Why You Need To Start Charging What You're Worth

Pricing can be a fiddly thing in business, especially starting out. On one hand you don’t want to charge too much and scare off your customers but on the other hand you don’t want to be doing it for pennies either. So what’s the answer? Well it’s simple, charge what you’re worth.

Charging what you’re worth all depends on you and the kind of business you want to run. If you are targeting small business owners and your product or service is based around their needs, then you may not charge as much as say someone targeting multi-million dollar businesses and their particular needs. Who you target can ultimately define the kind of work you do, as you tailor your service to your target market. In saying this, just because you want to target multi-million dollar businesses, doesn’t mean you should. Know the extent of your skill level and be honest with yourself. 

Once you know the extent of your skill level and your target market, you can more accurately judge what your worth. Early on in business you will do a lot of market research, sussing out the competition and seeing what they charge. Some might be tempted to undercut the competition, charging less for the same service in the hopes of swaying peoples minds towards them. What they don’t realise is they are just making themselves look cheap and while it may work on some people, are they really the type of clients they want? On the other end of the spectrum, charging more than your competition can make you look expensive and can deter people as well. In this case you would really need to make sure your product or service is first class and your point of difference is big enough and valuable enough to warrant your pricing. 

It is in the quality of your product or service that you really discover your worth. Knowing the value you can offer to your potential clients is essential in knowing what you are entitled to charge and what kind of clients you want to draw in. People see a good product or service as an investment and will be willing to pay more for top quality.

So be honest with yourself, in the quality of your work and the market you want to target. Charge what you know you’re worth and people will see the value in what you do.