One lesson that I learned from both a business coach and my own business experience that has really resonated with me is to charge what you’re worth, and what your service, product, etc is worth. It always blows me away when I hear of web designers selling, no sorry, giving away websites for under $500, or I’ve even heard of “free with hosting!” – or a graphic designer that sells their logos on websites like “Fiver” or the like – selling a full on logo for $5!! I don’t get it.
My thought is if you’re going into business for yourself, whether your a nail technician, florist, accountant, or a designer like myself, you’re getting into the field because you have a passion for it and you’re good at it – if you’re not passionate or good then you should find something that suits your better! And if you’re passionate and good then you should be able to charge accordingly. One thing I was also told was when you give someone a discount ALWAYS put it on your invoice. Not only does it show them what you usually charge (so if they refer you to someone they tell them the right price instead of their’s hopefully) and let them know they’re getting a deal, but it also shows you what money you’re giving away by not charging full price. If you look at that discount amount, is that client providing you with that value in return somehow? Be that through repeat business, lots of referrals, or even advice in their own field? Food for thought.
Charging what you’re worth also shows you have confidence in yourself and you take yourself seriously. When I first started out and was charging a much lower rate I was actually essentially laughed at some times and told to charge higher. Once I actually was told by someone I needed to charge DOUBLE what I was then. Now I may not have agreed entirely, but I understood that I definitely wasn’t charging enough. The funny thing was, the more experience I got and thus more confidence in myself and my skills, I was able to raise my rates and not only keep the customers that I already had, but continue to gain new ones! So I maintained my workload and had the higher rates – it worked out well! It’s when you can do that that you realize that yes, I really was not charging enough!
So the next time you’re hanging out with some close friends or business people that you have a lot of trust and respect for, ask them. Ask them if they think you’re charging what you’re worth. If they agree then fantastic, but if they think you need to charge more that can help you have extra confidence in taking the step to adjust your prices and rates.
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