Understand Your Value (and how to price your services)

I see these questions in my DM’s all.the.time.

“How do I know what to price my services at?”

“What do you charge for ______?”

“How do I calculate a reasonable hourly rate?”

No matter the form, they all come down to the same question.

How do I value myself and communicate that to a potential client?

I’ve seen thread after thread on this topic inside of many of the groups I am. It seems to be a common theme for virtual assistants and social media managers to not really understand how the place a number on the work they do.

And who can blame them? With a wide range of services out there AND a wide range of prices, you can’t just google “how much should I make as a social media manager” and come back with a single answer.

I recently shared on The Inspired Biz the ANSWER to this common question. Now fair warning, you won’t find a number or even a range in this blog or on that episode. Instead, I share HOW to arrive at the number that fits YOUR skills and the VALUE you provide.

Because that’s what it truly comes down to, right.

Your mindset around your value and then how that is translated into the income you want or need to make.

First, let’s dive a little into that mindset. WHY is this a common struggle for those of us in services based industries? A big part of this mindset is that our hearts, first and foremost, is to help. Without people to serve, do we even have a job? However, the slippery slope can come in when we value the needs of the people we serve and UNDERVALUE the skills, support and growth we bring to the table.

This is why it can be so easy to slap an hourly rate on our time and forget about ALL the time that went into learning this skill, researching to grow, trial and error to become an expert, etc.

Here a few truth bombs I share in this episode:

1. Time is NOT the only factor that goes into how we price. We have to stop exchanging time for dollars. There is so much more that goes into how we price.
   Things like
   The time we spend executing the skill.
   - The course, certification or studying we’ve done to gain the knowledge or skill.
   - The convenience we are offering by providing the service (because even though they SAY they could do it themselves, we know they won’t or can’t)
   - The VALUE you are bringing to THEIR business with your skill. How much MORE income will they generate based off the work you do. THIS value is a very important factor
   - The other clients you will not be able to work with while you are serving this client.

2. The way you think about your pricing (and communicate it) speaks VOLUMES to your potential clients.

   Higher quality demands a higher fee. Anyone in business knows this. Undercharging does NOT inspire confidence.

   Knowing your worth and confidently sharing it will attract the right clients

3. Pricing right can save you a LOT of headaches

   It helps you avoid those RED flag clients (the ones who want the world for pennies).

   Or those clients who don’t have an appreciation or respect for what you do.

   How about those clients that aren’t prepared for the financial investment into their own business.

   It can even help you notice the work you just don’t want to do (no matter how much someone pays you).

4. You won’t land every client (and that’s ok)

   If you price yourself appropriately, there will be clients that won’t be able to afford your services. THAT.IS.OK.

   You WILL avoid resentment and frustration that can come when you are doing TONS of work and not making the income you should.

Below you can access my FREE Valuation Worksheet. This will help you process our own mindset AND the full set of skills you bring to your role that will help you set a VALUE for your work. Get yours by clicking the button below.

And don’t forget to listen to the full episode on The Inspired Biz!