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If you run your own business or are a freelance contractor, then you’re constantly faced with the question, “So, what do you charge?” I know several business owners and contractors—from social media strategists to wedding planners to health coaches—who have told me that, no matter how long they’ve done what they do, this question never gets any less uncomfortable. They’ve become better at pretending the question doesn’t bump them, but it does still make their skin crawl, just a little bit.
Once you get to the point of selling someone on what you do—of making them want to hire you, buy your product, contract you for a project—it’s a shame to feel that just saying the wrong number could make the whole deal go away. If you love what you do, then you would work for free, but the trouble is that life and even just running your business costs money, so you need to charge. You want potential clients and customers to love your work so much that money is no object. But, money is an object to them, too, because they live in the same world you do, where things cost money.
There can be so much confusion out there surrounding what is fair to charge for all sorts of things. Not only the business owners themselves, but even the consumers have misinformation about what things should cost. It’s so common for a customer or client to ask, “Well, how come this other place does this for way less?” You have very good answers for that, but answering at all already feels combative and defensive. All of this uneasiness may put you in a place of undervaluing yourself as a business owner. I could probably guess some of your excuses for doing it, too. Let’s go over those, and why they’re just not true.
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My prices must be competitive
You’re aware of all of the competition out there, and all of the professionals in your very industry who are charging much less than you are. So, you tell yourself that your prices must be competitive. Well, remember that the work they put out may not be on par with yours. And no matter how low you go in prices, somebody is always willing to go lower, so you don’t want to go down that slippery slope.
