Have you ever thought that you should work hard to make money? Fess up. I am sure you have. I have not worked with a single person that does not have this belief. It is part of our culture; it is part of what we believe makes us “decent” human beings.
We have been told from a very young age that we must work hard if we want something good. The reward comes after the hard work.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that you should sit at the top of a mountain (or your comfy couch) and think about money and it will come pouring in.
But I am also not saying that if you want to be well-off you need to put in 80 hour days 6 or 7 days per week, wreaking your health, relationships and fun to achieve success.
What am I saying then?
You do need to put in some work. You also need to put in some planning, and some creativity, and some entrepreneurship. After all that is why we are called entrepreneurs.
You also need to CHARGE what you are worth.
It is fine to start off with low prices or even freebies while you are studying your chosen area. Then you need to start charging reasonable amounts. What is a reasonable amount? An amount that you can say out loud when someone asks you what your prices are, and as high as you can go.
Maybe you will have a free session as a starter, or a package that is cheaper. Maybe your initial session is cheaper, but then goes to full price, or you have some other combination of pricing. All this can be good and help you get started, but the goal is to move to livable prices quickly. A long time before you burn out.
Most women do not charge enough.
What if I was to say to you that you must double your prices RIGHT NOW?
What were the feelings that came up?
Write them all down. They are important because they are what are holding you back.
Did you have feelings like:
- Who is going to pay me that much?
- I’m a newbie and I can’t charge much
- That is too much, who would pay that
- I don’t deserve that much money
- I have never made that much in an hour at any job
- What if no one wants my services any more?
- My clients can’t afford that much
All these are your limiting beliefs, and not the truth.
We all know people who charge very little for their services, and we know people who charge a lot, and both have clients.
It is so important to charge a reasonable amount for all concerned.
For yourself, so that you can sustain the rate of work and not burn out and earn a reasonable income.
For the client, so they know that they are being well looked after. This is not a cheap backyard, pretend business. You are real, you know your stuff and you give good service.
For the rest of your industry. We do not want to work in an industry where everyone is undercutting everyone else. We want a reasonable income for all. We support and care about all.
For the country. We want to live and work in a country that believes in fair pay, good service and looking after our people. We do not want a dog eat dog world where it is a race to the bottom. We want a place where working is respected and valued.
Ok, so lets go back to your income. How much are you charging? Now DOUBLE that number. How does that feel? If you feel anything other than – OK, I am doing it now, – write down what you feel. Write down as much as you can. Everything from your current feelings, fears, worries, previous experiences, and what others have said. Now also write down what other memories this brings up. Your parents school teachers, siblings and grandparents. That’s great.
These are all areas that we can tap on to clear the emotions and change the beliefs.
Follow along as I take you through a couple of rounds of tapping on the feeling that I cannot put up my prices.