The Expensive Stance: Why Value Is a Position

“Expensive” is a word that tends to unsettle people. Many founders instinctively move toward disclaimers and discounts, softening their pricing or framing themselves as the approachable option, more likely to draw people in.

But “expensive” is not just a price tag. It’s a position. A way of standing in your work that signals seriousness: this has weight, this has intention, this deserves to be taken seriously.

Why we avoid it the word ‘expensive’

Claiming the word “expensive” feels culturally transgressive. It brushes against the scripts we’ve been taught. Be approachable, not imposing. Be likeable, not “too much.” Fit the budget, fit the moment, fit the expectation.

So we soften. We make ourselves smaller. We dilute the clarity of our work to feel safer in the eyes of others.

But when you pare yourself down to be universally palatable, you also erode the distinctiveness that gives your work shape, weight, and memorability.

The brands we’re drawn to rarely operate from apology. They take up space. Their value is stated, not negotiated.

Expensive ≠ exclusion

Think of expensive less as a cost and more as the decision to show up like your worth is a given. It says that what you’ve built is substantial and worth listening to.

This is important: positioning yourself as expensive doesn’t mean you have to gatekeep. Your pricing can remain thoughtful. Your resources can remain generous. Your community can remain open. All while valuing the years of thought, craft, and lived experience embedded in your work.

Perceived Value vs. Actual Cost

Price is a number, but value is contextual. And in branding, perception almost always comes first.

A $50 candle and a $500 handbag don’t just carry a higher cost; they carry a carefully cultivated context. It’s the attention to detail, the narrative of craftsmanship, the quiet insistence that this object deserves reverence. The product itself might not be ten times “better” than a cheaper version, but it holds ten times more meaning in the mind of the buyer.

Meaning is constructed through:

• the visual language

• the narrative surrounding the object

• the decisions that reveal intention and the ones that hold back

For small, founder-led brands, the same principle applies. The way you design your site, the clarity of your offer, the confidence in your words send a signal to your audience that it’s worth the value you ask for it.

Expensive as strategy

In any field, there are two approaches:

Fight for attention
(or)
Create a presence that demands it.

The first leans on volume and visibility. An “expensive” stance anchors you in the second. It signals that you are not simply another interchangeable service provider. You are positioning yourself as an expert who invites clients into a crafted, considered ecosystem.

It says:

• I am not trying to be everywhere

• I am not competing for speed

• I am not centering myself inside someone else’s expectations

Instead, you are constructing a world where your depth, your ideas, your craft become the defining features of your brand.

In a culture of endless output, claiming expensive is an act of refusal to undercharge “just to be competitive”.

Brand Signals

Most online spaces are loud — everyone talking at once, posting daily, clamoring for visibility. But a signal cuts through noise by being deliberate, not constant.

Expensive, as a stance, is a signal. It’s what tells your audience: pay attention here — this matters. It might be the confidence to publish fewer, more thoughtful pieces of content. Or the refusal to chase trends that don’t align with your values. Or the way your design holds stillness rather than clutter.

Noise tries to fill every gap. A signal trusts that the right people will tune in.

When your business operates as signal, not noise, you build authority. You stop competing for attention on volume and start commanding it through clarity.

Pricing Differentiation

In saturated industries, the instinct is often to compete on price. You think that if you just make it cheaper, you’ll win more clients. But competing on price alone makes you interchangeable: it’s a strategy that anyone can copy.

The brands that thrive in the long run don’t try to please everyone. They define a clear stance and claim their difference. That differentiation becomes the moat that protects them from being compared solely on cost.

Expensive, then, is simply another word for unapologetically different.

Closing thoughts

To call yourself expensive is not about inflating prices or chasing exclusivity. It’s about knowing your work carries weight—strategically, culturally, and personally.

This piece is part of my ongoing exploration into branding as cultural commentary. I’m Hannah Shaw, founder of Studio Founded — a design practice and resource library for founders.

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