Recently I was having a conversation with a friend who owns their own business and I asked them about their prices, which seemed on the low side. When I inquired about whether they’d considered raising their rates, they gave me a host of reasons, including that others in the area didn’t charge any more than they do and how they felt afraid that their customers would leave them for another provider if their prices changed.
In retrospect, I think my responses to my friend could be valuable to any business owner which is why – BAM! – I decided to blog about it 🙂
But first, let’s do a quick barometer check about whether or not you need to raise your prices.
Assuming you have a healthy flow of business, if your prices are in a good place for you, you might:
- Feel excited about both the work you do and the compensation you receive in exchange for it
- Find yourself able to live the lifestyle you want i.e. work/life balance, trips, etc.
On the other hand, if your prices are not in a good place for you, you might:
- Feel resentful about the work you do because you don’t feel you’re getting enough for it
- Feel tight on money even though you seem to work all the time
For those who fall in group two, read on to learn a few reasons why it’s a wonderful idea to raise your prices every few years:
There is so much more value to you than just the thing you provide.
A game-changer for me as a web designer was the day I realized that the value people receive by working with me goes above and beyond just a website. They also get:
- A boutique and seamless experience of working with someone reliable, always quick to respond, kind, and who consistently communicates things in a clear and easy-to-understand way.
- The benefit of having me as a resource well into the future for all things website, marketing, or business-related!
- A design personally catered to them and their business PLUS the chance to be as collaborative as they’d like in the process
Similarly, whatever it is you do, there is a whole lot of benefit and value people get when they work with you besides just the “thing” you offer. If it helps you, make a list of these things to gain clarity about them! All of these reasons/things about you and your way of doing business are both reasons you can raise your prices AND reasons that most likely, your customers will stay with you when you do so.
The cost of literally everything in life is going up all the time.
Your rent, your groceries, your electric bill, your business expenses – literally everything in life costs more each year thanks to inflation. But you know what won’t go up unless you do something about it? Your prices. It’s up to you to take care of yourself and make sure that as the things in our world cost more, so do your products and services.
You’ll work with customers who value you and think you’re worth every penny (and it’s ok if you outgrow some customers in the process).
I was recently contacted by someone very excited to work together until they found out my starting price – it was clear they felt I was unnecessarily expensive. And that’s ok! All of us have different ideas in our heads about what things should cost – a cell phone, a house, a website – or anything else for that matter. It all comes down to what a person values. As a point of comparison, many others don’t bat an eye at my prices. Just remember this: your goal is not to win every customer. Your goal is to win every customer who is that perfect fit for you, and an important part of this is that you see eye-to-eye on the value of the service that is being exchanged.
In Closing
If you don’t feel good about how much you’re being compensated for your services, don’t continue to suffer needlessly out of fear. You CAN earn what you feel you deserve for the work you do! The only obstacles are in your own mind 🙂 The more you begin to see that, the easier it will be to take that first step.
