnout.
• $500 minimum – her first boundary, freeing her from low-value jobs.
• $1,000 minimum – matched the proposals she was already sending.
• $1,750 minimum – aligned with her average booking size.
• $2,000 average project – now her sustainable baseline.
• $4,000 proposal booked – proof that premium clients are out there.

Each increase was backed by data from past proposals, her growing confidence, and the commitment to working only with clients who valued her artistry. This is one of the most important pricing strategies for stationers: raising rates step by step, with both logic and courage behind every change.

Aligning Pricing Strategies for Stationers with Client Experience

Of course, raising prices only works if you elevate the client experience to match. Every time Katie set a new minimum, she also refined her approach to working with clients.

What Katie Did:

• Improved her inquiry process so couples felt cared for from the very first message.
• Added thoughtful touchpoints, like check-ins and clear timelines, to build trust.
• Positioned herself as a collaborative creative partner, not just a vendor filling orders.
• Built templates and automations to steamline her workflow

This kind of alignment is what makes pricing strategies for stationers sustainable. Premium clients expect more than beautiful paper goods; they want a smooth process, strong communication, and confidence that their investment is worth it. By pairing higher rates with an elevated experience, Katie ensured her pricing wasn’t just accepted but embraced.

“…One of the things working with you is that I wanted to be sure. You put a price point like that, then they should give back that level of service. Continue to elevate my skills, improve the backend and improve my service for my clients. That has been important as I’ve raised that minimum too.”

Booking $4K Projects and Working With Ideal Clients

Fast forward to today: Katie is regularly booking projects in the $2K–$4K range. Here’s what that looks like:

• Aligned clients: Couples who value custom, hand-lettered details and see stationery as an essential part of their wedding experience, not just an afterthought.
• Bigger projects: Fewer but higher-quality events.
• Industry partnerships: Solid relationships with venues, planners, and printers mean smoother projects, reliable referrals, and elevated credibility.
• Confidence in pricing: Clear pricing strategies for stationers give her the framework to set boundaries, uphold minimums, and position her work at a premium level.
• Creative freedom: With systems handling the admin, Katie has more space to show up as her full creative self and deliver a truly elevated client experience.

Her Advice for Stationers Struggling with Pricing

Katie’s advice for stationers who feel underpaid or overwhelmed is simple: treat your work like a real business. That means taking yourself seriously and backing it up with action. Systems like templates, automations, and clear boundaries save time, boost confidence, and help you show up professionally.

She also reminds creatives to look inward. If you’re hesitating to raise your prices, check in with what’s really behind that. Often, the real obstacle isn’t demand, it’s mindset. With the right support, you can push past those doubts and start charging in line with your actual value.

One piece of growth that often gets overlooked? Community. Inside Flourish in Biz, Katie connected with other calligraphers and stationers, turned Instagram handles into real friendships, and finally stopped feeling like she was behind. That support (both practical and emotional) helped her build the confidence to keep showing up and keep raising her standards.

“We always, or I at least, get stuck in that comparison loop. Just meeting people, seeing them, seeing their own struggles. We’re all at different places, but dealing with similar things. So I think that helped me relax a bit too.”

What This Case Study Reveals About Pricing Strategies for Stationers

Katie’s journey shows that pricing strategies for stationers go far beyond simply raising rates. Success comes from three essentials: building systems that support your workflow, making intentional pricing decisions step by step, and delivering a client experience that feels worthy of the investment. Her growth was fueled by investing in herself, shifting her mindset, and saying no to projects that didn’t align with her goals.

The takeaway is simple: there will never be a “perfect time.” If you want to grow, start now, get clear on your value and charge with confidence.

Katie of Knockout Lettering is proof of what’s possible when creativity meets strategy. To see more of her custom work and follow her journey, connect with her on Instagram.

If you want to hear this full conversation with Katie (and many others like it), check out my private podcast for calligraphers and stationers. It’s packed with straightforward advice on pricing, backend systems, and communicating with clients, so you can get organized and start booking more aligned projects.

Need more support? My 1:1 mentorship is designed to help you refine your offers, raise your minimums, and build a business that works. You can also follow along on Instagram. See you there!