5 Reasons to Charge What You Are Worth

5 reasons to charge what you are worth

​Years ago I made my first "big" sale. I booked a new doula client for $500. It was like that scene from 50 First Dates where Drew Barrymore is doing a happy dance in public. I'd like to tell you I continued to churn out big sales and charge what I am worth from there, but I didn't. 

To be honest, booking a new client for $500 was far below what I was worth. It was on the coat tails of spending too much time giving things away for free or low cost. Self-doubt continued to creep in no matter how much experience or training I had. 

Will I be good enough? Will people like me? Is all this hard work and sacrifice worth what I am charging? Will anyone actually pay me to do this?

Does this sound familiar? 

One of the biggest  challenges for many entrepreneurs is feeling confident in charging what they are really worth. Many of us, including me when I started, "hope" by giving things away for free and giving deep discounts we will be rewarded. In reality, "hope" is not a marketing strategy and will not only lose you money, it will gain you clients you don't want. 
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Do You Know Your Worth?
If you don't know your worth it is difficult to set your prices to reflect your worth. You cannot base your own work solely on what others are charging or what you "think" people will pay. It is all about the value not the dollar sign. Consider the following questions when brainstorming your own value:
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• How long did it take you to be good at what you do?
• How much did any training, certifications, or school cost you?
• What else did you sacrifice while training or studying? 
• How long have you been doing your work?
• How much time did you invest into being good at what you do?
• How much have you added to your skills in the last 12 months?
• What do you actually do for clients? (Not I create graphics, think I make things easier for you.) 

Are you starting to get an idea of what your value might be? The average person most likely does not have the knowledge and skill-set you do. Even if you are one step ahead of someone else, that is still one step they do not have. 
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Kick Your Limiting Beliefs 
Even the most successful people have thoughts of doubt creep into their head. The difference is successful people make the decision to live with intent and shift their mindset. No one ever accomplished anything by staying in their comfort zone. What limiting beliefs are keeping you from accomplishing the things you want in your business? Do you feel nervous when charging clients higher prices? Work through your limiting beliefs. Hire someone if you need or join Better Your Birth Business for support. 
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Are You Working For the Right Clients?
Not everyone is the right client for you. Are you working with clients who want to pay you what you ask for or are they just looking for the cheapest deal? No matter what type of work you do, there will always be someone out there willing to charge less than you. Don't set a price just because it is lower than a competitor.

Make a choice to not discount yourself just to get clients. Make the choice to only take clients who are willing to pay what you are worth because they value what you have to offer. Clients who are hyper-price focused tend to end up consuming more of your time and causing more trouble than others. Working with difficult clients who do not value what you do creates a multitude of problems including lower self-confidence, higher incidence of self-doubt, and attracting more of those clients who don't value you.
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Are You Ready To Get Serious?

The more serious you get about worth and intention the greater impact you will be able to have. Here are five reasons you should charge what you are worth:

1. More Focus. When you are not getting the $$ you need you are constantly hustling to get your next lead and your next client. When you have good revenue coming in it frees you up to have more time to focus on the important things. You can step back and take time on your content instead of trying to produce mass quantity. Quality over quantity. You can focus on creating more of the content that brings you the most clients. You can focus on doing more of what you love with those you love.  

2. Better Content. Not only will you have more time to focus, you will be able to create better content. Being able to invest in your self and your business means you are able to create better things for your clients. 

3. Reach More Clients. Stop making it about you and remember it is about your clients. If you have something of value then you are doing the world a disservice to not have your value out in the world to more people. Get your story out there. Invest in marketing and advertising to get in front of more of those right clients. You don't have to start big, but investing back into your business is a big part of being successful. If you are charging what you are worth you will have the means to reinvest in your business. 

4. Deeper Connections. Once you reinvest and start charging what you are worth you will have more time to make deeper connections with your ideal clients. You will be able to spend more time creating experiences and devoting your skills rather than spreading yourself thin and trying to do it all. When you try to do it all you are not able to do things to your best abilities. Outsource things you are not good at or don't want to do so you can spend more time on the things in your business create trust, connections, and loyal clients. 

5. Bigger Impact. Most entrepreneurs become entrepreneurs because of two things; freedom and impact. Both of which usually require a certain sum of money. Not everyones freedom looks the same nor does their desired level of impact. Do you desire to be a part of something bigger than yourself? Do you want to contribute to causes you are passionate about? Charging what you are worth allows you to leverage your earnings to create a bigger impact. 

My goal is to be able to give more into causes I am passionate about than I live on from my business. To do that I need to charge what I know I am worth. I would have never been able to accomplish any of my goals if I had not started charging what I am worth. 

Next time you get down to business and feel anxious about charging what you are worth, remember to focus on the benefits to everyone involved; you, your business, your clients, your audience, and all the other people who are touched by the things you do. 

Comment below: What is the #1 thing you feel is holding you back from charging what you are worth?