Let’s talk about why properly pricing your products, programmes and services is the first step to designing a sustainable, successful business. (Disclaimer: I am medical professional and a Health & Wellness Coach, not a business coach)
If you're serious about building a sustainable business, it's time to put the strategies,systems and support in place to make it happen.
How can we end entrepreneurial poverty of time, energy and money?
How can we put an end to burnout and to hustle culture for women entrepreneurs? This was the thought I have been thinking about since the start of my entrepreneurial journey last year.
Today, I want to dive into pricing. Pricing - this is one of my favourite things to talk about with people and I find it's an area that we don't talk about enough in business.
There's not a tonne of information out there, and there's really no one right way to price things in our business.
But I often find that this is an area that scares a lot of people ..that makes us feel very uncertain ..that brings up a lot of feelings of worthiness. And if we don't take the time to do this correctly, this can hold us back in our business for a very, very long time.
So why is pricing so key? Why is this so important?
I tend to see a lot of people when they talk about pricing...they're kind of pulling a number out of thin air or the worst possible thing...they are crowdsourcing their price so they're going into like a group and saying, Hey, I'm offering this and I'm thinking of it being this much. What do you think? And then they're getting a tonne of information and feedback from people who are most likely not their ideal clients and don't really have any insight into if this is the proper price for their business.
I see so many women entrepreneurs find themselves in entrepreneurial poverty, because they are trapped in a feast or famine cycle.
They got their business up and running. They're starting to get some clients and cash flow coming in the door. But because there's a lot going on behind the scenes in their business (and truth is that we all have a lot of things we have to manage behind the scenes) they never quite figure out how to stay on top of it all.
But more marketing isn't always the answer.
Sometimes for many businesses, there's a bigger reason why they stay stuck in the feast or famine cycle.
So at one end of the spectrum, there are businesses that serve the mass market at low prices. These are businesses that everyone knows the name of - these are the Walmarts and the Amazons and they can afford to compete based on low prices, because they have sophisticated systems behind the scenes to deliver all of their products.
Now on the flip side, there are businesses that serve a smaller, more niche clientele at a higher price point. Okay, so you can go to Walmart and buy a white t shirt for $3 or you can go to Nordstrom and buy a white t shirt for $35 or you can go to a designer boutique and buy a white t shirt for $100.
Why would you spend $100 on a t shirt when you can get a white t shirt at Walmart for $3?
Well, Nordstrom or the boutique can price a white t shirt 10 times or 100 times more expensive because they know what their clientele will value and they know that they are valuing higher quality,higher craftsmanship & higher level of attention to detail compared to what you would get at Walmart for $3.
When you price your product or service very low - you may attract clients.
These potential clients aren't coming because they love your work or because they believe in what you're doing or because they're looking for the results they've seen you create. They're coming to you because you're affordable and that makes you the Walmart of your industry.
It's very hard to be the Walmart of your industry as a small business owner. The second big problem is there isn't enough capacity.
This is where when you're operating in the zone when you're underpricing your products, programmes or services, you end up maxing out your calendar - that entrepreneurial poverty of time and energy.
And chances are you're overworking and getting underpaid. So if you want to create a livable income and you're trying to be the least expensive option out there, get ready to work really, really hard for what is comparatively a very low hourly salary.
I know raising your prices can be really scary. I know we often have a lot of hang ups around raising our prices. But if there's one thing I know for sure, it's that most women entrepreneurs are under priced and over worked for the value that they are providing to their clients. We are doing way too much for way too little and this is a recipe for burnout in the long term. Most people who buy your service/product do not realise the overhead expenses you bear for running a business.
Raising your rates to more accurately reflect the value of your offer can instantly shift your business to more profitable and to be more sustainable.
You have to remember Nordstrom can charge 10 times more than Walmart for a simple white t shirt. And there's a reason because the focus there is on quality on a different level of experience and service than you're going to get from Walmart.
But what I want you to really think about is : Are my offerings underpriced for the true value and the end results that I provide my clients? And even more importantly, am I able to deliver a Nordstrom level experience to my clients? Am I able to provide an experience that makes them think this is so worth it? She cares about me, she takes care of me ...not an experience where it's just another name who's coming through your Stripe or PayPal account.
You have to understand the correlation there between your time,your energy and the level you want to serve in order to come up with the right pricing for your product, programme or services
Another thing I want to say here, as you are thinking about this is there's a lot of hype out there right now on social media, usually by online marketing gurus who are saying things like 'in order to make a six figure business you just have to sell 2000 units have a $50 product or 1000 units of $100 product or 100 units of $1,000 product.' And I have a really hard time with this mindset because really there's more math happening behind the scenes...so be willing to look from a broader,realistic mindset.
Most of us aren't wanting to actually be celebrity entrepreneurs.
Most of us aren't actually wanting to be influencer style entrepreneurs. We want to do great work we believe in but we don't want to have to be online 24/7 in order to have an audience of 100,000 people in order to sell enough of our product or services.
We are focused on delivering a transformational product/service at a whole different level than any celebrity entrepreneur who does not know the name of the clients who are paying them for these information products.
I really encourage you all to think about the price point for what you are starting to put out into the world. And remember that you definitely need to increase your prices on an ongoing basis. In fact, I recommend to a lot of people that every six months to every year they're reviewing their prices and increasing them because if you were doing a great job you were getting more experience, you're getting even better results for people & you're putting more resources in their programme or your service.
If you are in a situation though, where maybe you're not used to selling at a higher price point, and you're not used to selling more than one hour at a time of your product, programme or service.
Maybe people are just booking a session with you one at a time..now is the time to start thinking about positioning and packaging your work into a clear offer.
Those who are offering some sort of transformational work - whether it's in the field of health, or wellness or life coaching or parenting, they're working on helping people to become better versions of themselves. Trying to get that transformation in a single session is pretty much impossible. You might get inspired,you might get hyped up...you might get motivated in one session,but lasting change requires consistency & commitment. And that's on both parts. It requires consistency and commitment from the client and from you. So when you actually create and package your offer into a clearer programme, then suddenly you can price it more appropriately and work with fewer people.
I know this was a lot to unpack but I hope this helps you just sit down and think about your business goals differently.
And if you're looking at your existing pricing and you're realising wow, I am way under priced for what it needs to be ..then it's time to course correct and to look at how we can increase our prices so that we can be more sustainable.
One last word of advice from everything I’ve experienced so far in my career - never forget this quote: “When you pay,you pay attention ~ Russell Brunson”
Imagine that you’ve got a bag for free and you’ve purchased another beautiful one that is expensive. Assuming you like both bags, which one would you use more? Which one would you take care of or pay attention to so that it doesn’t get dirty?
You’d put in effort to look after the expensive one right?! It is the same with your product or service - if you want your clients to be committed & show consistency in their effort to their own healing .. do not give for free.
There is not one person on this planet other than you who can give what you uniquely offer.
Believe in yourself.
Much love & with gratitude,
Savvi
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