If I were building a premium business from the ground up in 2025, there are a few decisions I’d steer clear of straight away. They’re the traps that look shiny on the surface but quietly drain your time, confidence, and bank balance underneath.

I’ve made all three of these mistakes at various points. Some were small stumbles; others were full “oh goodness, why did no one stop me?” moments. Consider this your shortcut around them.

1. Designing everything for the slowest buyer

There’s a particular kind of buyer who needs reassurance in stereo. More details. More calls. More “just one last question”. It’s easy to end up unintentionally shaping your entire business around this tiny group.

And the problem?
When you build your systems, copy and offers for the most hesitant people in your audience, you end up dampening the experience for everyone else, especially the decisive ones who would have said yes instantly if you’d simply kept things clean.

I learned this the hard way. In my early days, proposals ballooned into multi-tab creations. I added unnecessary calls, optional extras, entire documents that genuinely no one had asked for. All because of one anxious buyer I didn’t want to lose.

It slowed everything down, blurred boundaries and confused people who were already ready to commit.

The turning point was offering a service with very clear lines: one path, one decision point, one boundary. The right clients stepped forward almost immediately.

What to do instead:
• Write for the self-trusting buyer
• Keep the YES path obvious and simple
• Hold your nerve
• Track sales speed as it tells you a lot about your positioning

Ask yourself:
“Am I adding this because it serves them, or because it soothes me?”

2. Trying to build a premium brand out of lots of tiny offers

Premium businesses aren’t created by churning out endless mini-workshops, PDFs, tiny courses and low-ticket opt-ins. It looks productive. It feels productive. But it scatters your energy faster than anything else.

The truth is: premium brands grow through coherence, not clutter.

When I look back at the times my business felt the clearest and the strongest, it was always when I focused on a small number of deeper, more intentional offers rather than a menu of bits and pieces.

The magic came from having a simple ecosystem: an entry point, a core offer with depth and a high-touch option for people who wanted full access. Once I pruned the “extras”, everything tightened. My messaging sharpened, clients understood the journey instantly and sales picked up with far less effort.

What to do instead:
• Choose your three layers: entry → flagship → premium
• Remove anything that distracts from those paths
• Prioritise depth and quality over volume
• Build proof, not noise

Ask yourself:
“Could someone explain my business in one clear sentence?”

3. Pricing from fear and pretending a ‘lite’ version won’t drain you

There’s a particular flavour of regret that arrives when you’ve agreed to a lower-rate, lighter-touch offer that, in reality, still lives rent-free in your head.

I’ve done this. I told myself a reduced version would be easier. Fewer calls, smaller scope, lower price. Except the emotional responsibility didn’t shrink at all. Mentally, I was still in their business. My boundaries blurred and the resentment whispered.

On the flip side, every time I’ve raised my prices to match the actual work and held my line, the right people have shown up instantly. They don’t flinch. They don’t haggle. They step forward with clarity, commitment and energy that makes the work a joy.

Premium pricing isn’t about being extravagant. It’s about ensuring you can deliver your best without burning yourself to a crisp.

What to do instead:
• Price based on delivery + thinking time + emotional bandwidth
• Make upgrades formal, not “favours”
• Let one premium offer set the tone for everything
• If you need a lower-lift version, change the format, not the price

Ask yourself:
“If I delivered this brilliantly, would I feel proud or slightly resentful?”

To wrap up

If I were starting again, I’d build for decisive people, simplify my ecosystem and let my pricing protect both the client and me.

Premium isn’t about being louder or flashier.
It’s about being cleaner, calmer, and clearer in your offers, your boundaries and your decisions.

Want a quick next step? Try these:

• Look at your last five sales and spot where the process dragged
• Sketch your offer pathway on one sheet of paper and keep only what fits
• Reimagine your flagship offer as if you were creating it today