Prices Are Little Facts, My Dear: A Love Note to Anyone Having Trouble Charging What They're Worth

Money is important, and you can't run a business without it.

BUT WE LOVE TO PRETEND LIKE THAT ISN’T TRUE.

I had an incredible meeting with a new business owner yesterday except I was her client instead of the reverse. (And she’s a naturopath, you guys, can you believe this shit? I’m evolving.)

When it came time to talk about money, however, she began with the very adorable (and totally normal), “Oh no, I'm not going to charge you, I'm new at this, the experience is useful for me, maybe we can barter sometime.” I took one look at her and said, “Absolutely not, girlfriend.”

Because, straight up, money lets us all do the things we were put here to do, in a way that feels good for everyone, and allows us to live really great, interesting lives. And learning how to ask for it is not easy, but it’s critical. A lot of the anxiety comes from simply not knowing what to charge, right? There are no rules, and we never know if the other person is thinking that it’s too much, or too little, and jesus christ, could there just be a STANDARD?

But that’s the point of business done well. You create your own standards. Branding has a lot to do with how you’re perceived, and so does your leadership online, but the most important way you can teach the world what to expect? Is by commanding authority when you speak. What you say, and the way you say it, is critical, because these are all cues signaling your mastery. We all know that the way you speak has nothing to do with the quality of your work, but guess what?

To them it does.

Competence in language signals competence in life.

So start there. Work at getting comfortable with simple, declarative statements. “I am a woman.” “I like wine.” “I’m a designer.” “I charge $100 an hour.”

See how easy? There is nothing to debate about a fact, after all.

And while pricing yourself might feel entirely arbitrary to you at first, the fact that you know something they don't?

Never is.

Need more help with this? Buy my Unf*ckwithable Confidence: Sales Call Phone Training audio mini-masterclass. You can listen to it in the car, listen to it on a walk, listen to it in the gym, and learn how to “hop on the phone” with a client—and get comfortable asking for the money, and the business, like an elegant pro. (And never have to worry about this again.)