THE MYTH OF AFFORDABILITY

Today I want to talk about pricing.

If we were all in a room and I asked how many of you struggle with pricing in your business, I imagine a whole sea of hands would go up in front of me.

Pricing our work, our services or products is super tricky.

It’s safe to say that so much of the struggle to price what we do or offer comes down to our feelings. OUR BIG BIG FEELINGS! The emotion that we are attaching to money and prices and other peoples perception and our worthiness etc.

Our feelings tend to come first when we think about how to price: What does setting this price mean about me? Can I deliver on this price? Will I be good enough to live up to that price? Who am I to ask for this?

What I want to suggest is not that we leave our feelings at the door when it comes to pricing, because we know that a) it’s not possible and b) we want to include our humanity, our empathy and care in our business in lots of ways.

What I want to suggest is maybe that we need to tackle some of the particular mindset stuff that comes up that can sometimes be clouded by our feelings. So today I want to start with the idea of pricing to be affordable.

I want you to imagine that every time I say the word affordable that you can see me doing air quotes, ok?

I know that many of you want to be inclusive in your business, and that desire to show kindness and inclusion has you thinking about how to price your work or aspects of your work to be affordable.

AFFORDABILITY IS A MYTH:

• We all have our own view of affordability that may or may not be relevant to anyone else at all. What you deem expensive may cause someone else not to blink an eyelid. What you find cheap may be expensive for someone else. Trying to cater for everyone is going to tie us up in knots. There are people who will think that your work is really cheap and some who will think its expensive and NOTHING of those thoughts actually has any bearing on the true value of your work!

Let me say that again!

• We can care a whole lot, be super empathic and kind and also not agonise over catering to everyone and that be OK. It does not change your goodness and kindness.

• What is imperative is that we do not leave ourselves out of the affordability equation. What kind of price do YOU need to charge so that you can continue working in your business in a sustainable way? What price makes this right for you and your business or income?

• Ask yourself this: Can your customers/clients afford to lose your impact, your service, your products or your voice in their lives if you price things lower in the name of ‘affordability’ and end up with a business you can’t sustain?

• You are allowed to raise your prices so you can afford to build a sustainable business that works for you.

Why is it important that we price well?

·      So you can offer your best and maintain your integrity in the exchange.

·        Because women need to be more integrated into economic spheres – you getting paid moves us towards that.

·        If you don’t have money coming through your business, there will be no business to enjoy and serve.

·        We need to give people the opportunity to invest in things that will solve their problems and help them. Someone out there really needs and is ready to invest in you and what you have to offer.

 I appreciate you being here – and before I go – can I tell you about my leadership accelerator programme? It’s beginning again in September and I am starting to rally together the women who want to be part of this next group. Over 30 women have been through this 8 month business and leadership development programme with me. Women running their own businesses, women running teams, solo entrepreneurs and freelancers. If you are a female business owner and you want to develop stronger business skills, healthier boundaries, deeper self-trust and have a locked down support system full of wisdom – this is the programme for you. You can send me a message hello@melwiggins.com to get an info pack or check the show notes for the link to grab a free call with me to see if it’s the right fit!